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Pastor Calvin Roberson and Dr. Pepper Schwartz will be back on Married at First Sight trying to help newlywed strangers figure out marriage. Season 9 will have the change of Dr. Jessica Griffin being out and a new expert coming in.

Will this expert help the couples with a common issue? Here is everything she said about her role.

Dr. Jessica Griffin won’t be returning for Season 9

The psychologist was trying to help newlyweds with their relationships last season. However, she won’t be back for Season 9.

“Jessica and Jon are very happy together. She wants to focus on her family and their relationship,” a friend of the couple reportedly told People. Dr. Griffin is still dating Jon Francetic, who was on the show in Season 6.

She also posted about not returning on Instagram. “Working on these shows was challenging, intellectually stimulating, and a lot of fun – until it wasn’t. I met some incredible people – many became my true friends (you guys matter to me & I love you),” she wrote in the caption.

The trauma and relationship expert also wrote about her relationship. “Ironically, in the course of helping people find love, I met my future husband (albeit, so we’re clear, there was nothing remotely between us until we reconnected, platonically, 8 months after we finished filming. I went immediately to the production company & offered to step down. Instead, I was put on 3 subsequent cycles of shows/spinoffs). Life works in extraordinary ways. For many different reasons which I’m not at liberty to discuss, it’s time for me to go in another direction in endeavors that allow me to use the breadth of my credentials and the depth of my heart.”

Many couples struggle with intimacy and sex on the show

Gregory Okotie and Deonna McNeill on "Married at First Sight"
Gregory Okotie and Deonna McNeill on “Married at First Sight” | Lifetime

There are many struggles that pop up when you get married to a stranger. One of those is getting comfortable enough to have sex.

Last season this affected Luke Cuccurullo and Kate Sisk’s relationship. Cuccurullo shockingly said he felt dead inside after kissing Sisk. It was later revealed they were lying about not having sex and were, but Cuccurullo still claimed he wasn’t attracted to his new wife.

Jasmine McGriff and Will Guess also struggled with intimacy. Both of the couples ended up choosing to divorce by the end of the season. So will this new expert help with this problem?

Dr. Viviana Coles wants to help couples with intimacy

Dr. Viviana Coles is a sex expert and she revealed how this will come into play this new season. She also talked about how they reacted to her.

“It’s mainly to help them to understand how true intimacy can be built on a strange new platform, like on TV,” Coles told PopCulture.com. “A lot of the times [the couples] would kind of look at me like, ‘What is she going to ask me about?’ … but at the end of our conversation, it’s not been something super intimidating.”

She said it was a struggle to get the cast to “stay true” to themselves after “being thrown into a twosome … literally overnight.” She teased that she was impressed by the couples in the end, but only time will tell who will make it through the season together.

Season 9 premieres on Wednesday, June 12 at 8 p.m. ET, followed by the wedding episode at 9 p.m. ET, on Lifetime.

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