The Married At First Sight Season 18 Cast Will Be Just As Messy As Season 17’s (What Are The Similarities?)
Married at First Sight season 17 had the messiest cast in the show’s history, and the season 18 cast is shaping up to be just as messy with all the similarities. Married at First Sight season 17 began in October 2023, and ended in late April 2024, making the season six months long, the longest in franchise history. The premiere date for Married at First Sight season 18 has been announced as October 15th, 2024, which means fans have had to wait six months in between seasons. Some info has been released about what fans can expect out of season 18.
Namely, that the Married at First Sight “experts” will remain the same. Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Pastor Cal Roberson, and Dr. Pia Holec will return as the panel of “experts” who are meant to match the Chicago hopefuls and guide them through the trials and tribulations of their new marriages. However, not only do the experts have a terrible matchmaking success rate, but they’ve also let many couples down with their therapy. This factor, as well as several glaring others, are poised to make MAFS season 18 just as tangled and acrimonious as disastrous season 17.
MAFS Season 17 Had Several Red Flags
There were a lot of problems in Married at First Sight season 17 and its reception. The season started off with the franchise’s first runaway bride situation, which threw the season’s schedule into flux and was a huge initial strike against the credibility of the season. The runaway bride victim, Michael Shiakallis, was rematched and married Chloe Brown, and they began their eight-week-long journey while the other couples were already halfway through theirs. When Chloe and Michael married, both Lauren Goodger and Orion Martzloff had broken up, as had Clare Kerr and Cameron Frazer.
This delay for Michael and Chloe caused fans to have to sit through filler episodes involving the four other couples, all of whom broke up before, on, or the day after Decision Day, meeting up individually or as a group. The other underlying problem in the season, which was a big contributor to the original four couples breaking up, was that an attempted group dupe took place. The four initial couples conspired together to present themselves on camera positively so as to get a good edit. This led the partners to silence each other and not be authentic and genuine while on camera.
The LifetimeMAFS season 17 couples got away with the group dupe while it was going on, but after Decision Day, the truth came out, and it was clear there was immense animosity between the wives and grooms of the season, both among those matched and among the cast individually. The dupe got past the experts, which spoke to their aloofness and lack of awareness. Moreover, the season 17 cast had the most contention between each other than any other MAFS season ever.
Married at First Sight season 17 not only had a negative zero success rate, but also was not an entertaining season to watch. The group dupe made the season lose credibility, and watching the women of the season hate the men of the season during and long after the season aired was not fun. What’s more, the original four brides allegedly colluded together to make a mean burner account bashing Chloe after Chloe stopped Lauren from trying to get at Michael.
MAFS Season 18 Has Scandals
The leaked trailer released by fan account @mafsfan, depicts that Married at First Sight season 18 won’t be without its own set of glaring red flags and issues throughout the season. Namely, there will be a cheating scandal that will rock the foundation of the show. This will be followed by the show’s first-ever couples swap, which speaks to the experts’ poor matching skills.
The show is knocking out at a lot of firsts in season 17 and 18, and that is not a good thing because it’s not what fans want to see, and it’s not positive for the premise of the show. Given the poor reception of MAFS season 17 due to the chaotic situations and ill-matched couples, season 18 is looking like it will be no different.
Season 18 needed to have steered away from scandal and focused more on positivity and solid and entertaining couples instead of the bevy of drama that is coming.
Will The MAFS Season 18 Cast Have Contention Like Season 17’s?
Based on the trailer for MAFS season 18, cast contention will be at a high once again. Due to the cheating scandal and couple swap, it would be hard for the cast not to resent each other or have negative feelings about what will transpire. The season 18 cast also seems like an outspoken bunch, based on what is known about them, and the potential for them to not hold back on their thoughts on the scandals and their aftermath is high.
MAFS Season 17’s Poor Legacy Will Damage Season 18
Given the poor reception of season 17, Married at First Sight season 18 should not have had serious drama that is damaging the show’s authenticity, and that’s not going to happen.
Based on what’s already known about season 18, the cast will not be as committed as they said they were, and there will likely be contention among them. The poor legacy of season 17 gave season 18 a lot of baggage to carry.
Married at First Sight viewers have high expectations regarding the entertainment value of season 18 because they are disappointed with how season 17 went down. Unfortunately, season 18 most likely won’t be able to shake the marred perception of the show given by season 17. Season 18 will no doubt be shocking, but fans have wanted to see quality cast members and matches that could lead to true love, not cheating and a couples swap.
