Married At First Sight Season 18: It’s Time To Recast The Experts Amid Cheating Scandal, Couples Swap Outcomes & Ikechi & Michelle’s Villain Antics

Married At First Sight season 18 has been a roller coaster, and with a shocking cheating scandal between the couples (and only one of the five couples choosing to remain married on Decision Day), it’s clear that the show’s so-called experts should be changed. Married At First Sight prides itself on relying on science and experts to choose compatible matches for the show’s participants. Unlike traditional arranged marriages, wherein families decide on acceptable partners, Married At First Sight claims that its scientific approach will lead to stronger matches.

After all the drama on Married At First Sight season 18, including Married At First Sight’s David Trimble and Madison Myers’ shocking connection made outside their MAFS marriages to Married At First Sight’s Michelle Tomblin and Allen Slovick, only Camille Parsons and Thomas McDonald chose to remain married on Decision Day. That’s one couple out of the five the experts initially matched. The season 18 experts, Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Dr. Pia Holec, and Pastor Cal Roberson, are not new to the show, but their disastrous results this season mean that production needs to retool the expert team.

The Cheating Scandal Showed The Flaws In The Experts’ Reasoning

Following the revelation that David and Madison had been having an emotional affair outside their marriages, the expert panel was shocked, as this was a first in the show’s history. They responded the right way, by supporting Michelle and Allen, and admonishing David and Madison. However, it was too late for anyone to talk sense into David and Madison. The damage had been done, and it was clear that the experts had been dead wrong in their assessments.

The show’s entire premise is shaky at best, as matching people based on certain qualities and characteristics undermines the fact that human beings are complex and can’t be matched based on preferences. There are so many factors that go into finding a good partner, and just because someone says on paper that they prefer a certain physical quality, or like certain personality traits, doesn’t mean their matches will be successful.

Over 18 MAFS seasons, less than 20% of the couples have remained together. This is a terrible statistic for a show that has attempted to match more than 60 couples. It calls into question whether the show’s premise is realistic, and whether the experts actually know what they’re doing.

The Married At First Sight Season 18 Couples Swap Led To Better Matches

Putting aside the ethics of having an affair, David and Madison actually seem to have a connection. Again, it’s never the right move to cheat, and it shows that David and Madison weren’t fully committed to their initial matches. However, their random connection is surprising in that it seems to be stronger than the “expert” match. This highlights the fact that the experts may not know what they’re doing when matching couples.

David and Madison have plenty of common ground. They both struggle with accepting accountability for their actions. They both offered hollow apologies to their spouses when meeting with the experts before Decision Day, relying on the trope of not “intending” to hurt anyone with their actions. Additionally, both show low emotional intelligence when it comes to relationships. It seems like these two might be a match made in heaven. Perhaps the experts shouldn’t have matched them in the first place.

There Are Way Too Many MAFS Season 18 Villains