Signs Married At First Sight Season 18’s “Scandals” Are A Publicity Stunt (Will They Help Or Hurt The Season?)
Married at First Sight season 18 is set to have several “scandals” rock the show, and there are signs they may be publicity stunts and could affect the season’s perception. Married at First Sight season 18 premiered in early October 2024, and currently has three episodes out. Fans were introduced to the cast of five couples: Karla J and Juan, David Trimble and Michelle Tomblin, Allen Slovick and Madison Myers, Emem Obot and Ikechi Ojoré, and Camille and Thomas. Unlike MAFS season 17, which saw the franchise’s first-ever runaway bride, all the couples said I do on their wedding days.
MAFS season 18 fans have been privy to the “Matchmaking Special” and “Kickoff Special” episodes, where they’ve gotten more insight into the backgrounds and motivations of the cast. In the “Matchmaking Special,” viewers learned about the process in which the experts, Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Pastor Cal Roberson, and Dr. Pia Holec, select the participants and match them together. Moreover, the “Kickoff Special” had a panel of reality TV experts, who shared their opinions on the matches’ potential success. However the opinions and processes lie, there will be two scandals in season 18, but they may not be that serious.
MAFS Season 18 Will Have A Cheating Scandal
In the first news dropped by Married at First Sight production about season 18, a cheating scandal was denoted. At this point, there has only been speculation about who is involved in the issue. In one of the season’s trailers, Dr. Pia relays, “Infidelity between two couples is unprecedented,” (via @mafsfan.) This speaks to the idea that two people from within the show will cheat on their spouses with each other. At this point, it’s also murky how far the parties involved go with each other.
Reality TV trailers are known to promote a highly edited and dramatic version of the events that take place. It’s possible that the cheating situation may not be as extreme as it’s being made out to be. With season 17 being such a failure in terms of failed couples, cast animosity, and production interference, season 18 has a lot to follow up, and the cheating scandal may be a publicity stunt to garner more interest in drama.
MAFS Season 18 Will Have A Couples Swap
When word of Married at First Sight season 18 first broke, @mafslifetime, MAFS‘ official Instagram page, stirred the pot with their post. They showed a montage video of pictures of the different couples, and incited speculation with the post’s caption.
“Introducing the couples of #MarriedAtFirstSight Season 18…or are they?”
The post strongly suggested that the couples who were paired together are not the ones that will finish the experience together. The cheating scandal is also likely tied to the couples swap scandal. However, the idea of the couples swap may be over-inflated to cause even more drama and heighten conjecture and interest in the season.
The MAFS Season 18 “Scandals” Are Meant To Engage Viewers
In the promo introduction to MAFS season 18, production also coined the cast as “mature,” which goes against the negative twists and turns that are underscored by the two scandals. That goes to show that production will say anything wild or unusual about the season to drum up engagement. Oftentimes in Married at First Sight history, the highly edited drama depicted in trailers and posts online ends up not being as spicy as what actually goes down.
Like in season 17, the runaway bride situation, while enticing, fell flat, as viewers never learned of the runaway bride’s identity or decision-making about not following through with the marriage, even though viewers were led to believe they would know more. The cheating and couples swap scandals could merely be publicity stunts.
Or they could speak to hairy situations that will arise in season 18 but won’t be indicative of an actual couples swap or physical cheating among the participants.
However, the proposition of the scandals and the way they’ve been focused on has served its purpose to engage MAFS fans, even if it is all a publicity stunt. The Married at First Sight franchise has been dwindling after years of lackluster seasons with low entertainment value. The franchise could be grasping at straws and over-dramatizing them to increase interest in the new season.
The MAFS Drama Will Hurt The Season & Show
The core premise of Married at First Sight is for the “experts” to choose participants who are emotionally intelligent and available, and people who possess the strong desire to find their forever person. The other part of it, is the experts matching people together who are compatible in terms of their value systems, life goals, cultural background, appearance preferences, and non-negotiables. But the show has strayed far away from providing this to the MAFS audience and the cast members, as evidenced by the sheer amount of failed couples.
That said, the two scandals that will allegedly rock season 18 are not what viewers are looking for out of this season. The Married at First Sight franchise seems to be headed in a new direction geared more towards manufactured drama, which means that the propulsion of the scandals could be part of that, and therefore, a publicity stunt. With so much season left, as the couples have only just got married and not even been on their honeymoons, speculation about the intention and truth behind the scandals is not clear.
Viewer perception and the season’s perceived success rests on how the scandals will play out.
What is clear is that Married at First Sight season 18 is engaging viewers, but not with the drama that they have been petitioning to see. Other, more successful seasons of the show have featured quality cast members on marriage journeys that have been entertaining without all the cast animosity and serious pitfalls like the scandals. Time will tell this season whether the heightened scandals will be indicative of publicity stunts or whether the season will actually go haywire.
