Married at First Sight sounds so fairytale-ish. The show to date has matched about 64 couples, but their success rate is questionable. The couples are scientifically paired based on their personality analysis as made by doctors on the set. Still, most of them either end up splitting up on Decision Day or a few months later.
Married at First Sight is an American television show which started airing in July 2014 and is inspired by a Danish television show of the same concept, which aired a year prior. As of June 2023, the series has 16 seasons with a varied number of episodes. Every season takes place in a different city within the United States, and about 3 to 5 couples are chosen per season.
The official trailer of Season 1 of MAFS
The participants are mostly strangers that meet for the first time on set and are married to each other on the first day. They spend the night at a hotel and set out for their honeymoon. Given that both are complete strangers to each other, the honeymoon period serves as a way of knowing each other away from the eyes of the audience.
After the honeymoon phase, they are back home and spend the next eight weeks as a married couple. During this time, they are followed around by the camera, and the audience gets a little peek into each of their newly married lives.
Married at First Sight Decision Day and Reunion
After the sweet eight weeks, or lack thereof, we arrive at the event known as Married at First Sight Decision Day. The showrunners, doctors on set, audiences, and even the couples within themselves hold their breaths in this finale episode. It is the day when the couples state whether they would like to stay married to call it quits.
The decisions are completely private, so even within the pair, the decision may vary. To date, 37 out of 64 couples have mutually decided to stay married on Decision Day, but several have gotten a divorce ever since, which brings the success rate of the show to about one-fifth.
MAFS Season 13 reunion playlist
The annual reunion is when we see all the couples back after a few months and update the audiences about their current relationship statuses with each other.
The Couples of Season 13
Married at First Sight season, 13 was held in Houston, Texas, in July 2021 and featured five couples. We had Michaela Clark and Zack Freeman, Bao Huong Hoang, and Johnny Lam, and Brett Layton and Ryan Ignasiak, who divorced on Decision Day. Myrla Feria and Gil Cuero, alongside Rachel Gordillo and Jose San Miguel, were the two couples that continued with their marriage.
Rachel Gordillo and Jose San Miguel
Rachel and Jose were the last-standing married couple from MAFS season 13. The audience and the showrunners were hoping that they would make it through as a couple and that the season could at least have one successful match. The couple were reportedly happy during the season’s annual reunion.
Rachel informed at the reunion that the couple had a tough time a few weeks after the finale and had split up for a while. Jose wanted to make things work out, so the two set aside their differences and moved in together again. The reunion took place in November, but unfortunately, the couple revealed to PEOPLE in December that they had filed for divorce.
Their time as a married couple was a bit strained even in those eight weeks. Jose is a Mission Flight Specialist for Nasa, and Rachel, at the time, was a middle-school teacher. Jose was admittedly quite rude to Rachel, from lecturing her about her finances to locking her out of their room at night.
The two have come forward to state that getting a divorce was the best course of action for the couple, and they continue to live their lives separately and happily as of 2023. Rachel is private about her romantic life, and a woman is seen appearing on Jose’s socials, but he hasn’t made any formal declaration about the relationship.
The showrunners have declared two more upcoming seasons: Season 17 in Denver and Season 18 in Chicago. You can watch the previous seasons on Netflix or Lifetime.
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