Married at First Sight: Australia is the Escape We Are Craving
As a connoisseur and ravenous consumer of mindless television in the best of times, this year has turned me into a sommelier of reality TV escapism. If your show has a congenial host and a superfluity of consenting adults making poor decisions, I’m opening my veins and letting it flow in.
Labor of Love, a reality TV show about finding a baby daddy that required the contestants to give sperm samples? Terrible, I loved every second. Every season of The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and Bachelor in Paradise both American and Australian that can be find on HBOMax? You have my final rose. Indian Matchmaking? Not even subtitles can stop me. But then, just when I was losing hope and running out of binge-worthy shows, I found the pinnacle of television escapism.
I am in deep. You could even say I’m down under.
Married at First Sight: Australia is the escape I was craving.
I’ve watched most seasons of the American version of Married at First Sight in which strangers get matched by professionals and meet each other for the first time at their wedding. It’s peak relationship voyeurism; however, it tends to be pretty PG and heavy on the emotional connections.
BORING.
In comparison, Married at First Sight: Australia is like the American version but on crack. Forget four couples, in Australia everything is bigger so we get 12 ridiculously attractive and artificially enhanced couples. Long gone are the sad weddings located in the conference room at the local Hilton; MAFS Australia weddings take place in gorgeous outdoor spaces with dresses and tuxedos that actually fit. You want drama? In Australia the couples are forced to attend weekly dinner parties. Sounds nice right? Nope, that’s where everyone fights and sometimes hook-up with other people in the experiment.
There are older couples, rich couples, poor couples, single-parent couples, a same-sex couple, couples who flat out hate each other and others who might actually make it. But the one thing that unites them all, is their willingness to get real-life married and ruin their lives for our entertainment.
I’m completely riveted.
The most recent season of Married at First Sight: Australia originally aired there earlier this year, but it’s re-airing in the USA on HULU now. I’m 19 episodes in and I can’t even contemplate what my life will be like when it’s over.
What is your TV escape of choice? How long will I be able to avoid spoiling the end of this season without checking social media? Let’s talk in the comments.
