Married at first sight is known for casting people who come onto the show with questionable living situations, and this hurts the cast and the show. Married at first sight Season 18 is currently airing, and the historical nature of this topic has been brought up by Season 18 viewers as it relates to a cast member now. THE MAFS The panel of three experts, who are currently Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Pastor Cal Roberson, and Dr. Pia Holec, aims to match couples based on their cultural backgrounds, non-negotiables, appearance preferences, and value systems.
Furthermore, experts must identify and choose people who are emotionally available, in good standing before the law and financially capable of having a spouse. In many past couples, warning signs from certain cast members presented themselves early and caused rifts in their connections that ended the marriage. Experts must detect these red flag behaviors or situations and refrain from casting people of the wrong caliber to prevent the program from losing credibility and marriages from failing. However, even with the current season, living situations have been a quick perception killer.
Steve Moy
MAFS Season 14
Steve Moy was on Married at first sight season 14, which took place in Boston, Massachusetts. Steve was 38 years old when he joined the show and married his now ex-wife Noi Phammosak. Steve, who qualified as a “freelancer”, lost his job in software and sales before joining the program. He was coming off a long solo trip when he was found. Steve spent his time living in his car and taking each day as it came. Steve’s father called Steve “tramp.” Steve also said he lived off his savings, which was never a problem for him.
“Steven, he’s like a bum. He really just wants to travel. What do you think?” Steve’s father told Noi.
However, it was a problem for Noi, who wanted financial security for her husband. Steve assured his wife that he was financially stable, but Noi wanted more security through a job. At the time, 33-year-old Noi also wanted at least three children, which was scary for Steve. Steve appearing on the show after a long period of instability was a red flag. Regardless of whether Steve prepared himself well enough to be financially well off without having a steady job, he was not the ideal candidate to marry someone with more traditional values.
Orion Martzloff
MAFS Season 17
Orion Martzloff appeared in Married at first sight season 17 in Denver, Colorado. Orion, a proud Native American who described himself as bisexual, was paired with Lauren Goodger, an African-American woman who was also proud of her heritage. When Orion was selected for the show, he lived with his motherA factor that seemed to have been ignored by both experts and Lauren, however, ended up influencing her personality and maturity in her marriage.
Orion displayed a sort of victimhood towards his wife after she made an insensitive racial “joke” and also disclosed that she had recently slept with someone before coming on the show. He demonstrated low emotional intelligence when dealing with sensitive situations that arose with Lauren, in a way that made him appear stunted, potentially due to being cared for at home by his mother. In a Reddit thread about Orion by a deleted user, a viewer summarized in a popular comment.
“I’m starting to think that him continuing to live with his mother wasn’t a choice, but a necessity.”
Mackinley Gilbert
MAFS Season 16
Mackinley “Mac” Gilbert, age 34, married Domynique Kloss, age 25, in Married at first sight season 16 in Nashville, Tennessee. Mackinley only moved to Nashville after he was selected for the show. He moved into a friend’s parents’ basement and was between jobs. He also told Domynique that he couldn’t commit to staying in Nashville even if it worked out.
Mac should have been identified as someone who was just trying to get TV time, otherwise he wouldn’t be in the in-between situation in which he arrived on the show.
Matthew Gwynne
MAFS Season 9
Matthew Gwynne was featured in Married at first sight Season 9, which took place in Charlotte, North Carolina. Matt married Amber Bowles. Although they had a few days of initial chemistry and compatibility, it all fell apart due to Matt’s wild antics. His antics likely stemmed from the way he lived his life when he was selected for the show. Matt was couch surfing among his friends’ couchesand lived a relatively homeless lifestyle.
Amber spoke to the since-defunct podcast Hey Phrase Podcast (through Cheat Sheet) in 2020 about how unsuitable Matt was for the show.
“He has not earned enough income to file taxes… He is very financially unstable. He claims he is going to open a business, but he has never started it.”
Amber further stated that Matt lied “just to be chosen” for the show. “Like, ‘Hey, I’m not completely homeless and jobless.’”
Matthew’s rebellious living situation showed his questionable character and he was a terrible choice to be cast Married at first sight.
Matt’s personality and background caused the show to lose credibility and contributed to the turbulent period Amber experienced on the show.
David Trimble
MAFS Season 18
David Trimble is a cast member in Married at first sight season 18, and fans have been vocal about her living situation (via u/Stock-Tradition-7375.) He was open with the experts about living in his parents’ basement, although he later explained that he paid rent, had his own entrance, and was in a financial position to move out if he wanted. He expanded to say that he was living with his parents by choice, not only to help them with the mortgage, but also because family was important to him.
However, when David told his wife, Michellle Tomblin, about his living situation she thought he was unattractive and grumpyeven after he told her more about it.
“Never in the history of the show have any of the brides been remotely okay with a deadbeat groom living in his parents’ basement,” one viewer commented.
Michelle is not okay with David’s living circumstances continued to be a major issue for the pair in every episode so far.
This has created an insurmountable barrier between them (via Access Hollywood.) The experts should have recognized that David living with his parents was never a situation that would sit well with Michelle. Married at first sight The cast members’ questionable living situations when they joined the show were a blight on the franchise, as neither spouses nor fans thought anything less than a stable living condition was acceptable before marriage.
Married at first sight airs Tuesdays at 8pm EST on Lifetime.
Source: Reddit, Cheat Sheet, Access Hollywood/YouTube, you/Stock-Tradition-7375/Reddit