Married At First Sight has been full of drama throughout its run, but some cast members on the series have been more disliked than others, and the most disliked cast members can sometimes be the most popular. Throughout the run of Married At First Sight, the goal of the experts has been to ensure that the couples they match up have the tools to succeed in their marriages. For years, Dr. Pepper Schwartz and the other experts on the MAFS team have been working to match strong couples who can handle getting married first, and building a connection second.
After its debut in 2014, Married At First Sight quickly became one of the more popular reality TV dating series. As the first of its kind, MAFS pushed the envelope of reality TV love and dating, asking its participants to put trust in the hands of a group of expert matchmakers. The MAFS cast members would meet their new spouse as they walked down the aisle to be married, and spend the next several weeks in a trial marriage as they decided whether they were a good fit who wanted to continue their relationship.
Seeing Married At First Sight cast members move through their relationships has always been an interesting feat. For some MAFS cast members, the cameras are an afterthought as they work through their relationship issues with their partners and try to become the best versions of themselves. For others, it becomes clear quickly that the cameras are hindering their experience entirely. While some MAFS participants are able to work within the confines of being filmed, others can’t be their authentic selves on camera.
One of the issues that the MAFS cast members have realized they face is the fact that the show is an edited version of what happens in their actual lives. For some cast members, this isn’t an issue, as they’re able to appear authentic throughout the experience. For others, their words and actions are easy to twist, which can make the edited version of the season a far more difficult experience to live through. The edit of the series can strike some cast members as a jab from the editors, while others simply understand that the show is trying to tell a story.
With Married At First Sight season 17 having been one of the most difficult-to-watch seasons of the series thus far, the editing behind the series has been called into question more than ever. Some of the cast members have tough personalities, which makes it difficult for the producers to tell anything but the truth: good or bad. As Married At First Sight moves into its next season, it seems likely that there will be even more cast members that viewers simply love to hate.
Married At First Sight season 15’s Morgan Bell was hopeful that her relationship with Binh Trinh would be a great match. Both from San Diego, Morgan and Binh seemed to connect early on in their marriage, but things quickly took a turn for the worse as Morgan’s true colors came out. Morgan, a nurse, was difficult for Binh to understand as she consistently talked about how busy she was in her day-to-day life, leaving very little time for her to work through issues in their newfound marriage.
Morgan and Binh’s relationship seemed like it could be a good fit, but Morgan’s attitude made it impossible for Binh to actually get to know her. From claiming she was too busy for their marriage to her secretive attitude about her educational background and job, Morgan made it hard for Binh, who ultimately didn’t feel invested in her as a result. After just weeks together, Morgan and Binh decided to divorce before the experiment was over, as they couldn’t handle staying together any longer.
Zack Freeman, who appeared on Married At First Sight season 13, was paired with Michaela Clark in his short-lived marriage, and was hopeful coming on the series that he would be able to create a great connection. Zack and Michaela’s relationship wasn’t perfect, but both tried to make it work throughout the season. Despite some major fights, they were both committed to their marriage – or so they both thought at the time. On decision day, Michaela chose to stay married, while Zack chose to divorce.
In a shocking moment, Zack and Michaela’s relationship crumbled. Many had been wondering if Zach would wind up ending the relationship early, and were surprised to see him make it all the way to Decision Day considering how indifferent he seemed throughout the final stretch of time before the decision. After MAFS season 13, Zack began dating fellow MAFS season 13 contestant Bao Huong Hoang, but it was revealed that he had been cheating on her, as well as Michaela, throughout their time together. Zack’s deceptive behavior uncovered a whole new side of his personality.
Married At First Sight season 16’s Airris Williams met his MAFS wife, Jasmine Secrest, during their wedding ceremony, and both felt that they’d be a good match. Getting along well in the early moments of their relationship, Jasmine and Airris were happy to be a part of the experiment. While Jasmine came into MAFS knowing that all her loose ends were tied up, Airris had some surprises waiting for him as Married At First Sight continued on.
Airris found it tough to connect with Jasmine, which became apparent throughout their time together on MAFS. While Jasmine was confident in herself and her looks, Airris couldn’t find any attraction to her, and consistently let her know that he wasn’t feeling their relationship. While honesty is appreciated, Airris’ attitude toward Jasmine was difficult to watch, and their relationship crumbled due to his inability to handle a strong, confident woman.
Domynique Kloss, another participant of Married At First Sight season 16, met her MAFS groom Mackinley Gilbert as they walked down the aisle to commit to marriage. While the experts felt that Dom and Mack would be good for one another, their connection was difficult as they tried to build a connection. While Mack was interested in making things work, Dom shocked Married At First Sight season 16 viewers along with the experts when she revealed she wasn’t.
After just weeks of marriage, Dom decided that she didn’t feel any connection with Mack, and chose to divorce. Though her attitude hadn’t been something viewers were noticing through the first stretch of episodes, many couldn’t help but go back and take stock of her actions prior to choosing to divorce. After leaving Mack behind, Dom chose to go her own way and made MAFS viewers angry that she didn’t stay and try to make things work.
Married At First Sight season 14’s Lindsey Gergoulis was hopeful when she came to the series and married Mark Maher, but the couple’s connection wasn’t one that stood the test of time. While many were confused by Linsday and Mark’s miscommunications, it was clear that there were some issues in their marriage they simply couldn’t overcome. As their relationship began, it was clear that they had very different styles of communication. While Lindsey wanted to come at problems directly, Mark had a less confrontational style of communication, which made things tough.
As Married At First Sight season 14 continued, it appeared that Lindsey was also doing a lot of lying, which was difficult for viewers to wrap their minds around. Many felt that she was telling half-truths about mundane things, most of which she couldn’t be held accountable for. Though she was honest in saying she felt mistreated by Mark, Lindsey came out of MAFS with a worse reputation as she wasn’t able to be honest and forthright with her feelings as she continued in the experiment.
Although Married At First Sight season 15’s Justin Hall was hopeful that joining the series would help him to find a lasting relationship, his marriage to Alexis Williams was far more difficult than he imagined. Justin, who was part of the San Diego season, connected with Alexis during their initial meeting and had fun with her throughout their wedding. Though the couple built a foundation for their relationship, things got tricky as they continued to get to know each other.
Justin and Alexis’ relationship unfolded in a turbulent way, both of them feeling some resentment toward each other without providing much of a reason as to why. While Alexis shared that she’d been feeling unfulfilled intimately, Justin couldn’t take responsibility for not working through the issues they were facing in their relationship. Ultimately, though they chose to stay married on Decision Day, Justin changed his mind immediately after. Their divorce was a shock to Married At First Sight viewers.
Alyssa Ellman went into Married At First Sight season 14 determined that she and Chris Collette would come out of the experiment still married, but things weren’t easy for the couple. Alyssa’s behavior after the couple’s wedding turned from hopeful to hopeless quickly. Though Alyssa felt that she was simply discussing what she wanted in a marriage with Chris, her abrasive nature quickly became difficult for him to handle, but when he called her out, she wasn’t interested in his critiques.
Married At First Sight season 14 viewers became concerned with how badly Alyssa was treating Chris, sharing that they felt it was borderline emotional abuse. Alyssa would belittle Chris, tear him down, make fun of his feelings and desires, and appeared to be a genuine bully. Though Chris did everything he could to make their marriage work, he reached his breaking point and ultimately chose not to stay with Alyssa, who’s gone down as one of MAFS worst behaved participants.
Married At First Sight season 11’s Brett Lindsey has been one of the more polarizing cast members in recent years, but many feel that his sense of humor was difficult to handle. Brett, who married Olivia Cornu during the MAFS season 11 premiere, came into the experiment understanding that his sense of humor wasn’t for everyone. Though he thought that his dry, sarcastic wit wasn’t going to be a problem in his marriage, things changed quickly for the New Orleans based tech wiz.