EXCLUSIVE: Woody And Amani From ‘Married At First Sight’ On Five Years Of Marriage And Raising Kids

Not many people would jump at the idea of getting married to a stranger, but the cast of Married at First Sight did.

The show, which aired in 2017, has garnered millions of fans and also connects some cast members with their forever partners. Woody Randall and Amani Aliyya are examples of a successful couple from the MAFS series. The picturesque pair appeared in season 11 and quickly became stars of the show. Many couples don’t finish, but the Randalls are still together and in love, and they recently marked their fifth anniversary.

So much has changed since season 11 of MAFS premiered in July 2020, including how their love has evolved.

“Our first year together, I felt like we were still kind of learning each other outside of cameras and especially with us being fresh in the COVID year,” Amani tells ESSENCE. She also adds that they needed different things five years ago, which is expected as people evolve and grow.

“Now I would say that we’ve evolved in being able to communicate our needs a little bit better before there’s any turmoil, if that’s the best word to use.”

Although their relationship has evolved and comes with its challenges, the couple both still enjoy being married and tell ESSENCE why matrimony is a commitment that’s worthwhile for them.

“I love the fact that I get to do all things with the person I actually enjoy being with each day,” Woody tells ESSENCE.

Amani shares the same sentiments adding: “Me too. I think that was the main reason why I wanted to be married–so that I could always have somebody to do the things that I like to do. And I think also building a family is like a bonus too, because now we get to see our kids enjoy new things as well.”

Speaking of kids, the Randalls have expanded their family over the past five years and are currently raising two young sons. Reign Randall was born in June 2022 and Rai Zahir Randall, became the baby of the family in November 2023.

Adding children to the mix, especially so close in proximity, has created a new dynamic for the couple. However, they’ve had to problem-solve their way through the ebbs and flows.

“Parenthood hit us fast and then took off running,” says Amani. “We’ve gone through the roommate phase where we’re kind of just existing and trying to get through the day. And that was hard because now we’re in a rebuilding phase to make sure that our spark is still there, which is kind of hard with two kids because we want to have date nights and we want to be able to have time to connect. But we have kids that are in a really demanding age right now,” she explained.

To keep the spark going, the couple prioritizes dates at home and pays for a village to ensure they can spend quality time with one another. They also focus on creating time to engage in activities they did prior to becoming parents to keep their connection waxing strong.

Five years is a significant milestone in the world of marriage, and the Randalls are proud of achieving it. The couple is looking ahead and has high hopes for what they want to achieve by the time they reach a decade of love.

Woody hopes to dive deeper into entrepreneurial pursuits as a couple once they reach the ten-year mark.

“Business-wise, we [would’ve] established ourselves a little bit better. That way we can not have the stress about certain small things and we have the means to do all the things that we want to do. But this next five is about building essentially the empire of Randall,” Woody tells ESSENCE.

Amani hopes to deepen her connection with Woody and build strong connections with other couples over the next half-decade.

“We’ve been craving, or at least I’ve been craving and articulating it to Woody, that I want to have more married friends,” Amani explains. “I think building our village with other married people so that we can have a sense of community with people that are living the same life that we are currently.”

It is forever impressive and brave that two people believe in love enough to throw caution to the wind, marry a stranger, and hope for the best. Amani and Woody’s bravery has paid off and they also say getting married at first sight gave them an advantage as a couple. Since they got married before getting to know one another, they had to trust the process, which has helped them build the strong bond they have now.

“In a relationship, you only date and you can just say, ‘yeah, this doesn’t work for me’, and walk out the door. You have to do a little bit more paperwork now. So it’s not a runaway at that point,” Woody says.

Amani chimed in, adding that their getting married at first sight helped put the purpose of marriage in perspective.

“I feel like because we were matched in this pure way, we are now able to see why marriage works for community and our world as a whole. We’re made to make things work. And that premise keeps you going throughout all of the challenges that life puts in front of you. That foundation that keeps you going for everything else too.”