Married At First Sight Needs To Change Its Format (Will Season 18 Be Different?) (2024)

Since its debut, Married At First Sight has been fun to watch, but season 17 proved to be a hot mess, and it's easy to hope for a different format when season 18 premieres. MAFS premiered in July 2014 and has seen many couples find their eternal love and build their lives together. At first, season 17 was impressive due to the array of personalities it provided. Nonetheless, it didn't take long before things took a different turn.

Besides being the longest season in the franchise, Married At First Sight season 17 had some of the most controversial cast members, including a runaway bride. The social experiment puts together willing singles to meet up with strangers and get married. However, after a careful matching process by relationship experts, one bride opted out when she met Michael Shiakallis at the altar, leaving him devastated. Although Married At First Sight viewers closely followed season 17 with all its drama, there's a need to change theMAFS season 18 format to entice the audience.

The Last Few MAFS Seasons Haven't Been Well-Received

Viewers Haven't Enjoyed The Lastest Seasons

Married At First Sight's last seasons haven't received the best receptions. This is attributed to casting the wrong people, who don't seem to be on the show because they want to find true love. For instance, in MAFS season 15, Morgan Bell didn't seem to be the best person for BinhTrinh.

There were situations Morgan projected on Binh, and she was gaslighting him on several occasions. At one point, she had him cowering like a beaten animal after Binh said he was unsure if Morgan was a nurse or not. Morgan was a bully and drama queen. Maybe Morgan was ready to get married, but not to Binh.

This mismatch of the couples continued throughout MAFS seasons 16 and 17. The Denver edition proved the matchmaking process was broken. The season's length meant viewers had to sit through all the episodes to see zero successful marriage rates for the couples in the finale.

Halfway through Married At First Sight season 17, two people had already called it quits—Orion Martzloff, Laren Goodger, Clare Kerr, and Cameroon Frazer. Brennan Shoykhet and Emily Balch's incompatibility was evident before he confessed that her negativity was a turn-off. Looking at these examples, the MAFS formula already seems broken.

The show's producers must throw everything in to see what will work. Adding a same-sex couple would spice up the season, leaving people longing to see the series as soon as it premieres. Same-sex couples would also add inclusivity and diversity to the cast, thus breaking some stereotypes.

Additionally, MAFS shouldn't cast people below 30–35 years old. It looks like they have been picking young men and women who are out for fame and not ready to settle down. They could borrow the concept from Love Is Blind: UK, which had a perfect blend of sincere and mature people.

Married At First Sight Has Historically Followed A Format

It Is Time To Try Something Different

Married at First Sight has followed the same pattern for the longest time. The format involves relationship experts pairing with strangers who meet for the first time at the altar. Every season follows the newlyweds as they go through therapy and get advice from a panel of experts, with the aim of remaining married once the season ends. However, MAFS season 17 introduced some after-Decision Day episodes to cover Michael and Chloe Brown's love story. Hopefully, that format will run through season 18.

What Could A MAFS Format Change Look Like?

Close To Love Is Blind

There are a couple of things that would make MAFS exciting and worth watching, but there is a need to revamp the show. First, the producers could opt to "steal" a few concepts from Love Is Blind. Truth be told, Love Is Blind is still one of the most successful dating franchises on Netflix, which explains why it has expanded internationally. Before Love Is Blind season 6 premiered with a cast full of attention seekers, there had been a whole group of participants who met their soulmates on their show.

The participants connect in the pods before interacting in real life, making Love Is Blind's format unique. On the other hand, Married At First Sight's participants feel like they are attending interviews. Most put their best foot forward when talking with the experts and know all the right things to say.

As soon as they get married, most reveal their true colors. Therefore, MAFS can avoid this by allowing contestants to communicate before getting married without seeing each other. To make the process different from Love Is Blind, the experts would still deal with the final matchmaking.

Since MAFS season 12, way too many couples have given up on their marriages. Sadly, the experts haven't intervened or called out certain participants for their behavior. MAFS could consider bringing more insight to the show by having previous couples, especially from seasons 12 and below, take the expert roles. It would be interesting to see Married At First Sight season 18 couples get some advice from someone who has been through the experience.

Woodrow Randall and Amani Aliyya from MAFS season 11 stood out due to their readiness for commitment and love. The couple navigated their differences, including the attraction issues, and their relationship would be considered a blueprint for people thinking about marriage (via Lifetime). Hence, they would be such an incredible addition to the experts' panel, providing them with real advice on what might have worked for them and how it might help future MAFS pairs.

Will MAFS Season 18's Format Remain The Same?

There Will Be A Few Changes

Based on the details released, there is a high likelihood that Married At First Sight season 18 will still have the same format. However, there might be a few changes, especially regarding how exciting the cast will be. The experts, Pastor Cal Roberson, Dr. Pia Holec and Dr. Pepper Schwartz, seem like they will be back for another season.

With the many complaints MAFS season 17 received, the experts are ready to make season 18 one of the best installments yet. Therefore, they will ensure that they pair the right couples. If they do, it will increase the chances of successful marriages once the season ends.

However, experts are not solely to blame for how MAFS season 17 turned out. They matched the couples based on the information they got from the participants who claimed they wanted to get married. Maybe the producers will make Married At First Sight season 18 as great as season 11 was.

MAFS season 11 had drama, but it wasn't hard to watch since there was maturity in how the couples handled different uncomfortable situations. Nonetheless, there is a high chance that the Married At First Sight season 18 couples will bring in drama. That could really improve the show's ratings.

Married at First Sight seasons 1-8 are available to stream on Amazon,

Source: Lifetime/YouTube

Married At First Sight

TV-14

Reality

Romance

Based on the Danish version of the series, Married at First Sight is a reality show/social experiment that gives singles a chance to find a lifelong partnership with one particular caveat: they must agree to marry a stranger arranged the moment they meet. Experts provide counseling and guidance as they help couples navigate their new marriage with their unknown partner and highlight the journey of the newlyweds from wedding to honeymoon to beginning their new lives together. At the end of eight weeks, couples will decide to stay married or divorce.

Cast

Pepper Schwartz , Calvin Roberson , Viviana Coles , Jessica Griffin , John Aiken , Mel Schilling , Alessandra Rampolla , Logan Levkoff , Joseph Cilona , Greg Epstein , Rachel DeAlto , DeVon Franklin , Pia Holec

Release Date

July 8, 2014

Seasons

17

Network

Lifetime

Writers

Lotte Offenberg Bergqvist , Razor Rizzotti

Directors

Charlie Mysak , Michael Fitzpatrick Lawrence Jr. , Nick Petrie

Showrunner

Sam Dean

See at Amazon