Is The Married At First Sight Franchise Thriving On Failures? (What Is The Show’s Trajectory After Season 18?)

The Married at First Sight franchise seems to be thriving off the failure of its marriages, so what does that mean for the show’s trajectory? Married at First Sight season 18 is in full swing, as the five couples have begun the living together portion of the experiment. Season 18’s couples include Michelle Tomblin and David Trimble, Karla Juarez and Juan Franco, Emem Obot and Ikechi Ojoré, Madison Myers and Allen Slovick, and Camille Parsons and Thomas. Some of the pairs have glimmers of promise in their new marriages, they mostly appear doomed to fail.

Michelle and David were attracted to each other at the altar initially, as they are both each other’s types physically. However, where it went downhill was when David divulged that he lived with his parents during their first conversation. Moreover, he announced that he was a smoker. Both revelations turned Michelle completely off, and she hasn’t been able to recover from the circumstances news despite David’s best efforts and explanations. Their perceived track towards failure may actually be working in the MAFS favor, as other season failures have done.

MAFS Success Rate Has Been Poor

Married at First Sight has 17 complete seasons after having premiered in 2014. In those more than 10 years, 64 couples (not including season 18) have been matched by the experts. Of those 64 couples, only 12 are still together, making the success rate a mere 18.75%. Many of the failed couples had obvious incompatibilities that were missed by the experts. Like with Clare Kerr and Cameron Fraser from MAFS season 17 in Denver. Devoutly religious Clare wanted to raise her children in the church, while Cameron wanted the opposite.

In MAFS season 14 in Boston, Noi Phommasak wanted a provider husband who was ready to have no less than three kids. In her husband, Steve Moy, she got a vagabond with no job, who was intimidated by her desire for three children. Both examples showcase that the experts did not match the participants well, and the obvious divergences are what led to the splits. While the experts may have thought compromise could solve the glaring red flags in compatibility, they absolutely didn’t.

What’s more, Married at First Sight production doesn’t always match participants that applied for the show on their own. They’ve found many cast members from dating sites and co-opted them into applying for the show whether they were emotionally available and ready for marriage or not. This speaks to the larger idea that the show doesn’t always put the interest of a positive success rate in mind first.

The MAFS Season 18 Couples Are Not Good Matches

In season 18, the same pitfalls with the matchmaking are present, and most of the couples do not seem well-matched. Madison, and her family, have stated that Allen is not Madison’s type, and Madison has been trying to get Allen to dress differently and exercise so that she can potentially find him more attractive. Ikechi seems to be on the show clout, as he has been pushing his book, music career, and creativity prowess from the beginning. His wife Emem genuinely wants to make a connection, but Ikechi likely won’t fulfil what Emem wants because he has an agenda for being on the show.

Michelle and David are the obvious frontrunning failure, as Michelle should never have been cast in the first place due to her rigidity and unwillingness to compromise. What’s more, David is not an ideal cast member candidate because he lives at home with his parents (albeit in his own basement unti.) None of the MAFS cast members with questionable living situations have ever worked out in the show’s history, so it’s unclear what the experts were thinking when they cast him.

Karla is far too whimsical and ungrounded to be a suitable partner in marriage. Her passive-aggressive tendencies were also something the experts should have detected. With Camille, she wanted a more urban black man, and she did not get that with Thomas.

None of the Married at First Sight season 18 couples seem well-matched between attraction, cultural backgrounds, hopes for the future, and motivations.

However, the couples heading for failure may be working in the franchise’s favor.

Is The MAFS Thriving From Failures?

Lifetime‘s Married at First Sight is more successful than ever. The show has high viewer engagement despite the number of failed couples it’s produced. While fans online have expressed their disdain for MAFS steering away from matching compatible couples who have a high chance at longevity, they are still watching every season. Having heightened drama due to pairing people who don’t fit smoothly together has proven to be a positive thing for the network.

MAFS fans want to be entertained, and with that said, the franchise seems to be stirring the pot with couples who deliver conflict as well as compromise.

And this concept is retaining viewership, so it’s not wholly a bad thing. The inflated drama keeps fans interested in the outcomes all season long, as engaged fans don’t want to give up on at least the potential for couples to say yes come decision day.

What Does The Future Of MAFS Look Like?

With Married at First Sight moving towards the idea of manufacturing drama with mismatched pairings and viewership being retained as a result, this model might be here to stay. The franchise seemingly wants viewers to connect with the turbulent dynamics existing in the marriages and within the group dynamics of the participants, which has made for tense situations and elevated circumstances that fans are continuing to engage with. Even with the poor success rate, Married at First Sight is here to stay.