With the ink barely dry on Paige Banks’ and Chris Williams’ divorce, the relationship experts on Married at First Sight are bringing together five more hopeful couples. Despite the sometimes disastrous results of the pairings, there seems to be no shortage of couples who are willing to appear on the show. Whether they are truly looking for love or just for their 15 minutes of fame, viewers will get to be with them every step of the way starting this July.
The success rate from the first 12 seasons of Married at First Sight is 15 out of 44 couples, meaning nearly 66% of the couples end up divorced. This does make them more successful than The Bachelor when it comes to marriages, but less successful than the national average, which has a divorce rate of around 40%. When looking for lasting love, reality TV shows may not be the way to go.
Season 13 of Married at First Sight will bring together hopeful couples in Houston, Texas. The experts receive somewhere in the neighborhood of 50,000 applications. Based on who appears on the show, most applicants seem to be people in their 30s who want to be married, but haven’t had success in their dating life so far. Under deadlines from their biological clocks or societal pressure, hopefuls turn to the relationship experts, hoping to be one of the rare couples that actually make it. This season, the only person not in their 30s is 27-year-old Zack, who reportedly had the goal of being married by 25. He is being matched with 30-year-old realtor Michaela.
The other couples come from a variety of different backgrounds. 34-year-old Texan Myrla is paired with 35-year-old Columbian Gil. 33-year-old Rachel has struggled with her confidence in past relationships, and her match Jose, 35, who hasn’t ever found a woman who is as serious about marriage as he is. New Jersey native Brett, 33, calls herself a long-time fan of Married at First Sight and has great faith in the experts. Her intended, 35-year-old Ryan, wants children before age slows him down too much (although being an older parent also has its benefits). 35-year-old Bao is a Texas native born to Vietnamese refugees. She never planned to be married until recently changing her mind. She was matched with 35-year-old Johnny, who doesn’t want to get divorced as his parents did.
Every couple on Married at First Sight has the chance to beat the odds and build a happy, healthy, long-term relationship. It does, however, require that both partners are willing to put in the effort. Given how often applicants with obvious red flags make it past the experts, marrying a stranger is a big risk that rarely pays off. If you want to see how these five couples make it work (or not), season 13 will premiere on Lifetime on July 21.
Source: People