© Photo by Álvaro CvG on Unsplash
If you're anything like us, you'll have been glued to this year's Married at First Sight (MAFS) UK. It's been two months of drama, love and cringeworthy moments, and it's safe to stay that we (like the whole nation) have been hooked.
In 2021, the Married at First Sight format changed, and they introduced dinner parties, commitment ceremonies and themed weeks, following the Australian model of the show.
This year, not as much changed, although we noticed some crucial differences and trends that stayed the same.
Read on for our full analysis!
There was more diversity - which we loved to see!
Married at First Sight Australia has come under fire quite a lot because of its lack of diversity in the couples that it selects.Despite there being a huge diversity in the heritage of Australians, most of the cast members are white, able bodied and cis-gendered. They did have one lesbian couple in series seven, but considering that they are going into their tenth series, that is hardly diversity!
When the new UK series launched last year, they had a slightly more diverse cast including one gay couple, Matt and Dan (who are still together!). This year, the cast was notably more inclusive, with two gay couples and people from different racial backgrounds.
Plus, many of the cast members have different body shapes and sizes, in a stark contrast to Love Island, which has been criticised for only having contestants who have a certain body type.
In a modern, accepting society, it's great to see more diversity and inclusion, whether that be due to sexuality, race or body shape!
But there was too much toxic masculinity
While this season of MAFS UK did well in terms of diversity, it dropped down a lot when it came to toxic masculinity.Not only has George been arrested since being on the show, but Johnathon criticised his wife Sophie's attempts in the gym (telling her not to grow her leg muscles, because he doesn't find that attractive - and telling her he'd leave her if she put on weight!) and Matt not only cheated on his wife Gemma, but spoke to most of the women there with a condescending, threatening tone.
But it's not all doom and gloom – Adrian, half of the male gay couple, proved that not all men are misogynistic, and demonstrated real compassion and kindness throughout the show. Although he and his husband Thomas didn't go the mile and commit to each other, they are still friends, and Adrian won the hearts of virtually the whole British public during his time on MAFS.
Last year, there seemed to be a lot more nice, unproblematic men, and there have been calls to ensure that the male cast of next year's MAFS isn't anywhere near as toxic as this bunch.
There was still some questioning about the integrity of some participants
It wouldn't be a reality TV show without a few fame-hungry wannabees on it!Just like last year, there was quite a lot of questioning about whether some people are actually trying to find love, or instead are looking for fame.
April from this year's show has been on Channel 5's The Bachelor, and she also has the title of Miss Great Britain. And Richie, one of the older participants, was on a show of Take Me Out!
This also happened last year, with some participants looking very familiar – for example, Marilyse was on an episode of The Only Way is Essex!
Some participants from last year were accused of scheming and playing tricks too. Amy from last year is a famous ex-glamour model and sports journalist. She's also been in the press for being banned from betting because she claims she's "too good" at it (largely thanks to being a journalist).
This is an uncommon practice but does happen in both the betting industry and in top UK online casinos, especially if the casinos suspect that the player is engaged in unlawful practices to win. Some fans think that this shows a scheming side to her personality which caused her to enter the show for fame rather than a quest to find love!
We think that there were definitely some couples on there who were looking for love (mainly Zoe and Jenna), but others were surely seeking fame and the hundreds of thousands of Instagram followers that tend to come with the territory!
The show seemed a little longer
As last year was the first series for the new format of MAFS UK, the editors kept it quite short. Usually, they'd have one episode detailing what the couples did each week, then a dinner party, then a commitment ceremony.This year, the weeks were a little longer, with two episodes detailing what the couples got up to during the week. This was a much better way to have the show (and is more similar to the Australian version) because it enabled the viewers to actually see how each couple was during their relationship.
The cheating saga went the whole way
Cheating scandals are nothing new to Married at First Sight; there have been cheating situations in many of the latter Australian series. Last year, there was a "kissing incident" between Megan (who was married to Bob) and Jordan (who was married to Alexis).This incident only went as far as a kiss, with both parties seeming ashamed of themselves by the next day and not resuming a relationship or even a friendship. Megan and Bob didn't stay together, but they parted as good friends.
This year, on the other hand, latecomer Matt quickly caught the eye of Whitney, who was married to Duka at the time. The experts actually let them stay on as a couple after they both officially left the experiment – much to the disdain of many of the others. The only time this has been permitted in Married at First Sight Australia was in series 6, when Jess and Dan became a couple after leaving their previous partners, Mick and Tamara.
So, as you can see, quite a bit has changed during this series of MAFS, but the show's general format still stayed the same. Paul Brunson, the main expert, has promised better matching for 2023... we'll hold him to that, and wait 11 months to see what happens!
