There are several factors that are ruining Married at First Sight’s entertainment value, but if they’re fixed, the show can be saved. Married at First Sight season 17 ended in late April 2024, and the season was largely a disaster and not received well by viewers. The same can be said for the last several seasons. In the franchise, 64 couples have gotten married at the altar to a stranger, and 12 of those couples are still together. That leaves MAFS’ success rate at 18.75%. In the last four seasons alone, only two out of 20 couples are still together.
However, the couples that have remained together are a shining example of how the show’s unique experiment can work for those ready for marriage and compromise. The MAFS experience itself is eight weeks long for the couples, and the honeymoon and living together portion of the show leads up to Decision Day, where the pairs choose whether to stay married or get a divorce. One or two Reunion specials air after that, followed by a “Where Are They Now?” episode. The show has been massively popular in the past, but it’s losing its edge due to a few disparaging elements.
The MAFS Experts Keep Failing
They Can’t Get It Right
Dr. Pepper Schwarts joined Married at First Sight as an expert in season 1, Pastor Cal Roberson joined in season 4, and Dr. Pia Holec is in her third season. The experts are tasked with selecting the pairs to be matched together, and they are meant to take the participants’ non-negotiables, and physical appearance and lifestyle preferences into account when matching people. Furthermore, the experts are supposed to guide the couples through the eight-week process by offering them solution-based counseling and determining how they can help the couples progress in their marriages.
The experts have clearly fallen short. They have been criticized by MAFS fans for being unskilled and wreckless when matchmaking, and they’ve admittedly dropped the ball in their approach and initiative to matching the couples. Specifically last season, Dr. Pia demonstrated her inability to be effective when she was counseling Brennan Shoykhet and Emily Balch. Dr. Pia came for Brennan and was combative toward him, saying that he needed therapy (via Lifetime.) The interaction only proved to cause a bigger divide between Brennan and Emily and is a good example of the poor level of counseling the couples have received.
Married at First Sight needs to overhaul the experts because fans have been watching them fail for too long. Unfortunately, the same panel of experts will be back for Married at First Sight season 18, but there is a lot for them to prove. Should they see more success, one or all of the experts could continue on into future seasons, but it would be better for the franchise to get fresh experts with new perspectives and strengths.
MAFS Has Let Toxic Cast Members Get Married
Which Has Marred MAFS’ Reputation
Another strike against Married at First Sight is that they have let shady people make it through the casting process and onto the show. Several cast members like Chris Williams and Clare Kerr have had past relationships affect their ability to be present on the show. Chris had gotten a woman pregnant before coming on the show but chose to stay with his MAFS wife Paige Banks and work things out with his ex off-camera. MAFS season 2’s Ryan Denino had clear and present anger issues on the show and even had a verbally aggressive hot mic moment.
Other cast members, like Luke Cuccurullo, were ruthless in their negative opinions about their partner and displayed problematic behavior that should have been noticed before they were matched. Alyssa Ellman from season 14 in Boston had a very rigid idea of what she wanted her husband to look like, and when she didn’t get that, she freaked out. Her shallowness should have been noticed by the experts before she broke Chris Collette’s heart in the fastest MAFS divorce in history.
Hit reality TV shows like 90 Day Fiancé have notoriously let shady characters slip through the application process and be cast on the show. Like Before the 90 Days’ Geoffrey Paschel, who was convicted of kidnapping and brutally assaulting his girlfriend at the time mere weeks before he was flying to Russia to meet his online Before the 90 Days love interest, Varya Malina.
However, that kind of poor and irresponsible cast is damaging to a show’s reputation, as it has been for Married at First Sight and its credibility.
The MAFS Seasons Are Too Long
They Drag On For Months
MAFS season 17 was the longest season yet, having premiered in October 2023 and ended in April 2024. The show was almost on the Lifetime network for six months, and fans grew tired of the same couples and drama, especially since many of the couples broke up way early in the process. The show should shorten its seasons to include only the most notable and entertaining drama, so fans don’t get lost with all the unnecessary filler.
The MAFS Couples Share A Temporary Apartment
It Didn’t Used To Be That Way
Up until MAFS season 9, the couples had to choose their own apartment themselves. These days, the couples move into a predetermined neutral living space in the same building as the other couples where it is easy for them to go back to their own homes when things go awry. Having to get their own apartment meant an initial real-life obstacle the pairs had to overcome, and it was a good learning curve.
The couples now get handed apartments and don’t have to work together on anything significant aside from getting to know each other, which takes away an important element.
The MAFS Couples Mingle Together Too Much
There Should Be More Separation
In earlier seasons, the Married at First Sight couples did not have to get together and mingle for social gatherings or group activities. Instead, they focused on building their relationships. Now, the couples seem to get together in every episode, and there has been cast drama because of it. In the intermingling of the couples, the focus of the experience gets lost and leaves more room for influencing and negative judgment for everyone. If Married at First Sight can find ways to improve or compromise in these areas, the show’s quality and success rate could become better.