Married At First Sightseason 18’s Madison Myers has been confusing throughout the season’s run, buther interesting admission about outside pressures could help the show improvein its new run on Peacock. AsMarried At First Sightseason 18winds 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 thatMAFSwill be making a change to the streaming platform in the future, changing things up entirely.
WhileMarried At First Sighthas 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 Sightseason 18 sawone couple cross the Decision Day finish lineand 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 theMarried At First Sightseason 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 duringMAFSseason 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 otherMAFSseason 18 cast members. The new couple left together while Allen and David’s ex Michelle Tomblin were left alone.
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During Madison and Allen’s timewithMAFSreunion 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
They Couldn’t Interact & Form Bonds
In early seasons ofMarried At First Sight,the experiment had a lot of differences than what it looks like today.Couples on the early seasons ofMAFSweren’t brought together to commiseratethrough 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,theMarried At First Sightcast memberswere 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.
While it’s great at times to see theMAFScast members coming together to talk about what’s going on in their marriages and help each other through issues,the older seasons where couples are isolated are often more intriguing. Left with their own thoughts and their normal social groups,Married At First Sightcast members had to have a bit more mental fortitude to work through their problems. Despite the support aspect ofMAFScast members being helpful, it may do more harm than good for the couples. With Madison’s criticism, looking back onMAFSin the past is interesting.
The Spouses Create Negative Echo Chambers
Married At First Sight’scouples utilize each otherin ways that have had some adverse impacts on their relationships with their spouses, especially in recent seasons. While manyMAFSparticipants 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 theMarried At First Sightseason 18 reunion thatwhen the women met up, it would become a vortex of negativitywith the women complaining about their husbands and relationships in general.
While theMAFSgroups 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. ThoughtheMAFSexperts are available in momentsthroughout 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 forMAFS.
Should MAFS Couples Stop Interacting With Each Other?
It Could Be A Helpful Change
AlthoughMarried At First Sighthas tried both endsof the spectrum, it’s possible that meeting somewhere in the middle is the best possible option. TheMAFSseason 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.TheMAFScast members need to have the experts more readily availableto stay focused on themselves.
While Madison’s affair with Davidlikely 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 ofMarried At First Sight.Even so, knowing that there’s added pressure from cast member interaction,limiting the amount that theMAFScast can speak to and see one another seems like the right thing to try.
Married At First Sightairs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EDT on Lifetime.
