Married At First Sightseason 18 has been a rollercoaster of emotions that viewers were excited to unpack during the reunion, butI thinkMAFSreunions need to make some major changes moving forwardto be even juicier.Married At First Sightseason 18hasn’t been the most scandalous season of the series to date, but there’s been a lot of drama between the cast members regardless of who they were married to during the time of filming. With so much going on, the cast members have been brought to theMAFSreunion stage to unpack their on-screen behavior together.
As is usual forMarried At First Sightand other reality TVdating shows, the reunion episodes are pivotal for the season’s understandability. While drama has unfolded onMarried At First Sightthroughout the season,there are always lingering questions about what’s gone on between the cast membersthat hasn’t been addressed on camera. Having spent so much time together,Married At First Sightseason 18’s cast members have a lot to share about one another and their time on the show, as their experiences aren’t always able to make it into an on-screen narrative that makes sense to viewers.
Throughoutthe history ofMarried At First Sight,things have consistently changed in the show’s DNA makeup. From the shift from participants not being able to interact with one another to supporting each other in their marriages, to the changes in theMAFSexpert panel over the years, there are typically changes happening on the show from season to season.Married At First Sightviewers are used to things shifting, but I’m always left wanting more from theMAFSreunion episodes. Regardless of the season,I’ve never felt theMAFSreunions give us the closure they’re meant to provide.
Even with the cast members coming together to rehash the drama, I’ve always felt thatMAFSreunions are often too far out from the season’s filming to remember things properly. On top of that, cast members have been able to understand how viewers are perceiving them, which gives them the opportunity to answer in ways that make them look better rather than leading with authenticity. While there have been some interesting moments in the reunions over the years,I’d be interested in seeing a complete overhaul for theMAFSreunion episodes, implementing some major changes in the format and style.
Deepening the understanding and allowing for more depth to come from MAFS reunions would improve them ten-fold.
6MAFS Reunions Should Feature An Earlier Check-In
A Year After Filming Is Too Long To Wait
Typically,MAFSreunions are filmed roughly a year afterthe filming for the season ends. While I understand the rationale behind it,I want to see a far earlier check-in with the castbefore the reunion episode’s standard one-year mark. With so much happening during the show’s filming, checking in at different intervals after filming has ended would make sense to ensure that the reunion episodes aren’t relying solely on cast members, who may not be entirely honest, to explain what’s been happening in their lives. Instead, I’d like to see earlier check-ins that provide context before the big show.
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IfMarried At First Sightreunions began with a three-month or six-month check-inwith the experts, which could be far less formal than the sit down reunion that viewers then see with a formal host, there may be a lot less confusion. Each couple would have the chance to come in together, if they chose to stay married at Decision Day, or separately if they chose to divorce, to check in with the experts and share where they are. This would incorporate the experts more easily, and give the audience an idea of where theMAFSreunion itself is headed.
5MAFS Reunions Should Be Hosted By Keshia Knight Pulliam
Her Afterparty Hosting Skills Are Unmatched
Although I love currentMarried At First Sightreunion host Kevin Frazier, I think the reunions being hosted by a completely separate outside party can come off a bit strange. ThroughoutMAFS’srun, it’s been clear that there are a lot of hands that go into the series. WithMarried At First Sight’saftershow,Afterparty,being hosted by Keshia Knight Pulliam throughout the season,I think it makes a lot more sense to have her come in to host the reunionepisodes. While long-standingMAFSviewers are familiar with Kevin, Keshia is the one who’s hosting the aftershow each week.
Bringing Keshia into the fold doesn’t necessarily mean that Kevin would have to leaveMarried At First Sightentirely, either. While I enjoy Keshia and think she’d be a great way to bring the cast members into the reunion with a few less nerves, Kevin could still be a great asset to the reunions. IfKeshia and Kevin could work together in a way, potentially co-hosting the reunion episodes, there would be a familiar face who’s been dealing with the cast all season and someone who’s more of an outsider, offering a broader perspective for the cast to bounce off.
4MAFS Reunions Should Bring The Receipts
They Should Call Participants Out On Their Behavior
Typically,Married At First Sightreunions tend to be some of the more straight-forward episodes of the season, which is sometimes a letdown for viewers. WhileMAFSis known for a certain brandof drama, the reunions are often a lot less heated than they seem like they should be. With all of the drama of the season being unpacked, Ioften findMarried At First Sightreunions to be less cathartic than other reality TV reunions, asthey tend togloss over the major dramas and moments of the seasonwithout diving into them thoroughly enough for my taste.
In the future,Married At First Sightreunions shouldn’t be afraid to bring the receipts to the table and call cast members out for their behavior. While host Kevin does this in some ways, it’s often with a lighter touch than I’d expect for a reality TV reunion. Rather than letting cast members off the hook for the way they’ve behaved, even if it’s in the past,I’d love to see receipts, clips, timestamps, and anything theMAFSteam can rustle upthat doesn’t allow cast members to skirt by their actions, which were often painful for other cast members.
3MAFS Reunions Should Ask More Of The Burning Questions
Reunions Should Lean Into The Drama, Not Away From It
WithMarried At First Sightreunions often catering to the drama from couple to couple rather than cast member to cast member,I think a lot gets lost in the shuffle. While there are moments where host Kevin has asked the burning questions of each season, there’s often a lot more filler within reunion episodes than substance. Obviously, not everything can be hard-hitting or in-depth content, but I’d love to see more about the biggest dramas of the season, even if they were polarizing. I oftenfeel likeMAFScast membersare being thrown softball questions rather than being pushed.
Rather than letting the cast members off the hook and asking them questions they have easy answers for, I’d love the series to push cast members to get into the nitty-gritty ofMarried At First Sight.While this could also be accomplished by providing an earlier check-in to get the cast members used to answering more difficult questions about their relationships,I’d love to see the reunions incorporate some of the bigger questions for cast members. I want to know why they behaved in certain ways or what led them to make specific decisions, rather than simply addressing the fallout.
2MAFS Reunions Should Feature The Experts More
They Aren’t Enough Of The Equation
TheMarried At First Sightreunions often only feature the experts for a minor portion of the show, and in a two-part episode that looks to unpack what happened throughout the season, I think this is a misstep. While the experts aren’t the most present duringMAFSseasons either,I think it’s a mistake to have them isolated to a short piece of the reunionwhere they, often, don’t really do much other than congratulate or console cast members.TheMAFSexperts are the onusof why the couples were matched, and I think that warrants far more screen time.
I’d love to see a reunion that incorporates more expert participation. First, I’d love to see them checking in with the cast members ahead of the reunion, even if it’s in just a few moments. I’d also love to see the experts answer to each couple why they felt they’d be compatible with the person they were matched with, whether they chose each other or not. I think hearing the experts’ rationale would be interesting, and would allow participants the chance to ask questions. Finally, seeing the experts weigh in on the season as usual would still come into play.
1MAFS Reunions Should Be Structured Like Afterparty
Outside Voices Could Be A Benefit
AlthoughMarried At First Sightreunions are meant to have a different tone than the aftershow, I think incorporatingelements ofMarried At First Sight: Afterpartyinto the reunion would be beneficial. On top of bringing Keshia into the reunion fold,I’d love to see more participants come into the reunion once the main points of the season have been covered. One of my favorite parts ofAfterpartyis the fact that outside perspective can be really beneficial to telling the story of the season. BringingMAFSalumni into the reunion, albeit in a minor way, could be interesting.
Though I don’t know how frequently it would work, I thinkbringing elements ofAfterpartylike panel discussion into the reunion could be an interesting thing to try. While the cast members of the season would be the priority, allowing people who have been through the same situation and have some similar perspective could be great to help explain and process what’s happened each season.Married At First Sightreunions already offer a lot of insight into what’s happened on screen, but deepening that understanding and allowing for more depth to come from the reunions would improve them ten-fold.
Married At First Sightairs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. EDT on Lifetime.
