‘Married at First Sight’: Mindy Shiben Details How the Show Films and Vets Cast Members
Do you ever watch some of today’s reality TV shows and wonder what goes on behind the scenes? How do those contestants get selected? What’s going on when the cameras stop rolling? Married at First Sight fans cringe at some of the goings-on and behaviors from their favorites on the show. Mindy Shiben is one such popular cast member, and she took to Reddit recently to answer some of the fans’ most burning questions.
Considering how quickly her relationship unraveled in front of the world, there were tons of questions to which fans needed answers. Interestingly, she shed some light on some previously unknown details about her experience overall and how the producers vet cast members.
Sometimes, things just don’t work out
Lifetime’s popular series Married at First Sight season 10 had fans tuned into life with newly wedded Zach Justice and Mindy Shiben. The couple fell apart nearly as quickly as the show put them together, and some say Justice soon became the show’s most MIA husbands of all time.
He refused to move in with Shiben and barely contacted her when the cameras weren’t filming. Adding insult to injury, there was speculation that Justice was engaging with Shiben’s friend. So when Mindy Shiben took to Reddit for an AMA session, fans were dying to connect with her about the whole process.
There were also rumors circulating that while Mindy Shiben had applied for the show, Zach Justice had not. In fact, some sources said he had instead been recruited to participate. When fans ask Shiben about it on Reddit, she confirmed both accounts. This gives fans a better look at how it is participants are selected.
How intense was the matchmaking process?
Despite the failure of her experimental marriage, Mindy Shiben said the matchmaking process was intense and prolonged. Communication began with Skype interviews to uncover intentions and goals. There were then long, in-person days where contestants would meet and interview with the experts.
Shiben also shared that there were lengthy psychological evaluations. But she also says science can’t always predict human behavior. Having spent a ton of time with so many of the show’s various relationship and behavioral experts, fans were dying to know if Mindy Shiben had a favorite.
She was hesitant to respond, citing she doesn’t like to use the term favorite. “All of them have been integral to my journey,” she replied in the threads. But if she had to pick just one, she did say she felt most connected to Dr. Viviana.
Did any of the experts apologize to Mindy Shiben for the mismatch?
When things fell apart, fans had to learn from Mindy Shiben if the experts ever consoled her for their failures. Shiben takes the high ground and reminds fans that this show is more a “social experiment” without promises or guarantees. She recognized the experts did their best, and while they did try to get Zach Justice to plug-in to the marriage, they couldn’t force anything, according to InTouch Weekly.
When she was asked about what she would consider being some of the most challenging aspects of the show, Mindy Shiben hated not having music around and was bummed the ‘couples weekend’ didn’t offer an alone option.
Other than that, she felt she adapted well to filming and participating in the show. Fans love her for her candid and honest perseverance. One commenter said, “your perseverance throughout MAFS says so much about your strong character.” It suggests that there are more than a few fans out there who think Zach Justice didn’t deserve her in the end anyway.
