‘Married at First Sight’: 10 of the Most Dramatic Moments on the Lifetime Show
Married at First Sight has delivered plenty of intense moments since it premiered on FYI in 2014. From doggie drama to blow-ups about the best way to cook pasta, it’s not surprising that the couples on the reality show – which moved to Lifetime for season 5 – don’t always see eye-to-eye. But when it comes to memorable messiness, these 10 dramatic Married at First Sight moments take the cake.
Jamie Otis cries when meeting her husband for the first time in ‘MAFS’ Season 1
Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner are Married at First Sight’s most enduring marriage. Nearly a decade after saying “I do” during the show’s first season, they’re still together and have two children. But things didn’t start out so well for the couple. Upon meeting her husband at the altar, The Bachelor alum burst into tears – and they weren’t tears of joy.
“I’m not necessarily attracted to him,” she confessed to a producer immediately after her wedding. “I wanted the butterflies and all of that and it didn’t happen.”
Immediately after the ceremony, a still-crying Jamie – who felt the experts had “failed” her – appeared ready to bolt. Her friends eventually managed to calm her down, and she returned to the wedding reception. Still, it was still an incredibly awkward beginning to her marriage.
Heather and Derek opt for an early Decision Day
These days, it’s not unusual for a Married at First Sight couple to split before Decision Day. (It happened in seasons 14 and 15, and another early break-up is rumored to be on the horizon in season 16.) But it was a shocker the first time a couple split before the eight weeks were up.
In MAFS Season 4, Heather and Derek became the first couple to divorce before Decision Day, and they still hold the record for the shortest marriage in the show’s history. Among their issues? She couldn’t stand his smoking, while he called her an alcoholic. Though Derek wanted to stick it out, Heather asked for a divorce in the season’s eighth episode.
Mia is detained at the airport on the way to her honeymoon
Mia and Tristan got hitched during Married at First Sight Season 7. But their relationship hit a major speed bump early on when Mia was detained at the airport on the way to their honeymoon. Apparently, there was a warrant out for her arrest on charges of credit card fraud and stalking an ex-boyfriend. The unexpected incident understandably threw Tristan for a loop.
“I know that sh*t can get fabricated when it comes to exes and things like that nature,” Tristan told a producer. “I get it but that doesn’t stop the fact that I have to live with this sh*t right now. All of this is piling up, and now I’m sitting here not knowing who I just married.”
Chris tells Paige he’s having a baby with another woman in ‘Married at First Sight’ Season 12
MAFS cast members have to be ready to expect the unexpected – they’re marrying a complete stranger, after all. But nothing could have prepared season 12’s Paige for the bombshell her husband Chris dropped on her during their honeymoon when he revealed his ex-girlfriend was six weeks pregnant with his child. The news left Paige reeling. While she decided to stay with Chris and try to make things work despite the unexpected complication, it ended up being just the first in a string of WTF moments from Chris, who many MAFS fans would put at the top of the list of the show’s worst husbands of all time.
Zach confesses he’s been chatting with Mindy’s friend behind her back
Zach and Mindy from Married at First Sight Season 10 weren’t exactly on solid ground heading into their one-month anniversary. He’d admitted he wasn’t attracted to her and refused to move into their shared apartment. But things took a serious turn for the worse when Zach admitted that he’d been texting with Mindy’s friend Lindsay behind his wife’s back. He insisted that he was just using her as a sounding board to discuss issues in his marriage. But Mindy saw it as a major betrayal. Even worse, Zach tried to downplay the significance of the incident, while Lindsay claimed she’d deleted the texts when Mindy confronted her about it.
“Wow, he must really think I’m dumb,” Mindy said in a confessional. “Infuriating.”
Justin and Alexis reverse their Decision Day choice after less than 12 hours
Alexis and Justin had a rocky eight weeks together on Married at First Sight. The ill-matched couple wasn’t on the same page when it came to their pets, communication, sex, and pretty much everything else. So, it was something of a shock when the pair announced on Decision Day that they were going to stay together. But any good vibes were short-lived. Moments after their sit-down with the experts, the pair got into an argument when Justin questioned Alexis’s commitment to moving forward together.
Less than 12 hours later, they had another fight. Alexis got frustrated when Justin asked her if she regretted saying “yes” on Decision Day. She’d had enough.
“I don’t wanna figure it out, I’m done,” Alexis said. “All I did was love you to the best of my ability, and if that’s not enough I’m sorry.”
Beth flips a table during a fight with Jamie in season 9
Is this Married at First Sight or Real Housewives? Season 9 couple Beth and Jamie had some explosive moments during their time on the show (including her complaint that they were having “basic caucasian sex.”) But one of the most dramatic came during an argument when she accused him of not standing up for her during an awkward interaction with the other couples.
“Why didn’t anyone take up for me, Jamie?” she shouted as she flipped over a coffee table in the couple’s apartment. “Why didn’t anybody take up for me then? I’m so sick of this! … I don’t need you to sit here and point a finger at me like this like you do all the time.”
Surprisingly, Jamie and Beth managed to move past the incident. Today, they are one of the few Married at First Sight couples who are still together.
Jose locks Rachel out of their apartment at 1 a.m.
Houston couple Jose and Rachel, who tied the knot during Married at First Sight 13, had a tense moment after he got upset when she called him by another man’s name during a group outing. The incident quickly led to a major showdown between the pair when Jose returned home without Rachel and then locked her out of their shared apartment. When she came home and could get inside, she was understandably livid.
The way you acted toward me, the way you spoke to me, the way you expressed how you weren’t happy, was OK?” she said to her husband. “The way you did it. Was that OK?”
Jose was unapologetic.
“You know I lock the door every night,” he said. “I secure my property before I go to sleep.”
Meka loses it over Michael’s repeated lies
Meka and Michael from Married at First Sight Season 10 were already on shaky ground when a conversation about finances left her at the end of the rope. Meka — who’d previously expressed frustration with her husband’s repeated lies – called him out when he tried to show her what she believed was a fabricated offer letter to prove he had a job. She could tell that something wasn’t adding up (literally) and she unloaded her frustration on the show’s producers.
“He repeatedly lies,” she said. “Would y’all want to be with somebody like that? Any of y’all? Y’all want to be with liars? … I don’t want to be with a liar … I don’t deserve that and I won’t tolerate that.”
Alyssa from ‘Married at First Sight’ Season 14 insists she’s ‘a good person’
Alyssa from Married at First Sight Season 14 took one look at her husband Chris and decided she wanted out. After refusing to spend her wedding night with her new spouse she spent the honeymoon pouting about how the show’s experts robbed her of a good match and ranting to the MAFS producers about how much she disliked Chris. In one memorable behind-the-scenes moment, she trashed her husband while also complaining about how upset she would be if she got a bad edit when the show aired.
“I hate him. He’s a f***ing ***hole,” she said. “He’s disrespectful and rude and he’s doing me dirty … I’m a good person, and if I don’t come off that way on this show, I’m going to be f***ing pissed.”
New episodes of Lifetime’s Married at First Sight air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
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