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OPINION: Why Married At First Sight will never be the same

I'm calling it - we'll never see a better season of the hit reality series ever again.

This season of Married At First Sight has truly delivered the drama, and I’m calling it – we’ll never see a better season of the hit reality series ever again. 

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The premise of the series for those that don’t know, is that a number of couples embark on a social experiment whereby relationship experts match them up with their ideal partner, and they meet for the first time at the altar. 

But, Season 5 of Married At First Sight Australia took the show to a whole new level. From cheating to couple swapping, the season saw Australian viewers watch and wait in anticipation to see the dinner parties, commitment ceremonies and nights out seemingly explode with a different drama every time (although, usually involving the same parties). 

First, the series seemed to follow its designated premise, with the couples meeting at the altar and choosing whether or not they’d like to continue on. The honeymoon phase of the series was relatively low-key as well, with couples’ figuring out if they were well-matched or not. 

It’s when the couple’s met for their first dinner party that things started to really amp up, and the first scandal of the season would begin to take its course.

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Self-confessed ‘alpha-male’ Dean Wells and Instagram model Davina Rankin would realise that they preferred each other over their given partners – Tracey Jewel and Ryan Gallagher. 

Dean and Davina became the people we loved to hate, with their secret meet-ups and steamy text messages becoming the basis of the series. When the pair made a pact to swap for each other at the next commitment ceremony, we waited in anticipation.

THEN, we were left shocked as Dean decided at the last minute to stay with his original partner, Tracey, and came clean at an intense commitment ceremony. 

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(Credit: Channel Nine)

The series continued for another week while Tracey and Dean tried to work on their relationship, and the nation fell in love with a beaten down Ryan as he was forced to spend another week with the wife who had wanted to leave him for another man. 

As the next commitment ceremony came around, we farewelled the controversial Davina and Tracey and Dean had seemingly repaired their relationship.

The series died down, and viewers were left to believe that the infamous cheating scandal would be the most explosive saga to happen.

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BUT, how wrong we’d be. 

Fans of the series were left confused and desperate for answers when pictures of Carly Bowyer and Troy Delmege kissing and embracing in a park made their way online.

Problem was – the pair were meant to be married to other people – Justin Fischer and Ashley Irvin. 

Viewers were not given answers, and we waited to see if the bizarre pairing would unfold on our screens. 

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Meanwhile, villain Dean was working on repairing his reputation among the fellow contestants, and was seemingly making a concerted effort to mend his relationship. 

Alas, the ‘boy’s night’ would see all that effort torn to shreds, and we would finally be given some answers to the ‘wife-swapping’ scandal

Dean asked if any of the other men in the experiment had the urge to ‘swap’ partners. 

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Viewers watched and cringed as Justin revealed he and Carly were living apart. The camera then cuts to Troy who tells: ‘I don’t know what’s up with Justin, because the first time I saw Carly, I thought she was great.’

The seed for their romance was thus planted. 

The conversation gets even more uncomfortable when Justin claims his wife is more attracted to Dean and Troy.

The seed begins to grow. 

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It’s then that Justin drops the bombshell – he’s most attracted to Ashley.

Dean interjects, ‘What about Tracey, she’s hot?’

‘Does anybody want to bang Tracey,’ the self-confessed ‘alpha-male’ yells.

Justin adds, ‘I don’t want to be disrespectful, but I’m open to it.’

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‘I’d pick Ash,’ he finishes. 

‘Wife-swap them,’ one of the other boys yells.

It’s at this point the show should have changed its name from Married At First Sight to Couple Swap. 

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The episodes roll on and we begin to believe that Justin and Troy’s admissions to wanting other women had merely been the mob mentality of a boy’s night. But, as the finale week began we’d once again be left with our jaws on the floor.

In the vow renewal, three couples who had remained fairly strong throughout the series professed their desire to remain together – Sarah and Telv, Charlene and Pat and John and Melissa. While all the other remaining couples decided to part ways. 

Viewers then waited eagerly for the final dinner party, that would see the contestants come together for the final time. With all the vows complete and all contestants returning, including those that had decided to leave early on in the experiment, we didn’t think the dinner would bring as much drama as the series had previously entailed, but rather would be a reflection on what they had all been through.

HOW WRONG WE WERE!

As people begin to arrive the bombshells of all bombshells happens. 

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Former contestant Sean, who was originally paired with Blair, walks into the room donning a gold jacket and new blonde hairstyle. He walks in and embraces Tracey with big kiss of the lips.

Safe to say, Australia looked like this. 

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The pair admit that they have been seeing each other and Sean admits, ‘I’ve found love.’ 

Before you even have time to recover from this shocking twist, Troy and Carly walk in together, holding hands. The room looks on in shock and confusion. 

They too admit that they have been seeing each other outside of the show. 

The series ended with a serious bang, and became one of the most watched on Australian television. 

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BUT, even as the show ends, another set of contestants decide to date one another – Justin and Ashley.

The smitten couple have been spotted several times together over the last couple of weeks, and the millionaire admitted on Kyle and Jackie O that he and Ashley had been seeing each other ‘for weeks.’ 

Even weeks after the show’s ending, the contestants continue to generate interest among Australian viewers, with series favourites making appearances on various television programs and their social media followings growing by the day. 

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But, can Married At First Sight ever be the same again?

As viewers and fans of MAFS, I don’t think we’ll ever get the same drama, intensity, and frankly, ‘couple-swapping’ ever again.

When the next season airs, I’ll be wanting the same type of sagas to unfold, but how likely is is that four couples will find love with someone else’s partner?

Will we be disappointed if couple’s on the show actually find love with the person they were partnered with? 

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While the show has been popular for several seasons, none have garnered as much attention as this, and I’m left thinking that seasons to follow will always live in the shadow of Season 5. 

Only time will tell! 

Do you agree? Head to our Facebook page to let us know! 

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