Married at First Sight is an American reality television series that first aired on July 8, 2014, on FYI. It later moved to Lifetime and Peacock.
The series is based on a Danish series titled Gift ved første blik that first aired on September 4, 2013, on DR3. The original Danish series format has been sold to broadcasters throughout the world.
Production and broadcast The series first aired in the United States on FYI. Beginning with season two, it aired in simulcast on sister network A&E. In 2017, for its fifth season, the show moved to sister network Lifetime. The following year, two spin-offs were announced to premiere that October, Married at First Sight: Honeymoon Island and Married at First Sight: Happily Ever After. In January 2025, after 18 seasons on A&E Networks, it was announced that Peacock had acquired the rights to the series beginning with the upcoming season 19.
Format The series features three to five couples, paired up by relationship experts, who agree to marry when they first meet. For the first three seasons, the experts were clinical psychologist Joseph Cilona, sexologist Logan Levkoff, sociologist Pepper Schwartz, and humanist chaplain Greg Epstein. Starting with the fourth season, the experts were Schwartz, pastor and marriage counselor Calvin Roberson, and communication and relationship expert Rachel DeAlto. Rachel DeAlto was replaced with Jessica Griffin beginning with the sixth season. Griffin stayed until the ninth season and was replaced by Viviana Coles in seasons ten and eleven.
The couples spend their wedding night in a hotel before leaving for a honeymoon. Upon returning home, they live together as a married couple for the remainder of the eight weeks. Thereafter, they must choose to divorce or stay married.
Synopsis Over the nineteen completed seasons of MAFS, 79 couples have been matched. 44 of them (56%) mutually chose to stay married on Decision Day, out of which over two-thirds have since divorced, filed for divorce, or announced their divorce. As of December 2025, this left only 11 couples married, making for a current overall success rate of 13.9%.
As a point of comparison, according to the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the marital success rate nationwide is around 58%.
Season 1 The first season took place in New York City and northern New Jersey, and premiered July 8, 2014. The couples were: # Couple Age Occupation Final Decision Current Status Children New marriage (nm) / new relationship (nr) Children in nm / nr 1Jamie Otis-Hehner27Nurse Yes Married 4Doug Hehner31Software salesman 2Cortney Hendrix26Make-up artist Yes Divorced -yes (nm)2Jason Carrion27EMTyes (nm)1 3Monet Bell33Product development manager No DivorcedVaughn Copeland30Field service technician In March 2019, Cortney and Jason divorced after five years of marriage. Since their divorce, Cortney and Jason have both moved on. Jason married actress Roxanne Pallett in January 2020. In June 2021, they announced they were expecting their first child together. Cortney married Sherm, an accountant, in October 2020. In April 2021, they announced they were expecting their first child together. In October 2021, Cortney gave birth to her and Sherm's first child, a baby boy. In February 2023, they announced they were expecting their second child together.
Jamie and Doug are now a family of six. The couple lost their first son, Jonathan Edward, at 17 weeks gestation in July 2016, before going on to have daughter Henley Grace in August 2017. They have spoken about subsequent struggles to conceive, experiencing a chemical pregnancy in 2018 and a miscarriage at 10 weeks along in 2019. Their son, Hendrix Douglas, was born in May 2020. In February 2024, they announced that they were expecting their third child (which later turned out to be twins). Their twin boys were born in September 2024.
Season 2 The second season, like the first, took place in New York City and Northern New Jersey, and premiered on March 17, 2015. The couples were: # Couple Age Occupation Final Decision Current Status Children New marriage (nm) / new relationship (nr) Children in nm / nr 1Jaclyn Methuen30Vodka saleswomanYes Divorced -yes2Ryan Ranellone28Real estate agent 2Davina Kullar (now Davis)34Pharmaceutical saleswoman No Divorced -yes (nm)2Sean Varricchio35Trauma nurseyes1 3Jessica Castro30ReceptionistYes Divorced -yes1Ryan DeNino/Oehl29Businessman
Concluding Jaclyn's and Ryan's marriage, Jaclyn entered into another relationship in 2018 and announced she was expecting a child in 2019. She had a daughter in November 2019. As of 2021, Ryan is still single.
Davina is now married with a son named Hudson. As of 2021, Sean is married with a daughter.
Jessica Castro and Ryan DeNino had a contentious relationship, with Ryan threatening to harm Jessica on multiple occasions. Jessica filed a restraining order against him in June 2015. As of 2021, Jessica Castro is in a relationship and has a son with him. On August 14, 2026, Ryan’s sister announced on social media that he had suddenly passed away. He was 40 years old.
Season 3 The third season was set in Atlanta, Georgia, and premiered on December 1, 2015. The couples were: # Couple Age Occupation Final Decision Current Status Children New marriage (nm)/ new relationship (nr) Children in nm / nr 1Vanessa Nelson26Event manager Yes Divorced -Tres Russell27Luxury car salesman 2Ashley Doherty30Nursing student No Divorced -yes (nm)1David Norton29Software account executive Yes 3Samantha Role30Bank manager Yes Divorced -yes (nm)3Neil Bowlus31Compliance specialist No Vanessa and Tres got divorced within six months of Decision Day. Vanessa appeared on Married At First Sight: Second Chances in 2017 and married Andre Forbes. Their marriage also ended in divorce. As of 2020, Tres was in a "complicated" relationship. As of 2021, Vanessa appeared to be single.
After divorcing David, Ashley learned that he had a history of misdemeanors. In 2019, Ashley shared a photo from her wedding. In 2020, Ashley announced that she was pregnant and gave birth to a son in April 2021.
In April 2018, Samantha married Chris Wise and in September gave birth to a daughter. In March 2022 Samantha gave birth to twins. Samantha and Neil are still friends. In April 2020, Neil revealed that he is in a relationship.
Season 4 The fourth season premiered on Tuesday, July 26, 2016. The setting was South Florida (particularly Miami), and two new specialists joined alongside sociologist Pepper Schwartz: communication and relationship expert Rachel DeAlto, and marriage counselor Pastor Calvin Roberson. Doctors Joseph Cilona and Logan Levkoff exited the series after season three. The couples were: # Couple Age Occupation Final Decision Current Status Children New marriage (nm) / new relationship (nr) Children in nm / nr 1Sonia Granados33Social worker Yes Divorced -yes (nr)Nick Pendergrast32Vacation rental manageryes2 (twins) 2Heather Seidel32Flight attendant No1 Divorced -yes1Derek Schwartz35Account executive 3Lillian Vilchez24Realtor Yes Divorced -Tom Wilson29Boat interior designeryes
1 Heather and Derek left in the middle of the experiment.
Sonia and Nick divorced after about a year of marriage. That same year, Nick announced that he was in a relationship and they were expecting twins. In 2019, Nick was in a work accident that left him partially paralyzed. He has recovered from the incident. Sonia has started a podcast and as of 2021 is still single.
Heather and Derek left the show ten days after they were married.
Tom and Lillian announced their divorce in May 2017. As of 2021, Lillian was single. In 2019, Tom announced that he was engaged to Michelle, and they were married three months later. Tom is a step-father to Michelle's two children from a previous marriage.
Season 5 The fifth season was renewed on October 25, 2016. For this season, the show moved to the Lifetime. It on April 20, 2017, and featured couples in Chicago. The couples were: # Couple Age Occupation Final Decision Current Status Children New marriage (nm) / new relationship (nr) Children in new marriage / relationship 1Danielle DeGroot30DieticianYes Divorced -no?Cody Knapek26Trainer / gym owneryes 2Sheila Downs31School district facility directorYes Divorced -yesNate Duhon26Branch manager of a car rental companyyes 3Ashley Petta30Manager of family-owned bar & grillYes Married 2Anthony D'Amico33Sale account executive
Ashley Petta and Anthony D'Amico are now a family of four. They announced they were expecting their first child in August 2018. They welcomed their first child, daughter Mila Rose, in January 2019. In July 2020, they announced they were expecting their second child, which was later revealed to be another girl. In February 2021, their second daughter, Vaeda Marie, was born.
As of October 2021, Nate is in a relationship, and has his own business. Sheila is married.
Season 6 The sixth season was renewed by Lifetime, and premiered on January 2, 2018, and featured couples in Boston. Relationship expert Jessica Griffin joined the show as a specialist, replacing Rachel DeAlto, who left after Season 5. The couples were: # Couple Age Occupation Final Decision Current Status Children New marriage (nm) / new relationship (nr) Children in new marriage / relationship 1Shawniece Jackson29CosmetologistYesMarried 1Jephte Pierre262nd grade school teacher 2Molly Duff25Commercial insurance adjusterNoDivorced -Jonathan Francetic28Financial associateyes (engaged) 3Jaclyn Schwartzberg29Technical sales representativeYesDivorced -yes (nm)1Ryan Buckley29Firefighter
Shawniece Jackson and Jephte Pierre welcomed their first child, a baby girl named Laura Denise Pierre, in August 2018.
Jonathan Francetic and relationship expert Jessica Griffin revealed they had struck up a romance following his time on the show when Griffin announced she would not be returning to Married At First Sight as an expert for Season 9. They began dating more than five months after the season wrapped. The pair became engaged in April 2019. Their original wedding date was set for October 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. As of October 18, 2022, Fracentic and Griffin are officially married.
In September 2020, Jaclyn married Dane, with whom she had been in a relationship with since late 2018. As of 2021, Ryan is still single.
Season 7 The seventh season was renewed by Lifetime, and featured couples from Dallas, with the premiere airing on July 10, 2018. The couples were: # Couple Age Occupation Final Decision Current Status Children Remarried / new relationship Children in new marriage / relationship 1Mia Bally29International recruiter of an airlineYesDivorced -??Tristan Thompson29Tutoring club owneryes1 2Danielle Bergman-Dodd30Software saleswomanYesMarried 3Bobby Dodd27Construction project manager 3Amber Martorana36Senior title analystYesDivorced -??Dave Flaherty37High yield bond trader??
Danielle Bergman-Dodd and Bobby Dodd have three children together. Their first child, Olivia Nicole, was born in February 2019. Their second child, Bobby Dodd IV, was born in December 2020. Their third child and second daughter, Savannah Ann, was born in September 2023.
In July 2020, Tristan married Rachel, who he had been in a relationship with since early 2019. In March 2021, they welcomed their first child together, a baby boy named Phoenix. As of 2021, Mia is still single.
As of 2021, both Dave and Amber are still single.
Season 8 The eighth season featured couples from Philadelphia, was the first season that featured a fourth couple, and premiered on January 1, 2019. The couples were: