There is a reason the Married at First Sight season 18 is officially over, as the "Where Are They Now?" episode just aired. It was preceded by a two-part reunion. Season 18 was unlike any other because it had a cheating and couples swap scandal. David Trimble, who was married to Michelle Tomblin, carried on an affair with Madison Myers, who was Allen Slovick's wife. They formed an attraction immediately and connected further in the coming weeks.

They decided, only after they were outed, to officially ditch their marriages and pursue each other. Not only does this mean the experts did a poor job of matching two couples, but it also means they couldn't detect the deception going on, which has happened in the past. In MAFS season 17, 80% of the cast attempted a group dupe, where they portrayed themselves on camera falsely to get good edits, which the experts didn't pick up on either. The experts unknowingly gave away a major reason why they have been so bad at matching the couples.

The MAFS Experts Only Go Off The Written Applications

As Stated At The Reunion

When the Married at First Sight experts were confronted during the reunion about how many failed marriages resulted in season 18, Pastor Cal Roberson divulged that all they have to go on is the paper answers. The participants do a lengthy questionnaire, meant to give the experts the insight they need in order to make the matches. On paper, however, the experts have been overlooking red flags in cast , like David living at home and Michelle not being done with her party girl era.

There's Something Missing With The Experts' In-Person Interviews

They Are Too Surface

The second stage of selection from the paper analyzes, is in-person interviews, which are conducted in the homes of the potential cast and in a neutral interview setting. At this point, the experts can dig deeper and get a sense of the cast in real life.

While they should be doing a better job at pressing the participants for answers on what they couldn't get from the papers, it seems they are remaining surface level, leading to bad cast choices being made.

Cast who aren't ready for marriage, have biases, or are emotionally unintelligent, have slipped through the experts' investigations.

The MAFS Experts Are Relying On The Wrong Things

They Should Be Covering All Bases

In order to make the right decisions, the experts shouldn't be relying on what the cast have written down on paper and should be focusing on their skills as therapists getting to know if someone is ready for marriage. Married at First Sight's credibility has tanked due to the experts' inability to be effective in the selection process. They keep getting it wrong, and made excuses at the reunion for their choices, which isn't a good look. While they are likely trying their best at matchmaking, it's just not cutting it.