Married At First Sight Season 18’s Madison Myers Interesting Admission Could Help Improve The Show In Its New Form (Should The Couples Stop Interacting?)
Married At First Sight season 18’s Madison Myers has been confusing throughout the season’s run, but her interesting admission about outside pressures could help the show improve in its new run on Peacock. As Married At First Sight season 18 winds down, there’s been a lot of criticism of the series to unpack for the next season, especially with the show making such a big move. Though it’s not clear when the series will be moving over to Peacock, it’s been announced that MAFS will be making a change to the streaming platform in the future, changing things up entirely.
While Married At First Sight has had a lackluster few seasons, there’s been a lot of buzz surrounding the show moving to a new platform, especially with how much viewers feel needs to be changed on the show. Married At First Sight season 18 saw one couple cross the Decision Day finish line and stay married while another formed in a controversial way. Prior to this season, only two couples from the last six seasons had chosen to stay together after the show’s end. With such low success rates, it’s likely production will be making some big changes moving forward.
Despite the support aspect of MAFS cast members being helpful, [couple interaction] may do more harm than good for the couples.
Madison Shared That Couple Interaction Caused Her More Stress
During the Married At First Sight season 18 reunion, Madison had to come face to face with her former spouse, Allen Slovick, for the first time on camera after their difficult time on the series. While Allen and Madison got married during MAFS season 18’s premiere, her relationship during the season wasn’t the one she continued after filming was over. During the season, Madison and David Trimble built a connection, despite the fact that they were both married to other MAFS season 18 cast members. The new couple left together while Allen and David’s ex Michelle Tomblin were left alone.
During Madison and Allen’s time with MAFS reunion host Kevin Frazier, Madison shared that she felt some of the issues in her marriage with Allen stemmed from outside pressures. While being on reality TV is a pressure of its own, she shared there was a lot of negativity that came from interacting with fellow cast members and comparing her relationship to other couples’ marriages. Madison explained that it was tougher for her to focus on her own marriage when she had other people’s relationships so closely aligned, and felt that it may have made a difference if they’d been isolated.
MAFS Used To Keep The Couples Isolated
In early seasons of Married At First Sight, the experiment had a lot of differences than what it looks like today. Couples on the early seasons of MAFS weren’t brought together to commiserate through their experiences and help each other grow the way they are now. Rather than having them share a honeymoon, live in the same apartment building, spend time together, and lean on each other, the Married At First Sight cast members were isolated from the rest of the cast. In later seasons, the series began bringing the cast together as a supportive element for the newlywed participants.
MAFS Uses Couple Interaction To Help Resolve Problems Instead Of The Experts
Married At First Sight’s couples utilize each other in ways that have had some adverse impacts on their relationships with their spouses, especially in recent seasons. While many MAFS participants have made deep and meaningful connections with their fellow brides and grooms, the cast members also seem to understand that it’s easier to rationalize their emotions when talking to someone going through the same thing. Madison shared during the Married At First Sight season 18 reunion that when the women met up, it would become a vortex of negativity with the women complaining about their husbands and relationships in general.
While the MAFS groups meeting up to talk through marital issues is often seen as helpful, there’s a lack of expertise and understanding that comes with the participants sharing with each other rather than the experts. Though the MAFS experts are available in moments throughout the season, they aren’t typically around enough to help with all of the pitfalls of the participants’ marriages. Utilizing each other instead of the experts, however, puts the cast members into difficult positions where they’re focused on each other’s marriages rather than their own. Creating difficult dynamics, cast member interaction can often backfire for MAFS.
Should MAFS Couples Stop Interacting With Each Other?
Although Married At First Sight has tried both ends of the spectrum, it’s possible that meeting somewhere in the middle is the best possible option. The MAFS season 18 cast members were together too frequently, as were cast members from previous seasons, which led to unnecessary drama and turmoil. While I think there’s a benefit to the cast members getting to know each other and having each other to lean on, giving them unlimited access to one another creates a completely unsustainable environment. The MAFS cast members need to have the experts more readily available to stay focused on themselves.
While Madison’s affair with David likely would’ve still found a way to formulate if the cast members had limited access to each other, the fact that things escalated so quickly came from the fact that they were able to meet up every day without fail. The cast members coming together definitely creates drama, which can be a beneficial element to the entertainment factor of Married At First Sight. Even so, knowing that there’s added pressure from cast member interaction, limiting the amount that the MAFS cast can speak to and see one another seems like the right thing to try.
