During every season of Married At First Sight (MAFS), it gets to a point where we all start to wonder: how on earth were these contestants matched in the first place? In previous seasons, the disagreements between the couples have been so explosive that fans of the show have hypothesised that some couples were mismatched on purpose for our drama-loving pleasure. So, we put on our tin foil hat and went right to the source to find out whether there was any truth in the mismatched couple conspiracy.
According to Endemol Shine executive producer Alexandra Spurway, mismatching couples is just “lazy”.
“We don’t do it. It’s lazy, it’s unoriginal, it’s boring. If we really needed to mismatch a couple to get drama on this show, it would be a very different show,” Alexandra tells PEDESTRIAN.TV.
“We have to be matching for compatibility. This experiment is not a success if we don’t have anyone at the end. So we need success stories. We want success stories.”
Despite some previous matches going up in flames in the past, Alexandra says that the drama is only one half of the equation to a fan-favourite show.
“Yes, you’ve got the drama and everything that comes with it. We need the love. We want the love and to mismatch couples on purpose is lazy and not something we’d do,” she continues.
“We’re better than that, but also, the participants are better than that. They expect more than that. We expect more than that. The experts are matching people based on compatibility, but it’s up to the contestants to figure out whether or not it’s going to work.”
Alexandra pointed to one of the couples from MAFS 2025 as an example.
“On face value, they seem extremely compatible and given exactly what they asked for and wanted in a relationship. But whether or not that actually works in practice is what we end up finding out in the show,” Alexandra says.
“What you have to remember is that these are two people being brought together who are, historically, very good at relationships,” adds fellow executive producer John Walsh.
“That’s why they’re on the show. What people might see as a mismatch is just that they don’t have the skill set to make relationships work and that’s why they’re here.”
For expert John Aiken, the idea of the show mismatching couples is kind of insulting.
“If you mismatch couples, then you really take away the credibility of the experts,” he says.
“The show’s basic premise is ‘Can two strangers matched by experts, fall in love?’ So our fingerprints are over all of these matches, and we are very hopeful that all of them get over the line.
“There are all sorts of reasons that come into it, but when we sit down and match where we’re very confident about our matches and we’re hopeful that they all can get the fairy tale which is falling.”
So, next time you see the explosive downfall of a MAFS couple, rest easy in the knowledge that there is a producer somewhere on set recognising the moment as bittersweet. After all, the drama is juicy but it’s the Cam and Jules-esque love story they’re really after. Allegedly.
Married At First Sight kicks off Monday, January 27, 2025 on Channel 9 and 9Now.
The post Do MAFS Experts Intentionally Mismatch Couples For The Drama? We Asked The Producers appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
