There were several Married at first sight triggering words that left lasting impressions on the franchise. Married at first sight premiered in 2014 and has 17 complete seasons. Married at first sight season 18 is currently airing and is in the early stages of the experiment. In Season 18, all five couples said yes to their awkward spouses at the altar, and they all made it through their honeymoon and through the cohabitation part of the experience, though not without its challenges. MAFS season 18 is already overcoming MAFS season 17 in Denver in its success rate.
In season 17, there was the first runaway bride situation, which caused cast member Michael Shiakallis to get rematches. One of the couples broke up upon returning from their honeymoon, while another broke up on their one-month anniversary. Furthermore, Michael said no to staying married to his new bride, and his other two marriages also ended in divorce. This poor result came after years of unsuccessful pairings. As it stands, the MAFS the success rate is only 18.75%. 64 couples (not including those from season 18) were matched and only 12 of them are still together.
Married at first sight has a history of casting problematic cast members who tend to be the perpetuators of terms like the ones on this list. Whether they're cast members who are emotionally unavailable, have clout seeking motivations, questionable backgrounds, or difficult personalities, these trigger words are born from their circumstances and behavior on the show. These words highlight the crazy ideas of a season, the perceptions of the series, and some also translate into the hopes of the cast of Married at first sight.
THE Married at first sight The cast enters the experiment with great expectations, nervousness and positivity. However, these ideals tend to be destroyed or, at least, tested. The keywords on this list have defined the show over the years and are actually funny at this point because they somehow relate to the disaster. The words in this list can even play the role Married at first sight bingo card ideawhere fans have heard these words over and over again, or they belong to certain types of cast.
10
"Manifest"
Karla Juarez loves this term
Lifeof Married at first sight Season 18 cast member Karla Juarez displayed her whimsical, spacey, and passive-aggressive personality in her early marriage to her husband, Juan Franco. When meeting with experts during the selection process, Karla was a big supporter of the idea of “speaking up.” Karla believes that she “manifested” the MAFS experience in her life, and that she had "manifested" her future husband.
Karla’s “manifestation” is funny right nowbecause she has been trying hard to sabotage her marriage. She performed several passive-aggressive acts, such as making her husband carry her clothes in a trash bag because he said he had forgotten about her while spending time with her Season 18 co-star, David Trimble.
The word “manifesto” is usually associated with people with kind, observant, and hopeful personalities, but Karla is giving the word a bad reputation.
9
"Optics"
MAFS Season 17's Overused Optics
Married at first sight season 17 was a disaster. THE Life the season not only had the first runaway bride situation, but also the first attempt to deceive the group. The four original couples conspired together behind the scenes to present themselves in a certain way on camera in order to control their narratives, or “optics,” on the show. They encouraged their partners not to share the truth, and this only caused resentment and inauthenticity in their marriages and cast dynamics. Becca Haley was a big user of the word "optics", when accusing her husband, Austin Reed, of caring more about "optics" than making his wife happy and trying to understand her.
8
"Vulnerable"
MAFS cast broke down their walls
The word “vulnerable” has been thrown around season after season. THE Married at first sight Experts encourage vulnerability among wedding casts, and many struggle to show a “vulnerable” side of themselves. The fact that the cast can't be "vulnerable" in an experiment that requires participants to get to know and level with their queer spouses is comical. Experts must be able to detect a potential cast member's ability to become vulnerable, as it is a necessary part of the process. Since vulnerability didn't come easy for many cast membersand therefore their marriages end in divorce, the word has lost much of its meaning and intent in the franchise.
7
"Intentional"
MAFS cast wants to disclose their motivations
When things seem to be going well in marriages, the word “intentional” gets mentioned a lot. Whether in the sense of the cast being intentional with their behavior, or intentional with their time and what they choose to share, the cast “purporting” to be honest and truthful has been a stretch given the low success rate. Season 17's Michael had a large vocabulary and was eloquent in his speech, but as much as he intended to be "intentional", he caused the failure of his marriage.
6
"Cure"
Several cast members have had healing journeys
“Healing” is another Married at first sight trigger word that would be on the program's bingo card. Because many of the cast seem to believe they have “cured” from past traumas, relationship pitfalls, and personal problems, they felt ready for the experiment when that was not the case. While some cast it as Nicole Lillenthal, managed to "cure" her insecurities With her husband's help, others have caught the warning signs they haven't "healed" from and caused damage to their marriages, like Matthew Gwynne's inability to "cure" his dysfunction.
5
"Unpacking"
Situations have arisen where "unpacking" has been the theme THE Married at first sight Experts love to "uncover" what's going on between couples, but it doesn't seem to help marriages, as most of them end in divorce.
Many contestants have also resisted “uncovering” the problems in their marriages, which contributes to the almost comical idea that the show is not selecting the right people to marry a stranger. When trying to “uncover” underlying problems, marriages often end up worse off. This could be due to poor therapy and advice from experts, the cast's inability to have the depth to "unpack," or both.
4
"Leaning Into"
Embracing the experiment
Many Married at first sight cast members said they are ready to “lean in” to the experiment. Season 14's Mark Maher was selected for the Boston season after having applied to the show before. He "leaned into" his marriage with an open heart, but was met by the difficult personality Lindsey Georgoulis as his bride, which made it difficult to "lean into" the experience. Other cast, like Orion Martzloff, said they were ready to "lean in" for the next chapter, but backed out and essentially leaned in when they became overwhelmed.
3
"A whole wife"
"Wife for a lifetime?"
Lifeof Married at first sight devoted an entire season 16 episode in San Diego to the phrase “A Whole Wife.” Cast member Alexis Williams was in love with the idea of getting marriedand called herself "a complete wife" when she married Justin Hall. However, her fantasy of being “a complete wife” dissolved when she faced the pressures that come with being “a complete wife.” Ironically, Alexis is about to become “a full wife” again, as she will be engaged after the show. The strange phrase gained traction from Alexis and is a ridiculous keyword for MAFS fans who know how that sentence ended for her.
2
"Gas lighting"
Many MAFS Casts Felt Victims of This
Married at first sight the cast members, who are often toxic and inexplicable, love to use the word "gaslighting."
When cast members don't want to look inward in tense situations, they promote the narrative that they are being “gaslighted” by their partners.
Season 14's Alyssa Ellman felt like she was being "gaslighted" by the whole experiment when she was the problem in her marriage to Chris Collette. Making a partner question their truth, sanity and reasoning through "gaslighting" has been the basis of some of the most questionable Married at first sight cast members like Chris Williams, Zack Freeman and Morgan Bell.
1
Missing the parade
MAFS Season 18
"Saudade do parade" is something new Married at first sight trigger word coined by Thomas Kriaras in season 18. When the 42-year-old spoke to the experts, he mentioned how his twin brother, Tim, was married and how he felt like he was “missing the parade.” His desire to get married led him to use this strange and pointed phrase several times in the first episodes and pre-episodes of the season. THE Married at first sight The trigger words in this list speak to the layer of comedic verbiage that viewers saw presented. These words defined the show and some of the cast, and should be in your Married at first sight bingo card.
Married at first sight airs Tuesdays at 8pm EST on Lifetime.