I’ve Changed My Mind, Married At First Sight Season 18’s Editing Mistake Seems Intentional (Did Producers Shape The Couple Swap Narrative & Other Drama?)
Married At First Sight season 18’s major editing mistake may have been more intentional than I first thought, especially after seeing the culmination of the season’s events with the couple swap and the cheating scandal fully explained after months of speculation. Throughout Married At First Sight season 18, viewers were given the opportunity to get to know the cast as they moved through their expertly matched marriages. While some of the couples, like Camille Parsons and Thomas McDonald, made it through the experiment, others crashed and burned. With drama on screen, viewers let some editing concerns slip through the cracks.
The Married At First Sight season 18 cast was going to deliver on the drama throughout the season, but something felt different this time. From the beginning of the season, I felt there was a production element to the show that didn’t feel natural, like other seasons have in the past. Whether that was showing specific footage to suit a narrative, keeping a cast member’s behavior quiet in order to curry favor before a dramatic reveal, or deliberate changes to the sound mix to confuse viewers while watching the show, I noticed a lot of subtle shifts in production’s interference.
With the show having struggled for seasons, it’s possible the MAFS experts were looking for conversation-sparking chaos.
Editing Mistakes Seem Like Producer Interference
Throughout Married At First Sight season 18, there have been some moments where viewers weren’t entirely sure if what they were seeing was genuine footage, or mistakes on behalf of the editors. Late in the season, one editing mistake had MAFS fans convinced it was intentional, and I feel like it’s possible that the issue wasn’t an error. In a late episode of the season, there was a scene with several cast members where the music at the venue they were filming in was so loud that it was difficult to make out what exactly the cast members were saying.
While it’s possible that the editors couldn’t pick up on what the cast members were talking about, it’s highly unlikely that the microphones they were wearing didn’t pick up their sound in a higher quality way than what was shown on screen. Personally, I think the editors chose to intentionally turn up the way the music sounded in the episode’s final cut in order to make it tough to hear the conversation happening. Married At First Sight producers knew the reception of David Trimble & Madison Myers’ affair would be icy, so they wanted to mitigate the conversation surrounding it.
The Couples Swap Was Electrifying
Although Married At First Sight had drama throughout the season, nothing was more palpable or exciting than the cheating scandal, which was teased out from the beginning. While MAFS season 18’s cast was working through their marriages during the honeymoon trip they shared, David and Madison were building a connection that would eventually strengthen into a genuine, albeit scandalous, relationship. While I knew that David’s marriage to Michelle Tomblin wasn’t going to work from early on, Madison’s marriage to Allen Slovick was still viable early on. Seeing David & Madison’s connection, I’m more wary of the experts’ decisions than ever.
There’s Too Many Villains In The Mix
As the season wore on, it became abundantly clear that Married At First Sight season 18’s villain count was at an all-time high. Though there are usually villains on each season, the number of villains on MAFS season 18 was higher than it normally is, and potentially higher than it’s ever been before. Nearly each couple had at least one party that viewers considered to be villainous, and some had two. Throughout the season, the most villainous cast members emerged, but it was clear from the jump that this cast was built differently, and their reality TV villainy shined through.
While some would argue that Michelle was the biggest villain of the season, others would point to Madison or Ikechi Ojoré. Regardless of who the biggest Married At First Sight season 18 villain was, it’s obvious that the show had some issues in its casting process defining what they wanted in cast members, and how they were going to get them. Despite the fact that viewers were looking for Married At First Sight season 18 to deliver drama, seeing so many villains was off-putting and made the show feel inauthentic. MAFS needs to toe the line more carefully moving forward.
Will David Trimble & Madison Myers Stay Together?
As Married At First Sight season 18 wound down, it was clear that though Madison and David’s affair was tough to grapple with from a viewer perspective, their relationship was real and had continued after the cameras left Chicago. Madison and David appeared on the reunion episodes sharing that they were still together a year later, and it left me wondering if their connection was built to last. While they’ve been dating for over a year now, I’m still curious about what will happen with the couple, despite knowing that they’ve struggled to take accountability for their actions on screen.
I watch Married At First Sight for two things – the drama, and the relationships. While I’m usually all for the drama ahead of the relationships, there’s something nice about seeing a couple connect and knowing that they’re happy together, especially when checking in after months away. Knowing that David and Madison found each other in the mess of Married At First Sight season 18 kind of warms my heart in a way, so I hope they make it through the drama following them. While I don’t know what the future holds, I’d still count them as a MAFS success.
