A Former ‘MAFS’ Producer Has Given A Spicy Reddit AMA
If you’re a loyal Married at First Sight fan or just a big lover of reality TV in general, you know things aren’t always what they seem.
As much as the MAFS experts pretend they sit there and pair up people based on their compatibility, we know behind the scenes producers are doing the lord’s work (or the devil’s work?) matching people for drama, ratings, and maybe the odd chance one or two couples will work out to keep audiences believing in the concept of love.
With the 2023 season of Married at First Sight slowly wrapping up, a former producer has gone rogue on Reddit to spill some cheeky goss about how the show works and answer any other burning fan questions — well, to an extent anyway.
Here’s what we learned from a Married at First Sight producer’s AMA on Reddit.
The couples usually plan their own dates:
“Typically it’s the couples idea. Say if the storyline was that a husband wasn’t planning anything, the last thing you would do is suggest he do something. But if someone wanted to plan a date you might suggest ideas to make it better.”
On the best way to become famous post-show:
“If you want the best possible chance of getting famous after the show, your best bet is to make your own relationship as boring as possible but throw yourself headfirst into other people’s drama. Martha did this perfectly.”
Family appearances can make things harder for producers and the storylines (e.g. weddings, hometown week):
“Anything with the families are a punish because most of them can barely string a sentence together. They also have a tendency to either ignore or derail the main story we’re following.”
On how long the commitment ceremonies really go for:
“Those sessions go all night so we can’t include everything. Hardest part is getting everything we need before the sun comes up, that’s how much footage there is.”
On how “dangerous” or toxic people can be cast on the show:
“The casting process is a lot like the first few dates with someone. They’re showing you the best version of themselves. And pathological people are very good at presenting a charming and attractive face. We don’t know how people will react in stressful situations until it actually happens.”
On the voiceovers being edited:
“Yes that does happen, but I’ve never seen someone’s words be completely twisted to make them say something they didn’t mean or feel. What post-production normally does is try to make people more direct and succinct. You can clearly hear edited voice-overs, as a rule of thumb, if you can’t see their mouth moving it is edited. Listen for slight changes in tone and inflection word to word.”
On whether cheating sagas are encouraged:
“They’re certainly not not encouraged. Ultimately people are there to find love. And if that happens to be not with the person they were matched with, who are we to stand in their way?”
On whether storylines like the butt dial are fabricated:
“I wouldn’t say entirely fabricated but it’s the job of post-production to take a storyline or scene that was maybe a 6 or 7 out of 10 and make it an 11 out of 10. ‘Magnify and Amplify’ is a phrase that gets used a lot in all reality TV.”
On the hardest part of being a MAFS producer:
“The biggest difficulty is getting people to really express their thoughts and feelings. So that’s where you get more involved and push back with the couples and not let things just play out.
Nowadays the issue is getting someone to say what and how they actually feel because all contestants are very protective and don’t want to say anything that would make themselves look bad. Once I was asked to make a person cry and I did with my line of questioning. I felt good and bad at the same time.”