SK STREAMING | S20 E. 1-3 MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT
PHOTO CREDIT | Allyson Riggs/PEACOCK
As you know, I have been sharing my thoughts on S8 of Love Island USA which came to an end this past Sunday. If you missed any of my recaps, you can catch them here! The next show I will share my thoughts on is an interesting one. For the purpose of the first post of this season, I will talk about the the first episode that dropped last week as well as the 2 episodes that dropped last night. Each Fri, I will cover that week’s episode!
I have been a fan of Married at First Sight since it first came to A&E, then moved to Lifetime and then last season it came to Peacock which it is currently on this season as well! Long time viewers are familiar with the show format. The show goes to a city and finds singles that want to be married, they are paired by experts and then we watch what happens throughout the season from the highs as well as the lows! They finally decide whether they will stay married and then the reunion lets us know what really happened.
This season marks some changes to this formula in a number of ways which is good to note before we delve into this seasons cast! S20 of Married at First Sight comes back for its 2nd year to Peacock. This season, we don’t get as much of the backstory in terms of meeting potential cast members that we never see again (defintiely ok with that change), we don’t have multiple episodes of the process of all the possible matches, and the first episode pretty much gets down to it. We see the abbreviated interactions between completely new experts! The long serving experts of previous seasons (Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Pastor Cal Roberson, and Dr Pia Holec) have been replaced by Paul C Brunson (a matchmaker and relationship coach who has been on MAFS UK since 2020) as well as Dr. Lisa Paz (a clinical sex and marriage therapist), and by the end of the 3rd episode, we have all the couples married and into their first night before their honeymoon starts! That’s quite a lot of change, but one that I think moves things along a bit more.
This season, we are introduced to a cast of 14 people and we learn a lot about their backstories and even their families. In E1 we pretty much start off seeing the men at their Bachelor party and the women at their Bachelorette party. It’s worth noting that we realize that Adam Dehmlow is in an interesting man. He jet ski’s everywhere even though he has a car, but Seattle is on the water so it makes sense. He is very health conscious and he lives a great life! Paul, the matchmaker even notes to Adam that although his home seems great it’s quite a bachelor pad and he may have a woman come there but does she come back - he has found that they have not. He is also a pianist and has no problem playing multiple concertos even though it may not be the best time to do this - it doesn’t seem like he reads the room that well! Between E2 and E3, we learn a few more things - he wasn’t pleased that his soon to be wife, Marissa Meyer gave him a mini alcohol bottle - he doesn’t drink. When she gets to the alter, they realize that they have met before! Interestingly enough, no one from his family is able to come to the wedding as they are in the midst of their European vacations. We also learn that Marissa is estranged from members of her family as well.
We meet Michelle Le and Cameron Mitchell. We know that Michelle loves Disney World and has always been looking for her person. We also know that she has a huge crush on Stephen Curry and that her new husband, Cameron who played basketball internationally, played with him at an exhibition game. It also seems likes Cameron can be pretty judgy and that may be why he is still single and hasn’t been able to find a partner.
Our third couple is Courtney Landis and Nick Uhlenhuth. In looking at Courtney we learn that she is conservative and is looking for a good man. And of course there’s Nick! Now we have known Nick since he was in S3 of Netflix’s The Circle (this show will be moving to Hulu), he then continued on to S1 of Perfect Match, and then continued on to Battle Camp - all 3 of these shows are on the same network! In fact, a number of the people who came to his wedding came from the Netflix shows. I always love seeing him in shows so it will be interesting to see what happens here. Courtney who had no idea who he was starts questioning his intentions when she finds out. She can’t understand why someone would want to continue to be on reality shows. I think it’s worth noting that specifically with those that are in reality shows on Netflix, it’s not strange to see them popping up into various shows as that seems like it’s part of their formula as it allows you to enjoy seeing faces you are very familiar with.
If there is a couple I am rooting for right now that I think has the strongest shot of making it, it would be fitness trainer and MUA Caitlin Grimm and her husband, Devin Short who plays rugby. Both of them seem to be ambitious and they walk to a different tune. Caitlin’s dad before the wedding is about to start lets Devin know that this is too wild and that he can’t believe this is happening as he is traditional. He won’t stop the wedding, but he will be watching. By the time the wedding is over and they have been celebrating for awhile, he says it is still a crazy situation, but he is hopeful that it will all work out. We also see that Devin is close to his mom as well as his grandmother and you can tell that he has a lot of love to give.
Will Tori Dahl and Felipe Cruz make it as a couple? It is unclear, but I am sure that this will be an interesting pairing. Felipe opens a restaurant, stays out late, has worked on himself and is close to his mom. He says he wants to be married, but even Paul asks if he is willing to change his lifestyle so that he can also focus on his wife. You can tell his mom is also a huge presence in his life and she seems to pull a lot of weight. Only time will tell with this pairing.
BelleJolieForce and Mecca Amen seem like a couple that can go the distance. Mecca is in the family business and works hard. His dad is comedic relief that never stops. BelleJolie seems to be very welcoming and sweet. She decides that she is going to move slowly whether it’s kissing when they’re married or what their wedding night will be. Mecca believes in supporting his wife and going at the pace that is comfortable with her while asking his friends and dad for advice.
The final couple and the one that really feels like is going to be an issue is Nikki Jefferson and Shawn Best. Shawn has always been looking for Ms Right and hasn’t been able to get the mix of beauty and brains and he sees it in Nikki. When Nikki gets to the aisle, she asks Shawn where her husband is and you can already tell that she is not feeling him and is probably not pleased with this pairing. Shawn is also fallign victim to not reading the room and taking in the necessary cues - from taking the garter belt, to asking for multiple kisses and more - it feels like the pot is about to boil over and Nikki will eventually start sharing her thoughts that seem very visible in every interaction with him.
Next week, the honeymoons start and we’ll really have a front row seat to the couples and how they interact with one another.
PHOTO CREDIT | Peacock/Ben Symons
S20 CAST MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT
PHOTO CREDITS IN THE GALLERY | Marissa Meyer, Adam Dehmlow -- Christine Bartolucci/PEACOCK | Michelle Le, Cameron Mitchell -- Allyson Riggs/PEACOCK | Courtney Landis, Nick Uhlenhuth -- Jim Bennett/PEACOCK | Caitlin Grimm, Devin Short -- Christine Bartolucci/PEACOCK | Tori Dahl, Felipe Cruz-- Jim Bennett/PEACOCK | BelleJolie Force, Mecca Amen -- Allyson Riggs/PEACOCK | Nikki Jefferson, Shawn Best -- Jim Bennett/PEACOCK |
PHOTO CREDIT | Peacock/Ben Symons
