When the Danish television series Gift Ved Første Blik first premiered, American audiences had no idea it would lead to the development of Married at First Sight.
The show, which has been running for 17 seasons, follows singles who agree to marry someone the moment they first meet.
While the series has been very successful, the setup and premise can lead to drama. This was the case when Alyssa Ellman was matched with Chris Collette. Viewers almost immediately made Ellman the villain of the season due to the way she treated Collette.
The couple would get divorced just 12 days after their wedding, making theirs the shortest marriage in the show’s history.
Alyssa Married Chris Only For Them To Divorce Days After Their Wedding
Alyssa Ellman and Chris Collette got married during the 14th season of Married at First Sight. The couple, however, divorced just 12 days after their wedding. This made their union the shortest marriage in the show’s history.
Ellman became the villain of the season, with viewers believing she treated Collette horribly. It was concluded by fans that Ellman wasn’t happy with Collette’s looks, and she wasn’t open to having a relationship with him at all.
“Alyssa, from the wedding night, has no interest in being married to me,” Collette told Pastor Cal Roberson, a relationship coach, during one episode. “She says that we’re not compatible. She’s used the phrase ‘robbed’ … And it started the night of the wedding.”
- During a 2022 reunion special, Ellman tried to defend herself against those who criticized her actions:
- “I came into this with the purest intentions,” Ellman said. “I wanted to find my person more than anything. When it didn’t work out for me, I panicked, and I didn’t handle myself the way I would have liked. And I’m sorry for that.”
- Despite her harsh behavior, Ellman insisted that she doesn’t regret joining Married at First Sight:
- “But looking back now, I’m grateful for the things that I’ve learned,” Ellman said. “I just want everyone to know that I came into that for the right reasons.”
When asked whether she gave Collette a chance during their time together, Ellman didn’t say one way or the other.
“I wish there was things that I didn’t say because of the mental state that I was in,” she said. “I didn’t feel like it was right, right away. I saw him and yes, he was not my physical type when I saw him. But there was things that happened besides the physical attraction that made me feel that way, that really upset me.”
She continued, “As the night went on, and I learned things about him, like when I was standing with his three groomsmen.”
According to Ellman, the groomsmen told her that Collette was really stubborn and liked to be right all the time. She said this was a red flag for her, and she refused to sleep in the honeymoon suite that night.
Ellman said, “I don’t see how we’re compatible. We have no shared hobbies, in my opinion. We don’t share the same core values and beliefs and that’s, I feel like, where things got misconstrued and messed up and why my brain wasn’t working right. I was bawling my eyes out. It was horrible.”
Alyssa Received A Lot Of Online Hate Due To The Way She Treated Chris
Ellman has received a ton of hate from fans of Married at First Sight due to her treatment of Collette. Several users dedicated an entire Reddit thread to the reasons they dislike Ellman.
“Watching her and the things she says makes me want to fight her,” one user wrote. “Poor Chris, I feel for him so much. The producers are f***** up for letting that man go through that. That b**** degraded him, disrespected him, embarrassed him, treated him like the scum of the earth for no freaking reason other than her shallowness.”
The user continued, “Alyssa you are the scumb of the Earth, you are worse than dog s*** on a shoe. You don’t deserve true love. Chris you are an angel, you deserve the world and more after putting up with that demon. I wish you a great woman who will respect and show you so much love and affection.”
Another user wrote, “She hates Chris for making an effort and hates the experts for putting her with a solid dude. She really needs to humble herself enough so she can seek therapy.”
“I can’t stand her. She plays victim in every situation, like grow up you’re however old she is and acting like that?” someone else wrote. “She cries every ten minutes and won’t even have a conversation. You’re not moving into the apartment alone if you’re not going to participate in the whole point of the show? Rude and disrespectful to Chris. Calling him aggressive when they’re playing tennis even though he’s just swinging his hands?!?”
“I cannot believe she is real,” they added.
Someone else wrote, “She behaves like a narcissist. Period. She stayed for the free trip and the cameras. Just walk away from people like that before they suck you dry and discard you when they’re done.”
The Justice Of The Peace Who Married Alyssa And Chris Reacted To The Experience
Justice of the Peace Steven Martins married Ellman and Collette on the show. Martins spoke with the Standard-Times about his experience on the show and shared his perspective on the outcome.
Martins was appointed by the governor of Massachusetts in 2017 and became one of the youngest JPs in the commonwealth.
“I’m really grateful to work with all these amazing couples, and looking forward to working with more amazing couples in the new year,” he told the outlet.
In addition to previously serving as a City Councilor in New Bedford for ten years, Martins works as the assistant director/regional manager for Mass Lottery.
At the time of the interview, Decision Day was still on the horizon for the remaining couples on the show. Martins had some positive wishes for all of them.
“If they just work on themselves and their relationships, take the time to do that, I think that anybody who gets married will certainly make it,” he said.
According to Martins, he believes that making a marriage and relationship last takes hard work.
“Marriage takes work and once you get married, you have to be able to sign up for that, for that work,” Martins shared.
He continued, “It’s a lot of great adventures and there’s also challenges with it. You can’t run away from the challenges you have to take them on. And if you do that together, your marriage will be successful.”
Martins ultimately concluded that this is work Ellman ultimately didn’t want to put in.
“Marriage is perhaps the greatest and [most] challenging adventure. And you have to keep that in mind with patience, understanding and flexibility,” Martins said.
“In those cases, I don’t think that Alyssa wanted to give it a shot from day one.”
Martins first received an e-mail from the Married at First Sight producers seeking a justice of the peace. However, he wasn’t even sure about the actual name of the series at that point, since it left out a lot of information.
“I thought it was spam,” Martins remembered. He eventually realized it was for the hit reality show once he checked the credentials.
Martins arrived in Boston for the ceremony in July 2021.
When Martins saw Ellman crying at the altar, he wasn’t initially worried about the couple’s future.
“It’s perfectly normal,” Martins said. “Some people are crying, happy and nervous.”
However, it was later revealed in the episode that Ellman was crying because she was unhappy with how Collette looked.
“Unfortunately, she judged a book by its cover and didn’t want to give it a shot,” Martins said. “When you meet someone, and you get into a relationship and, in this case, get married, you’re learning about each other. And you’ve got to take the time to do that.”
Martins told the outlet that he believed Collette did his best to make the situation work for everyone involved. Ellman, however, was another story.
“But it works both ways. And it was like, she just wasn’t interested at all,” Martins said. “There’s just so much that you can do until you finally tap out.”
Based on his view of Collette, Martins said that he believes Ellman would have changed her mind if she actually got to know him.
“I think that if Alyssa took the time, as you’re supposed to, and spent the time to explore on the show with him… I think that she would have changed her mind,” Martins said.
Despite his views on Ellman, Martins said he would still be open to marrying either of them if they enter into new partnerships.
“I’m always happy and available for the both of them,” he said.