For people who’ve agreed to wed strangers, the Married At First Sight UK cast sure can be picky.
Their list of stipulations ranges from ‘unreal brunette’ – whatever that means – to ‘over 6ft’. They want kind, funny, loyal, ambitious, financially independent partners (fair enough) who are on a reality show but don’t want fame (a little tougher).
The experts Paul C Brunson, Mel Schilling and Charlene Douglas certainly have their work cut out finding the singletons all that they desire or challenging them to look deeper.
Matching two people who aren’t each other’s exact physical type is something a couple can potentially work past if they want to.
However, there is one repeated point of contention that will always be more unmovable. It’s an issue that individuals shouldn’t feel bad for holding strong views on – children.
During Stephen and Hannah’s wedding day, the issue came to a head. We saw the groom struggling to find the confidence to reveal he has four children from a previous marriage to his new bride Hannah, who has none.
When the conversation occurred, a clearly disappointed Hannah admitted it had ‘raised a red flag’ in her head and then began reporting the news to guests in disbelief. Stephen looked on awkwardly. I felt uncomfortable watching this preventable exchange take place.
It wasn’t the first time in this series that the situation has occurred – Alex said that he would have preferred it if his future wife didn’t have children, but that he was willing to ‘overlook all of that s**t’ if he ‘falls head over heels for someone’. Mum-of-two Holly was left in tears by the revelation.
I was heartbroken that she’d been made to feel that having children was an undesirable trait.
We’ve seen it in previous series too, when April learnt George had ‘four heartbeats to look after’ as he phrased it. This was not something she was looking for.
Myself and fellow viewers have been left wondering why people keep getting matched together when they’ve clearly communicated to production how they feel about their future partner having children.
‘Sorry but four kids is extremely wild to someone who doesn’t have any at all. Of course, his kids come first but she doesn’t have to stay for that ride, unfortunately,’ summarised Raych on X after Stephen and Hannah’s nuptials.
Tim Pearce said of Holly and Alex: ‘Once again, these experts are way off the mark with Alex and Holly, the geezer doesn’t want someone who has children!!! Why do they do it? Surely there’s got to be performance-related reviews because these guys are useless.’
If the matchmakers are aware that it’s potentially going to be a problem, then pairing these people together is possibly going too far in the name of entertainment. I can’t help but also wonder how these children feel having their existence talked about so much as an inconvenience.
It can’t be the most fun to watch your parent struggle to admit you’re in their life.
Plus, if a person doesn’t necessarily want step-children in their lives, then they are likely not going to be the best adult figure for them.
This is why having it as a recurring narrative on this show will always feel too iffy. It’s too late for the series nine couples, but in future, it would be better to find out exactly how the contributors feel about potentially being step-parents.
If they are on the fence then production needs to encourage them to take the time to carefully consider, so that they don’t then make their future spouse feel bad.
At the end of the day, having real children being presented as something to overcome – in the same way they may show a newlywed considering whether to move from London to Manchester – doesn’t seem right.
Even if people can work past it, they shouldn’t have been put in the position in the first place. And parents shouldn’t have to take on the role of defending having children.
Ultimately, people who don’t want to be step-parents shouldn’t feel bad for it, and parents shouldn’t need to justify having children.
This is true when dating in the outside world. Being honest about feelings towards a partner having children is only going to benefit everyone in the long-term.
This should be celebrated on reality TV. For the sake of not only the romantic hopefuls, but the children themselves.
There are plenty of other ways to create drama without needing to purposefully cause the issue.
Do you have a story you’d like to share? Get in touch by emailing jess.austin@metro.co.uk.
Share your views in the comments below.
