This article contains spoilers for Married At First Sight season 17.
Married At First Sight season 17’s Chloe Brown and Michael Shiakallis have been one of the most talked about couples in MAFS history, but what happened to them on Decision Day? Michael joined the series and was originally matched with a different woman, but when she left him at the altar, the experts felt they could still give him the Married At First Sight season 17 experience he’d been hoping for. Michael felt that he was ready for the experience of a lifetime and put his faith in the experts, hoping the second time around would work out for him.
With his second match, Michael’s priorities in what he was looking for in a marriage had changed a bit, which made one of his potential matches more suited for him. Chloe, who the experts had put in the running to be one of Michael’s matches at first, was chosen for Michael’s second wedding. While Chloe was an empathetic, sweet person who runs a non-profit, her qualities matched up well with Michael’s quirks. Happy to be finding one another, the couple embarked on a truncated version of Married At First Sight season 17, hoping they’d be able to stay together long-term.
In the earliest moments of Married At Frist Sight season 17, Michael was excited to get married in the whirlwind experiment that could introduce him to the love of his life. Though the success rate on Married At First Sight hasn’t been exceptionalthere have been couples who have found love. Michael was hopeful that he would be one of the success stories, but his bubble was quickly burst when his bride left him at the altar. She explained that it had nothing to do with him, but the experiment was too overwhelming. Michael took it well, but was clearly hurt.
Throughout Michael’s journey on Married At Frist Sight season 17, there have been some serious ups and downs, but marrying Chloe was a high for him. The pair were matched up over halfway through the traditional run of the experiment, and though they weren’t sure about anything going into their wedding, they knew they had an instant connection. Michael and Chloe had similar priorities going into their marriage, both valuing honest and open communication. They explained they wanted to be brutally honest with each other, and promised not to decide about staying in their relationship until Decision Day came around.
While the majority of Michael and Chloe’s marriage was spent getting along, there appeared to be some issues crop up as Decision Day drew closer. Though both felt a clear attraction to one another, the couple began to disagree about what their life would look like after Decision Day. Chloe, though she understood that the couple had five pets between them, wanted to move in with Michael as quickly as possible. Michael understood that it was likely going to be difficult for them to find something in their price range, but the disagreement with Chloe had him rethinking their relationship.
On Decision Day, Chloe surprised herself in the moment by sharing she wanted to stay married to Michael. She explained that in the days leading up to Decision Day and throughout the day itself, she’d been certain that she was going to choose to divorce Michael. She’d promised him and herself, however, that she wasn’t going to make any sort of formal decision until she was sitting beside him on Decision Day. Chloe explained that she was glad she didn’t make any final choices before hearing Michael speak to her and the experts, because it had colored her thought process.
Chloe explained that she wanted to stay married to Michael and figure out what their next steps were together. Tearfully, she explained that though they had problems in their marriage, she wanted to figure them out as a couple. While she wasn’t sure what Michael was going to say, she explained that if he wanted to continue their marriage, she was going to stand by him and be there for him. She would respect his decision either way, but she was happy to be choosing to continue in the relationship they’d built if they both wanted to move forward.
While Chloe had chosen to stay married, Michael struggled through his speech to his bride because he was emotional about his decision. Similarly to Chloe, Michael shared that he hadn’t made his final decision until hearing her out on Decision Day. He shared that he’d enjoyed getting to know her and living in their relationship, but he wasn’t sure that it was the right fit for them at this point in their lives. Michael explained that in his mind, though they were already in a committed relationship, he was treating their final decision as a commitment to strengthening their marriage.
Michael chose to divorce Chloe on Decision Day, explaining that he wasn’t in a headspace where he could fully commit to their marriage. Though he cared for Chloe and even felt love for her, he explained that he just hadn’t reached a point where he was able to make a genuine commitment to her that was strong enough, in his mind, to be considered marriage. While Michael had developed some serious feelings for Chloe, he felt that in the long run, it made more sense for him to leave their marriage and potentially pursue something with her in the future.
Although Chloe chose to stay married to Michael, his decision for them to divorce ended their relationship. The couple were able to talk to each other about the issues they’d faced, sharing they both had a huge amount of respect for each other. Chloe shared that she didn’t harbor any ill-will toward Michael, and hoped that he would be in her life forever, even if it wasn’t in a romantic capacity. Though the Married At First Sight season 17 couple didn’t work out, they had some healthy communication surrounding their marriage’s end and could revisit a relationship in the future.