(Image courtesy of FYI network)
When I first heard of “Married at First Sight,” a reality TV show on A&E, I lost a little more faith in humanity I’ll admit. How can people take marriage so lightly that they’d go into it blind? Literally sight unseen. They meet each other for the very first time at the altar. About 10 minutes after even laying eyes on each, they say those two words that solidify a marriage for a lifetime: I Do.
I spent my entire Saturday watching the first season of this show. How can you not get hooked on something so outrageous as this? I thought there was no way that any of the couples would last beyond the so-called experiment — a 5-week time period in which the couples legally get married, have a wedding, go on a honeymoon, move in together and figure things out like finances and whether or not they want children. And don’t forget, they have to get to know each other too because well, they’ve NEVER met before.
Let me back up real quick for those who have never seen the show before. From the show’s website: “Married at First Sight” is an extreme social experiment that follows six brave singles yearning for a life-long partnership as they agree to a provocative proposal: getting legally married to a complete stranger the moment they first meet. Four specialists – sexologist, Dr. Logan Levkoff; psychologist, Dr. Joseph Cilona; sociologist, Dr. Pepper Schwartz; and spiritual advisor, Greg Epstein – create what they believe are three perfect couples, based on scientific matchmaking.
So now you see how I became intrigued. Most would agree that it seems fast to get married after dating less than a year, but less than a day — that’s shocking!
I kept watching because I wanted to know, could this social experiment really work? Sure, the topic alone is enough to make anyone tune into a TV show, but this is real people’s lives we’re talking about. Is this a case of people taking marriage too lightly or do these matchmakers really know how to pair people to make a marriage work sight unseen?
The first season was full of ups and downs in the relationship drama department and it all came down to week 5 when the four matchmakers asked each couple if they would stay married or get divorced.
2/3. That is how it worked out. Two out of the three couples decided to stay married. And the kicker, those two couples are still married a year later. If you’re playing odds, it looks like success. The matchmakers put together two couples who could start a life together without any prior knowledge of each other.
What does this mean? The experts think that because it’s a legal marriage and the only way out is divorce that the participants are much more committed to working out problems rather than running away from them and they also may be more forgiving of their partner’s faults.
What do you think? Do you think the show mocks marriage? Or does it suggest that perhaps people seeking love go after what they want rather than what they need? Head over to our Facebook group to weigh in.
"Married at First Sight" the second season is on again tonight.
XO, Kristen