We can confirm that there are some serious love stories that are about to come from season 8 of Married at First Sight.
According to experts Mel Schilling, John Aiken and newcomer sex therapist, Alessandra Rampolla, love is in the air when the new season premieres on February 22.
When asked if there were any love stories between participants in an interview with The Latch, Schilling offered a very excited “Yes!”.
“Everyone wants a happy ending,” she added further. “They want a Disney fairytale.”
The participants this year range from ages 27 to 44 and come from all walks of life. Some have been engaged previously, while others have not been in a relationship for more than a decade or even ever.
“All of them were committed to this experiment and falling in love,” relationship expert Aiken said.
For Rampolla, coming out of 2020 and what has happened with the global pandemic worldwide, dating and interactions have changed leading to a very different cast mentality.
“With lockdowns, people are really focusing on the connections they make with someone else,” she said. “It’s not so much the touch and go situation you had before because you could just meet up with anybody, people have really turned back to wanting companionship and wanting someone who will listen to them and feel a real connection.
“I think that trickles down into the experiment for this season.”
The global pandemic will also see a very different MAFS take place, and while the premise of couples locking eyes for the very first time when they walk down the aisle is still very much alive, the “new normal” brings an unfamiliar setting with additional challenges.
“We incorporated a lot of government regulations this season,” Aiken said.”There was a COVID manager on set.”
Participants were also tested for COVID-19 twice a week and temperature checks were conducted every time the cast and crew went to set.
“There was a real different shift in mindset and we took that extremely seriously,” he said.
“It really changed the way we were on set, and we had to adjust the format as well and bring in new concepts like a Couples Retreat. We have communications, we have intimacy but you couldn’t do things like meet the parents or have homestays.
“It was so important that we have a cast that would buy into the process. If they don’t buy-in, it doesn’t work. These guys threw themselves in and as a result, we get the tears, we get the anger, we get the ups and downs, but that’s what you want.”
Amen, John. Amen!
Married at First Sight premieres on February 22 on Channel Nine.
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