I was pretty critical of the show Married at First Sight when I first heard what it was about. Two people, who don't know each other, get married, with no knowledge of who they're marrying until they're walking down the aisle? HARD. PASS. Then, I started watching the show, just to see how crazy it was. Then I watched every episode and now I'm like... SIGN ME UP, these couples seem to have a good thing going for them. And even though the process is unconventional, the Married at First Sight couples actually do quite a few things better than couples who don't marry at first sight.
Hear me out. Every couple in a relationship faces hardships, duh, but the Married at First Sight couples are forced to face those hardships in a very compact situation. The show takes place over six weeks, and at the end of those six weeks the couple decides if they want to remain married or if they will get a divorce. So these two people need to figure out a lot of stuff in the course of six weeks, which is a lot less time than most couples have to make decisions about their relationship.
Here are six things Married at First Sight coupes do better than couples that don't get married at first sight.
1. They Communicate Better
Because Married at First Sight couples are complete strangers when they get married, they have to learn how the other functions day and night. That means they need to be open and willing to communicate what they want in a relationship/marriage. While other couples might do this, they don't have the pressure of a six week trial run in the back of their minds, so they might not feel the need to be so open and willing so early on.
2. They're Better At Making Difficult Decisions Together
The couples get married, go on their honeymoon, and move in together in the course of maybe... a week? A week and a half, maybe? That's a lot of change happening in a short period of time. On Season 2, multiple couples struggled with the decision of where they should live, which forced them to make decisions some other couples may put off, because no one wants to have the "Who is going to leave their entire life behind and move an hour away from their family" discussion if they don't need to.
3. They're Better At Reevaluating Their Relationship
At the end of the six weeks, the Married at First Sight couples have to take a serious look at their relationship and decide if they want to remain married or not. Reevaluating a relationship is not fun, and normal couples might tend to stick with something they've grown accustomed to if that means they don't have to make a serious decision.
4. They're Better At Getting To Know Each Other
OK, maybe they might not be better but the MAFS couples are definitely forced to get to know each other, which is rare in a more conventional relationship. But with MAFS couples, these relationships won't work if the participants don't get to know their partner inside and out. They can't wait months into the relationship to really learn about the person they're married to, because they just don't have that kind of time.
5. They're Better At Having Serious Discussions Early On
"How do you want to raise your kids? How many kids do you want? What is your take on religion? How close are you with your family? How do you see the family structure after we have children?" These all sound like really fun questions, right? WRONG. However, these are questions that MAFS couples need to be asking their partners, because if they're going to continue with their marriage, they need to be on the same page.
6. They're Better At Addressing Issues
I think because these people don't really know each other, they're a lot less likely to hold back when it comes to annoying habits and tendencies that their partner may have. This social experiment is testing how these strangers can compromise and work together on a relationship, and some other couples — who aren't on the show — might brush certain things under the rug. Yay for passive-aggressiveness.
Images: A&E; Giphy (6)
