Netflix currently features three seasons of Married at First Sight, the bananas premise reality hit that has aired on Lifetime since 2017. (Season 16 premiered earlier this year.) For season 12 of MAFS, which originally aired in 2021, the show traveled to Atlanta, where five couples agreed to get hitched immediately and go with the flow. It’s “the nation’s most controversial experiment.” Do these people know what they signed up for?
Opening Shot: Dr. Pepper Schwartz is a sociologist and one of the Married at First Sight matching experts. “Our couples will be saying ‘I do’ in less than two weeks, so now it’s time to share that news with their friends and family. While an engagement is happy news, not everybody shares in the excitement when the spouse-to-be is a complete stranger.”
The Gist: Let’s meet some of these willing matchees. 28-year-old engineer Briana, an “outspoken optimist,” will be marrying Vincent, also 28, who’s an auto broker and has always aspired to have a family. Briana and Vincent, we believe, will balance each other out perfectly,” MAFS marriage counselor Pastor Calvin Robinson says. “Vincent needs someone like Briana because she will support him, she will believe in him, and Briana could really use the sensitive, caring side of Vincent.” 26-year-old Virginia and 34-year-old Erik both have dogs, so that seems like a plus. Paige (“destined for love”) is matched with Chris (“#Ble$$ed”), who says he wants a woman who is not after him for his money. Also, “She’s intelligent, submissive, sexy, good in bed, and a freak.” Haley, perpetually single, and Jacob, whose ticking body clock told him it was time, will be taking the plunge. And finally, there’s Clara and Ryan, “Ms. Sassy & Spunky” and Mr. “Confident and Calculated.” “We believe Clara and Ryan will be a strong match,” Pastor Cal says, and points to their close-knit families and their “open-minded way of approaching life.”
Well, agreeing to marry a stranger is certainly open-minded. With their weddings announced to loved ones and friends, the bachelors and bachelorettes meet each other in separate groups to compare notes. “When it comes to Chris,” Ryan says, “I don’t know about the guy, but depending on how his wife is, it might be an issue for her, because Chris is a little sketchy.” And Clara feels like Paige is “the surprise freak of the season” because she’s God-fearing but also straightforward about her sex life.
One week until the big day(s), wedding dresses and suits are tried on. Chris is proud of his “swagged-out” look, Virginia is “very excited, but very stressed,” and everyone’s family members do a whole lot of shrugging and hoping for the best. And the night before the ceremonies, it’s time to party and leave their single lives behind. Probably. Maybe.
What Shows Will It Remind You Of? The third season of Love is Blind dropped on Netflix in October 2022 – that’s the one with dating pods that obscure the love hopeful singles from one another. And TLC’s 90 Day Fiance has really cornered the market on drama that can ignite once people who’ve never met in person are suddenly living their lives together.
Our Take: Each season of Married at First Sight builds to Decision Day, the culminating event when the couples that were scientifically and insightfully matched by TV experts have to decide if they’ll stay married or get a divorce. Because as Pastor Cal often points out, these are legally binding marriages, which makes divorce these individuals’ only way out of a scenario that balances reality show construct against the concept of everlasting bliss. All of which makes that decision the crux of the entire season for the viewer, since we’re constantly checking boxes on a list that the MAFS has more or less provided by showing us these people’s trial runs together. Can Haley bridge the notable age difference between her and Jacob? Can Paige’s determination diffuse Chris’s arrogance? Will the heavy pour glass of red wine Virginia chugged in the first episode factor into her relationship with Erik? And can two seemingly grounded and emotionally available people who seem somewhat incongruous with their MAFS peers actually make the leap to a perfect union, despite having signed up for such a crazy show? We’re looking at you, Briana and Vincent.
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Obviously, these questions have been answered already. Remember, Netflix is only streaming a few seasons of Married at First Sight; the final tally on its season 12 couples has already been tabulated. But that doesn’t mean their tribulations can’t be new to you. Ultimately, MAFS is a pretty choice for background viewing content. Put it on a loop with 90 Day Fiance, Love is Blind, and even Say Yes to the Dress, and it can all blend together into one giant romance-based reality show gumbo.
Sex and Skin: Nothing here, though there is discussion amongst the bachelors and bachelorettes about their sexual preferences.
Parting Shot: “I believe that everything happens for a reason,” Clara says over footage of she and her bridesmaids walking down the aisle. Ryan, her stranger/fiance, awaits. “I’m taking it as fate that he and I both ended up in this weird spot together.”
Sleeper Star: Everyone is entitled to their own decision making process for entering the reality show universe. But it just feels like Briana, a level headed engineer, belongs in a considerably less bonkers reality format.
Most Pilot-y Line: “It’s scary,” Ryan says of the reality show situation he’s agreed to. “I would like to be in love. I definitely would. But you know, you throw yourself out there. You’re like, ‘Shoot, is this – I know the parachute should open, but is it going to open?’” Good luck, man.
Our Call: STREAM IT. After so many seasons, and various streamers and outlets concocting increasingly outlandish or simply insulting reality show concepts, Married at First Sight deserves credit and status as a pioneer in the thriving romance reality lunacy sector.
Johnny Loftus is an independent writer and editor living at large in Chicagoland. His work has appeared in The Village Voice, All Music Guide, Pitchfork Media, and Nicki Swift. Follow him on Twitter: @glennganges
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