To understand my perspective, I started watching this show on Season 9, which I saw on Netflix. I was recommended this show by a friend. I am a man, married to a woman - just mentioning that for context.
When I watched this for the first time, I didn't look into reviews or the success rates of the couples, I simply started watching. What caught my eye right off the bat was that for a reality TV show, this is the one that is taking the most risks, and that is what intrigued me the most. The concept is that you have 3 experts on relationships and intimacy, working with a pool of about 40 men and 40 women and trying to find the best matches. They settle on 4 couples and they give them 2 months to determine if they would like to stick it out or get a divorce.
The risks? The experts are with them the whole time, monitoring their marriage, offering advice, and guiding these new couples (many of them that have struggled in past relationships) to make it work. The put it on themselves to make it work. For the couples themselves, their placed in a very vulnerable position and are followed in all aspects of life from marriage to honeymoon to normal life. You see everything, basically, and it can get emotional. They have a stake in the game to make it work as well. If it fails, you'll probably know why.
The show does SO many things right, especially compared to other love shows that I've watched (The Bachelor/Bachelorette are the main ones that come to mind). Most other love shows I've seen take a couple through the honey moon and fantasy stages of a relationship, but everything ends there. You don't see anything else, and everything is shallow. I typically watch these kinds of shows because they make me think of how I'm treating my own wife, and, while these shallower shows do give me pause and make me think, it's nothing very deep. Entertaining, though? Yes - the cat fights in the Bachelor mansion are pretty enjoyable.
Then comes along "Married at First Sight." At least in Season 9, I could tell that each couple was fairly serious about wanting a marriage and relationship - especially the women. As I watched, yes, the first few episodes go through the honeymoon phase of their relationship, but the show is so much more about how they get through life after the fact.
They STRUGGLE and the show isn't afraid of showing it, and the contestants talk about it - awkwardly at times, but they DO talk about it. These people are shown in their most vulnerable and emotional moments and what catches my attention is the TOPICS they are discussing. They are struggling with feelings of abandonment, sense of pride, breaking down barriers, virginity, understanding another human being, and being a good partner. And the role of the experts throughout all of this? They offer counseling to the couples - REAL counseling - not the shallow counseling you'd see in a host like Chris Harrison. There are serious problems/fighting/anxiousness that the love experts get to the bottom of like it was a couple's therapy session. They are unapologetic in their approach, which I appreciate. I don't want the show to be rose-colored all the time. This is as real as I've ever seen it get.
I thoroughly enjoy it because it makes me think how I am treating my wife - am I someone that is showing her the love and attention she needs? How do I compare to the men on the show in how they are treating the wives they just met? I wouldn't enjoy it if I didn't feel I was learning something from it and gaining an internal perspective from it. No, this show is not the Bible for marriage - but it is entertaining, and it makes me think deeper than I normally would, which I really appreciate. The genuineness of everyone involved in the show keeps me watching.
Regarding the success rate of the show? I hear that it's not good. There are success stories, though. That's not why I'm watching, though. The effort these couples and experts are putting into this is genuine. This is very real, and that is what I appreciate. I'm not watching a fantasy.
When I watched this for the first time, I didn't look into reviews or the success rates of the couples, I simply started watching. What caught my eye right off the bat was that for a reality TV show, this is the one that is taking the most risks, and that is what intrigued me the most. The concept is that you have 3 experts on relationships and intimacy, working with a pool of about 40 men and 40 women and trying to find the best matches. They settle on 4 couples and they give them 2 months to determine if they would like to stick it out or get a divorce.
The risks? The experts are with them the whole time, monitoring their marriage, offering advice, and guiding these new couples (many of them that have struggled in past relationships) to make it work. The put it on themselves to make it work. For the couples themselves, their placed in a very vulnerable position and are followed in all aspects of life from marriage to honeymoon to normal life. You see everything, basically, and it can get emotional. They have a stake in the game to make it work as well. If it fails, you'll probably know why.
The show does SO many things right, especially compared to other love shows that I've watched (The Bachelor/Bachelorette are the main ones that come to mind). Most other love shows I've seen take a couple through the honey moon and fantasy stages of a relationship, but everything ends there. You don't see anything else, and everything is shallow. I typically watch these kinds of shows because they make me think of how I'm treating my own wife, and, while these shallower shows do give me pause and make me think, it's nothing very deep. Entertaining, though? Yes - the cat fights in the Bachelor mansion are pretty enjoyable.
Then comes along "Married at First Sight." At least in Season 9, I could tell that each couple was fairly serious about wanting a marriage and relationship - especially the women. As I watched, yes, the first few episodes go through the honeymoon phase of their relationship, but the show is so much more about how they get through life after the fact.
They STRUGGLE and the show isn't afraid of showing it, and the contestants talk about it - awkwardly at times, but they DO talk about it. These people are shown in their most vulnerable and emotional moments and what catches my attention is the TOPICS they are discussing. They are struggling with feelings of abandonment, sense of pride, breaking down barriers, virginity, understanding another human being, and being a good partner. And the role of the experts throughout all of this? They offer counseling to the couples - REAL counseling - not the shallow counseling you'd see in a host like Chris Harrison. There are serious problems/fighting/anxiousness that the love experts get to the bottom of like it was a couple's therapy session. They are unapologetic in their approach, which I appreciate. I don't want the show to be rose-colored all the time. This is as real as I've ever seen it get.
I thoroughly enjoy it because it makes me think how I am treating my wife - am I someone that is showing her the love and attention she needs? How do I compare to the men on the show in how they are treating the wives they just met? I wouldn't enjoy it if I didn't feel I was learning something from it and gaining an internal perspective from it. No, this show is not the Bible for marriage - but it is entertaining, and it makes me think deeper than I normally would, which I really appreciate. The genuineness of everyone involved in the show keeps me watching.
Regarding the success rate of the show? I hear that it's not good. There are success stories, though. That's not why I'm watching, though. The effort these couples and experts are putting into this is genuine. This is very real, and that is what I appreciate. I'm not watching a fantasy.