Married At First Sightis returning with a new season of drama, but the panel of experts that run the coupling on the show needs to make some major conduct changes for the series to be successful. WhileMarried At First Sightseason 18is already finished filming, there are concerns about the behavior of the experts on the series. The panel, comprised of Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Dr. Pia Holec, and Pastor Cal Roberson, hasbeen struggling to make successful matches for the last few seasonsof the series. Despite having success in the past, things have been tough.
While some of the experts have been with the show since the beginning, others have joined in recent seasons and made some interesting changes to the way the team functions. Dr. Pepper, who has been part of the show sinceMarried At First Sightseason 1, has always been pragmatic and intellectual in the way she matches cast members, while Pastor Cal, who has been with the show sinceMarried At First Sightseason 4, can be a bit more emotional in his approach. Regardless of how the experts have been working,their abilities have been called into question frequently.
Married At First Sighthas been runningfor the last decade, bringing couples together with the premise that they’ve been matched by a team of experts, but don’t meet until their wedding ceremony. Over the course of the next several weeks, the couples attempt to make their marriages work, ultimately making the choice on Decision Day of whether they’ll stay together or get divorced. Thoughthe shock value of the series may have worn off in the yearssince its been on the air, the human interest ofMarried At First Sighthas remained largely the same through the years.
AlthoughMAFShas brought togethersome of the most interesting couples in reality TV history, the track record of the experts has been lower than usual in the last several seasons.Married At First Sighthasn’t had a successful marriage in two seasons, and prior to that, had only one successful marriage in the last four. Over the course of the last six seasons, only two couples are still together today, and though the series often touts its unique experience as a positive, the success rate being so low makes it seem like it could be a negative.
Though the experts are a fascinatingpart of theMarried At First Sightexperience, there’s a lot of human error that goes into the matchmaking process. With issues of the experts struggling to match couples well and the matchmaking process itself being called into question, there’s a lot that viewers would change aboutMAFSwhen it comes to the experts. There are some seriousconduct changes that viewers would love to see come into play in futureMarried At First Sightseasons.
10The MAFS Experts Aren’t Weighing All Factors When Matching
They’re Looking At Lifestyle & Values Alone
AlthoughtheMarried At First Sightexpertsare meant to have the expertise to match couples successfully, it’s an incredibly infrequent surprise when one of the matches sticks. Typically,the experts are shown during the season’s matchmaking special showing off their abilities. As they discuss the options of who they should match up with, they talk about the participants' lifestyles, values, and some of the other things that should matter in a relationship, like their phase of life.
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Unfortunately, theMAFSexperts rarely discuss the issues that should actually be considered when matching a couple up.The experts don’t consider the personalities of the participants as much as their values, beliefs, and lifestyles in general. While those are all important factors, the personalities of the participants should be brought into play more frequently when talking about making matches.
9The MAFS Experts Ignore Red Flags In Potential Cast Members
They Don’t Look For Potential Clout Chasers
Despite knowing that some major issues have come upinMarried At First Sightrelationshipsin the past, the experts are prone to ignoring some of the more serious red flags that pop up when matchmaking. Though the participants onMAFSare screened and background checked, it can be difficult for the experts to consider everything about the participants once they make it to the point where they’re being matched.There have been times when the experts weren’t even aware of some glaring issues with participants, which is a major problem.
The experts need to be more mindful of the participants' big red flags during the matchmaking process. While there is usually a lack of violent or emotionally distressingMAFSparticipants on the show, the experts need to consider other factors. Some participants wind up being emotionally difficult, manipulative, or aggressive, and it’s something the experts likely could see coming.
8The MAFS Experts Need To Be More Attentive To The Couples
They Act Like Their Job Is Done After Matching Couples Up
After the couples are matched, there’s often a point where the experts are out of the picture onMAFSfor quite some time. The couples meet at the altar and ultimately marry, then set off to go on their honeymoon. Ideally, the couples spend their time on their own during their honeymoon before getting to know the other couples of the season. While the experts are likely available for the couples to chat with,they aren’t often utilized until the couples get back from their honeymoons.
Even when the experts are utilized throughout the season, it’s tough to see how they’re making a difference in the couples' journeys. WhiletheMAFSexperts offer counselingand give the participants the opportunity to talk in a more therapeutic setting, they often don’t get to a point of emotional depth with the participants in the way they need to.The experts aren’t around enough, which makes things more difficult for the participants.
7The MAFS Experts Need To Show Support Not Disdain
They Don’t Always Give Positive Energy
While the experts are supposed to be unbiased in the way they treat the couples, it’s rarely the case onMAFSthat the experts aren’t showing bias or favoritism to some couples or participants.The experts are meant to be highly trainedprofessionals who are able to use their skills to help the couples work through their issues, but instead, they frequently become cheerleaders for their favorite participants, or haters for their least favorite. Rather than supporting the couples they feel are having struggles,the experts sometimes exacerbate the issues by showing disdain.
Instead of focusing on fixing the problems the couples are facing, the experts will sometimes pile on, which makes things even more difficult to handle. Rather than expressing disdain about the actions participants are taking in their marriages, the experts should be supporting the couples through their issues. To make things more like actual therapy,the experts need to remove their biases.
6The MAFS Experts Should Employ New Therapy Approaches
They Have Dated And Ineffective Strategies
While the experts are meant to be on the cutting edge of therapeutic practices and relationship counseling, they often find themselves utilizing old and tired techniques. Working predominantly with talk therapy, the experts use tried and true methods in order to counsel the couples and try to help them in their relationships. While pushing communication is always a great thing,theMAFSexperts often lose sight of the end goal.
The experts have a hard time employing any new techniques into the mix, especially because they have limited time and space with the couples.If they were able to make strides and modernize their approacha bit, some couples could find themselves interacting in different ways and changing their path. If the experts could use some more modern approaches, the couples may have a better shot.
They Don’t Admonish Cast Members
While therapists typically listen to issues and provide a non-biased opinion, relationship counseling can be a bit different, and is certainlysomething else entirely onMarried At First Sight. Rather than ignoring the bad behavior that someMarried At First Sightparticipants display in their marriages,the experts should speak up about issues that they see in the relationships. Though sometimes, the experts need to be quiet and let the participants share, there is time and space for them to call out poor behavior.
Currently, the experts often find themselves moving through the seasons without much of a say in what happens between the couples. As the pairs are living their own journeys, the experts should allow them to make their own decisions. Even so,they should be speaking up when one of theMAFSspouses is behaving badlyor showing signs of problematic behavior.
4The MAFS Experts Can’t Choose Favorites
They Should Be Entirely Impartial
The experts onMAFSare supposed to be entirely impartial, from the matchmaking process to the end point of Decision Day. While it’s likely impossible to be totally impartial,theMAFSexperts are professionalswho should know how to handle themselves with clients. Despite knowing that they’re meant to be unbiased,the experts typically have couples they enjoy more than othersor participants who they view as a favorite over some of the others.
While it’s understandable that the experts are only human and sometimes struggle with the fact that they need to keep themselves out of the equation when it comes to their work, it’s also an issue that they need to address. The senses of human nature that comes into play for the experts can be to the detriment of the participants. Rather than choosing favorites,the experts should do their best to be impartial.
3The MAFS Experts Need To Take Accountability & Own Mistakes
They Don’t Own Up To Their Faults
Although it makes sense that the experts often make mistakes and find themselves trying to figure things out on the fly, their mistakes are sometimes at the expense of the couples finding their happily ever after. Theexperts onMarried At First Sightsometimes have trouble realizing that they’re involved in the equation, and they often wind up struggling with how involved they are in the marriages. Though the experts know they’re working with the couples, they sometimes fail to be as removed as they need to.
The experts have been difficult in the last several seasons in their matchmaking, but also in the way they interact with the participants as they move through the season. While they’ve all made mistakes, they don’t tend to acknowledge them. TheMarried At First Sightexperts need to own their mistakes and move forwardwithout trying to sweep them under the rug.
2The MAFS Experts Should Take Their Responsibilities As Therapists More Seriously
They’re Not Always Serious
While theMAFSexpertsare on the show to counsel the participants through their experience and help them when needed, they don’t always do just that. The experts are only human, but there are times that the human side of them becomes too difficult for the couples to manage.The experts have had moments where they struggle to maintain professionalism, which and be tricky for the couples who are relying on their expertise.
The couples have often found themselves in tough moments with the experts where they aren’t getting as much as they hoped for, which isn’t always okay.The experts aren’t always working as seriously with the couples as they should, which creates tension in the relationships between the couples and between the experts and participants. The participants should be able to trust the experts to take their work seriously.
1The MAFS Cast Members Can’t Have A Negative Bias
The Cast Members Have Preconceived Notions
WhileMarried At First Sighthas become a global phenomenon through the years, the cast members who appear on the show shouldn’t have a negative bias toward the experts coming into the season because of what they’ve watched in the past. WhileMAFSparticipants get to know the experts in different ways than they’ve gotten to know them on screen, they sometimes come into the process with an idea of who the experts will be. This could be detrimental for them.
Coming intoMAFSwith a bias,some of the participants then find their time with the experts to be lackluster. The participants struggle to move forward with their own relationships with the experts, struggling to utilize their assistance. TheMarried At First Sightcast members having a poor perception of the experts, which comes from their behavior on screen, can make their relationships impossible.
Married At First Sightseason 18 premieres Tuesday, October 15 at 8 p.m. EDT on Lifetime.
Married At First Sight
Cast
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.
