Married At First Sight Season 18 Will Not Save The Franchise (Signs It Will Be A Letdown)

Married at First Sight season 18 has a critical role in helping to save the franchise after years of lackluster seasons, but it looks like it will be a letdown too. Married at First Sight season 17 started airing in mid-October 2023 and ended in late April, making the season more than six months long. It was a historic season for two reasons. The first being that there was a first in Married at First Sight history when groom Michael Shiakallis’ mystery bride ditched him at the altar and became the first runaway bride.

The second historic situation was that Michael was rematched by the experts with Chloe Brown. The pair said their I dos and started the eight-week-long Married at First Sight process when the other couples were already halfway through. This meant that the season had to include extra filler episodes highlighting the other couples after their breakups while Michael and Chloe’s journey was still playing out. To top the wayward season off, not only did none of the couples end up together, but the men and women had the most animosity between them out of any Married at First Sight season.

Married at First Sight Has Not Produced Many Successful Couples

Married at First Sight premiered season 1 in 2014, and has aired seventeen complete seasons. MAFS seasons 1-7 only featured three couples who took the leap to marry a stranger, while seasons 8 and 9 highlighted four couples, and the seasons that have come after that have showcased five pairs every season. In the 17 seasons of the show, viewers have watched 64 couples say I do at the altar. Of those 64, only 12 couples are still together today. That makes the MAFS success rate 18.75%, which is very low considering the show’s intention.

The premise of the show is to have the panel of experts carefully and thoughtfully match eligible singles and guide them through the arduous eight-week process of honeymooning, blending their lives, and getting to know each other with hopes of togetherness for the future. Given the guidance and the prospect that the pairs are well-matched, the success rate should be much higher than it is.

Moreover, there have been some very poor casting choices that have not only caused chaos in the marriages these individuals have been in but have also damaged the reputation of the show.

The MAFS Experts Have Irritated Cast & Fans

Dr. Pepper Schwartz has been a Married at First Sight expert since season 1. Pastor Cal Roberson joined the show in season 4, and the newest expert, Dr. Pia Holec, was added to the cast in season 15. Each expert comes from a background in couples therapy, but it doesn’t always seem like it. Since the experts are tasked with matching the couples, a lot of the responsibility for the failed marriages lies on their shoulders. They clearly did not consider everything they should have during the matchmaking process.

There have been countless times when the bride or groom has not been attracted to their chosen partner, which denotes that the experts overlooked the participants’ physical appearance requests, which is a glaring red flag that’s caused many problems and hurt feelings. Notably “good person” Alyssa Ellman from MAFS season 15 in Boston said she was “robbed” of the experience because she was not attracted to her husband’s smile. She stated the experts didn’t give her what she asked for and she didn’t give her husband Chris Collette a chance at all, leading to the quickest breakup in MAFS history.

Moreover, in MAFS season 17, Dr. Pia showed her lack of professionalism when she caused more harm than good in Brennan Shoyket and Emily Balch’s marriage and when she offended Chloe and Michael when she called them inauthentic. Unfortunately, for viewers and the Married at First Sight season 18 participants, the experts have remained the same. Their reckless matchmaking and incapable guidance skills as therapists will be detrimental to the success of the couples once again.

MAFS Season 18 Is Meant To Be A Critical Season

It Needs To Perform

Married at First Sight has not gotten good reviews from fans in the last few years, and a lot is riding on the success of season 18. Season 18 is critical to the franchise’s future because there needs to be successful couples, which means the experts need to do better and the casting choices in general need to be good.

MAFS viewers want to see pairs that are well-matched and that have a fighting chance to become successful and say yes to each other on Decision Day. What they don’t want to see are problematic cast members with annoying personalities who are not ready for marriage to be selected to go through the experience. Currently, Married at First Sight season 18 is highly anticipated, and fans are hoping having a quality season can turn the show around and towards a better trajectory.

MAFS Season 18 Will Not Be As Good As It Needs To Be

There Are Red Flags

Given that the experts are remaining the same and there are no changes being made to how the cast is selected and guided throughout the season, it is likely that MAFS season 18 will not be as good as it needs to be. Moreover, the unofficial trailers that have been released highlight the toxicity of one of the cast members, which doesn’t bode well for the season’s success rate.

“I’m not everybody cup of tea but I’m somebody Hennessy and Coke and in four weeks there ain’t gonna be no marriage.”

For Married at First Sight to be successful and save the franchise from uncertainty, season 18 needs to be entertaining not only between the chemistry of the couples but also with the strength of the matches. Since there are no significant changes being made to make the process better and to help the couples, that doesn’t bode well for the couples and the season seems like it will be another letdown. Season 18’s release date has yet to be announced, but it will likely premiere in Fall 2024.