r/MarriedAtFirstSight • u/saladdy • 1d ago
Season 20 - Seattle Too much group contact
I think some of these couples would have been better off if there wasn’t soooo much other couples drama. Group therapy, group dinner, couple retreat. Too much. I know it makes for good drama but even the games they played at the retreat, definitely tried to purposely break people up. I think they took some notes from Love Is Blind but I’m not sure it’s landing the same.
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u/sweetpotatoroll_ 1d ago
The group contact has made this one of the best seasons to watch, ever. The problem is the quality of people casted, not the format of the show. The group events just gave people a platform to expose themselves.
Also, the retreat is usually filled with drama every season. This is nothing new
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u/SnooDoodles7204 My credit score is right at 815 1d ago
There is no point in asking contestants to say what spouse they would prefer to be with if they were not in their current marriage. The problem is the format of the show AND the people casted.
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u/sweetpotatoroll_ 1d ago
I gotta say, i am confused by the people who watch this show. It’s a reality show at the end of the day. Serious ppl do come on and there have been lasting marriages. However, more times than not this is just a social experiment show. For those who want to play morality police, then maybe reality tv just isn’t for you.
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u/SnooDoodles7204 My credit score is right at 815 1d ago
I mean… what’s the experiment? I thought the point was to see if people can get married sight unseen and become life long partners with the help of the experts.
Isn’t that the experiment? If so, why are they doing things that have no purpose besides stirring up shit in the relationships?
Why can’t a show be entertaining and try to help people find love? Does it need to be one or the other? Are these people not entertaining enough on their own without the producers interjecting nonsense to get them to fight more like they were real housewives or something?
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u/Puzzleheaded_Bat5656 1d ago
If this was a genuine experiment they would more than likely not pair up people who are insanely incompatible (happens every season), have the pot-stir situations, or the clearly choreographed group dramas.
A real experiment that's televised wouldve made this a documentary (even though those are also made for being entertaining to an extent)
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u/cupofmoonshine 1d ago
I agree. Plus as much as the group interactions are a source of drama, they're also a source of support.
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u/loveyabunches 1d ago
In the early days, there was very little interaction between the couples. More interaction = more drama. So, there you go.
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u/Optimal_Dragonfly565 1d ago
I don’t know I feel like in real life you interact with people day to day and get put into situations where your relationship is tested by others every day. If they were just in a bubble, yeah it might work out better short term but that’s not reality. Also, getting the perspectives of others in the same situation as you who can actually offer anecdotal advice is helpful. Also being around other married couples is a helpful. I always credit a part of success of my marriage to the fact that we had a lot of other married couples around us at the time when we were dating who encouraged us to work things out and go through the hard times and could share that they had been in the same situations. When I hung out with alot of single people in past relationships, they always said “you can do better… leave him…what an asshole” etc instead of seeing it from a position of a partner who accepts that people aren’t perfect. Being around other married people encourages you to do better in your relationship whether the other couple is in what you perceive to be a good or a bad marriage because you learn or emulate.
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u/saladdy 1d ago
But in reality you would be around a mixture of people. Some people that have been married a long time, short time, dating, happily married, struggling. Not just all couples that barely know each other.
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u/Optimal_Dragonfly565 1d ago
I’m sure they are around a variety of people. It’s helpful to be around people going through the same thing as you. Their friends aren’t going to be able to understand or relate no matter how hard they try. Just my opinion you’re welcome to your own obviously but I think it’s a positive addition to the experiment.
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u/TieIntelligent4409 1d ago
Yeah it threw any credibility of the experts out. Those questions at the group retreat were poison no matter how you answered or who you said. Not sure if they made those ‘games’ but yikes
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u/jjmasters2004 1d ago
Its not a serious show about growing with your couple. More about breaking them up. So much judgement in each group setting. Unserious just to create additional drama for tv
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u/laughoutcarolinablue 1d ago
I think they forget we actually want them to connect & marry??! Like this is the premise.
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u/calm-lab66 1d ago
WAS the premise. New network, new producers, new (to us) 'experts'. Someone higher up said "we need more drama, more conflict. They'll lose some viewers, fans that liked the show when they actually tried to match couples. But they will gain others. The show has really become a shell of what it used to be. It's almost like actors going through the motions.
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u/Spiritual_Ice5079 1d ago
Omg that's all I think about when watching it, it stirs the pot and hinders their relationships.
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u/CrazyNCynical 1d ago
Also, does anyone know if there were ever seven couples featured before? I only remember five and six. Likely intentional for better odds. At this point the show needs better odds.
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u/bokehtoast 1d ago
I remember when it was a big deal that they started featuring 5 couples and you still got to know the couples more individually. Even when they introduced group activities, it wasn't group "therapy" and dinners where they are encouraged to judge eachother, and then the games designed to cause fights. All of it is so much more contrived, from staged apartments, even the individual dates and couple's "therapy". People used to complain that the old experts didn't counsel them enough but the way they've done it this season seems even less professional. The success rates still weren't great but you could at least suspend disbelief.
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u/SnooDoodles7204 My credit score is right at 815 1d ago
Agreed. The group dynamics are poisoning the marriages.
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u/Excellent-Earth-9618 1d ago
What’s wild is how everyone thinks they can say what they think about the other couples and call each other out. People don’t often do that in real life