I’m Married At First Sight’s relationship expert – how we use a special ‘360 method’ to match couples on the show
A MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT expert has the exact process he uses to match couples on the show.
The latest season of the Channel 4 reality show has been packed to the brim with drama, from Eve and Charlie’s dramatic early exit, to Adam’s cruel comments on wife Polly’s looks.
The explosive rows on the show have left many viewers questioning whether the matchmakers have been doing their jobs correctly, and earlier this series, Caspar, 34, shocked viewers by questioning why he had been matched with Emma, 31.
“I don’t understand how the process got me to Emma. We are so different on so many levels.
“I don’t understand and I don’t get it and it’s really frustrating because this is my life you are f***ing with.”
However, matchmaking guru Paul C. Brunson, 49, who appears alongside Mel Schilling and Charlene Douglas on the show, was quick to shoot back that the experts had tested their compatibility on so many levels, and claimed that the couple shared the same attachment style.
And now Paul, who has been happily married for 23 years, has revealed exactly how the experts make the decision to pair couples.
Speaking on his podcast, We Need To Talk, the dating coach revealed that back in 2019, when MAFS had a very different format, three out of the four couples that were matched on the show remained together, and all have children, five years on.
“This is now considered to be the highest success rate of any dating show in the world, with a 75% success rate”, he said.
“But how many people watched that?”
He then shared that 15 years ago, he and his wife came up with a matchmaking method called the ‘360 analysis’, which he now uses on MAFS.
Paul explained that many of the people that came to him looking for love weren’t sure what their values were, so the expert interviewed their friends and family, to find out what they needed in a partner.
“We would talk to their parents, we would talk to co-workers, we would talk to ex-lovers, to children”, he said.
By talking to a wide variety of people, who have had both positive and negative experiences with a person, Paul was able to come up with a profile of exactly who the person was, instead of who they told people they were.
“That’s brilliant”, said relationship expert Julie Gottman, who was a guest on Paul’s podcast.
Mafs couples that have stood the test of time
Loved-up Tayah Victoria and Adam Aveling of series six fame had the first Mafs baby.
The pair couldn’t keep their hands off each other on the programme and quickly found their feet in the outside world, moving into Adam’s Doncaster home.
Just 18 months after meeting, the couple welcomed their daughter Beau.
Season five couple Michelle Walder and Owen Jenkins also managed to make their marriage work away from the cameras and had their first child in December.
Teacher Michelle, 29, has no regrets about taking part in the experiment. She told us: “I just feel very lucky and thankful that it has worked out – and excited for everything to come.”
Michelle and Owen were both sick of dating apps when they applied in 2019.
Owen recalled: “I had been out for some drinks with a friend after work.
“While he was out for a cigarette I was scrolling on Instagram waiting for him to come back in.
“The MAFS advert was the last thing I saw, and I joked, ‘Wouldn’t it be funny if I signed up?’
“A few beers later when I was back at home I sent in the application, and the rest is history.”
Another couple to make Mafs UK history is Zoe Clifton and Jenna Robinson.
Despite a slight rocky start, where they clashed over Jenna’s vegan lifestyle, the show’s first same sex pairing are still going strong.
They even have a successful podcast together called Life With a Pod.
Jenna shed light on being involved in the show earlier this year when she told us: “We’re not legally married, and I never felt like we were. I definitely feel the process makes you take the relationship a lot more seriously and having the help of the experts… if you can survive that process it sets a firm foundation for a long-lasting relationship.”
“Because when people are just representing themselves, first of all, they lie.
“That’s natural, as we all want to present ourselves in the best light”, she continued.
“But people who are around us and perceive us can afford to be more honest, because our egos weren’t at stake.”
Paul added that he and his wife were offered a reality TV series following their life, but declined it, as their drama free marriage is “boring”.
“What I’ve found about couples that are happy and stable, is that for the most part their boring”, he said.
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