“I take this STRANGER to be my lawfully wedded (husband/wife)”
What would you be willing to do to find love? Fly halfway across the world? Join all possible dating websites? Or…marry a complete stranger? The television show Married at First Sight, which plays on the A&E network, chronicles a social experiment where psychologists, and various other experts, match two complete strangers who are to meet on the day of their wedding. Not only have the matched couples never met before, but they know absolutely nothing about the person they will be marrying. Not even their name! And do not forget, these are legally bound marriages. Unsuccessful marriages lead to divorce.
So, how does the process work? Potential candidates undergo background checks, psychological evaluations, and various other measures (Chiu, 2015). This cuts the thousands of interested applicants into a group of sixty serious candidates (Chestang, 2015). These candidates then enter the research stage in which four experts — a clinical psychologist, sociologist, sexologist, and spiritual advisor — conduct research specific to their field of study (Chestang, 2015). This is followed by extensive interviews and questionnaires that assess the candidates’ personality, past relationship history, and the qualities that they look for in a romantic partner (Chiu, 2015). At the end of the matchmaking process, a span of approximately seven months, three couples are matched based on their similarity and complementary traits. After getting legally married, they are to begin their life together as a married couple, such as going on a honeymoon and buying a house together. Six weeks into the marriage, when the experiment comes to an end, couples need to decide whether they will stay married or file for divorce.
Psychological testing, and various other measures, are conducted to match two strangers who are believed to be perfect matches. However, how perfect can these matches possible be? Just because two individuals appear to be a perfect match on paper, does not mean that in person sparks will fly, butterflies will fill their stomachs, and that they will hopelessly fall in love. If no chemistry exists, then the extensive research process will have been useless. Chemistry is not something that could be predicted beforehand. No matter how similar, or complementary, two individuals’ traits are, if no chemistry exists then a “perfect match” will be deemed “imperfect”. One cannot force themselves to feel attracted to another individual, or to fall in love with them. Thus, the extensive matchmaking process might not be valid if chemistry does not exist. Furthermore, as seen in the previous seasons of Married at First Sight, some individuals might not have thoroughly thought out exactly what they wanted in a marriage, or they might have thought that they wanted one thing, only to realize that want another. This can also affect the matchmaking results.
Married at First Sight is presently on its third season, and while the verdict is still out as to whether the marriages from this season will survive or not, out of the six couples matched from the previous two seasons, only two couples have decided to stay married. However, from what I predict from watching this current season, a few more successful marriages might be added to the list. With all this in mind, I will ask you again, what would you be willing to do to find love?
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References:
Chiu, M. (2015, June 18). Married at First Sight’s Executive Producer Defends ‘Thorough’ Process for Creating Matches. Retrieved from http://www.people.com/article/married-at-first-sight-producer-explains-casting-process
Chestang, R. (2015, March 17). Inside the ‘Grueling’ Casting Process for ‘Married at First Sight’. Retrieved from http://www.etonline.com/tv/161274_inside_the_grueling_casting_process_for_married_at_first_sight/
