Married At First Sightseason 18’s premiere date is up in the air, and it’s time to talk about why the new season is delayed. Perhaps that was the byproduct of the bad reception thatMarried At First Sightseason 17got. There were a lot of things that went wrong withMAFSseason 17. The series was long and had lots of unsuccessful marriages. The Denver edition presented viewers with a group of individualswho were fame-hungry attention seekers.
They aimed to boost their images andwere never interested in building long-lasting connections. This isn’t whatMAFSis supposed to be about. It was a complete disaster, from the casting to the matching process.TheMAFSseason 17 cast memberstried to deceive producers so they could look perfect onscreen. The participants looked bad in the process, and the audience felt a lack of authenticity in their journeys. Although it has taken a long time to debut,MAFSseason 18 is bound to be better than season 17.

Married At First Sight Follows A Schedule
There’s Always A Break Between Seasons
Married At First Sightfollows an annual schedule.MAFSseason 17 premieredon August 11, 2025, and concluded in late April 2024. Traditionally,MAFShas a two to four-month break between seasons. This means thatMarried At First Sightseason 18should have premiered between July and September. The regular format takes the couples through the wedding day, the honeymoon phase, living together and Decision Day. Therefore, based on last season,MAFSseason 18 is technically not so late.
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Lifetime had to give its viewers a break before introducing a new group of singles who were ready to give marriage a chance. Over time, the seasons have been getting longer, withMAFSseason 17being the longest ever in the franchise’s history. Before season 8,MAFSfeatured three couples per season. Seasons 8 and 9 had four couples, whereas seasons 10 to 17 had five couples each. However, that doesn’t justify whyMAFSseason 17 was long.

One reason why things turned out this way was Michael Shiakallis’s runaway bride situation. After being left at the altar, the experts had to find him a new match.They paired Michael with Chloe Brown, with the twosome beginning their eight-week process while the otherMAFScouples were halfway gone. Hence, Lifetime must have felt that the audience neededa slightly longer break to mull over the concluded season 17.
Married At First Sight Fans Are Bothered By The Hiatus
They Want Season 18 To Drop Soon
MAFSfans have been looking forward to the season 18 premiere for a while.After a disastrous and boringMAFSseason 17, they hoped a new season would save the franchise. There might have been a solid reason why the show was on a lengthy pause this time - to check what needs changes and update that before releasing another season. The latest edition will return to Chicago for a second time andmight be the recipe for success. Many are optimistic that there will be no clout chasers on the show.
There is also hope thatMAFSwill make other changes to its format. Last season, they introduced post-Decision Day episodes and hada backup partner for Michael, which slightly changed the format. After an unsuccessfulMAFSseason 17, which the majority described as the worst season in the franchise’s history, the producers, experts and everyone else involved must have returned to the drawing board to see which areas they’d revamp.

Although none of thecouples fromMarried At First Sightseason 17are together, there are probably many fans who are waiting for news about whenMAFSseason 18 will air - perhaps they want to put season 17 behind them. While some may be tempted to skip the latest season, others may be hoping for a return toChicago, so there will be more successful couples.
There was plenty of drama in the last MAFS Chicago edition, including a cheating scandal. Still, it had a couple of successful marriages, thus setting the bar high for a second rendition of the series in the city.

Over the last couple of seasons,MAFShas gotten worse. Still, some viewers may await the new season’s premiere. A user namedMaadjadstarted a thread titled “where is season 18” on Reddit. In it, most people confessed how tired they were of the wait and wishedMAFSwould start airing soon. Many lamented how bad season 17 was, with a few adding that season 18 might have taken longer since the editors and producers wereeither re-shooting or editing scenes to avoid another flop season. Nonetheless,MAFSseasons should run back-to-backto keep the viewers engaged in the franchise.
When Can Fans Expect MAFS Season 18 To Drop?
In October 2024
It seems like the wait and speculation are over, asMAFSseason 18 is approaching. According to a leaked report,MAFSseason 18 will premiere on Wednesday, October 2. Learn about the season via theScreenRantclip (from YouTube) above. Lifetime hasn’t madean official announcement yet. Nonetheless, if the source is accurate, the trailer forMarried At First Sightseason 18 should be dropped soon.
There is high anticipation around the latest installment due to the failure rates of couples in seasons 16 and 17, with hopes for a better outcome this time around.Nicole Lilienthal and Christopher Thielk, who appeared onMAFSseason 16, are the only couples who remain together. Hence,the stakes are high for season 18, and the producers will bring the drama as they introduce a group of well-behaved cast members.
Are There Any MAFS Season 18 Spoilers?
There Are A Few Clues That Hint At What To Expect
Dr Pepper Schwartz, Pastor Cal Roberson and Dr Pia Holec will return to the series. With the high rates of unsuccessful marriages, there should be a reshuffle of the professionals.Married At First Sightexperts have ruinedthe social experiment due to a lack of matchmaking skills, leading to polar opposite couples, which has resulted in failed marriages. Despite being on the show from the beginning, Dr Pepper has contributed to the matching of incompatible couples, which is spoiling the show.Bringing fresh new people might be good when it comes torevamping the show.
Married At First Sight Needs To Change Its Format (Will Season 18 Be Different?)
Married At First Sight season 18 is right around the corner, with many hoping it will be different from a not-so-exciting MAFS season 17.
There might beanother runaway bride inMAFSseason 18. InMAFSseason 17, the first woman Michael was paired with left him heartbroken at the altar. That had never happened before in all the years the show has aired. However, it seems like there could be a repeat of the same. In theMarried At First Sightseason 18 teaser, a bride is asked if going through the process was worth it.
“Would it be the end of the world if I just literally didn’t do this?”
There is a chance the producers intentionally did this to stir the pot again. Still, with the runaway bride being the only exciting thing that happened in season 17, there might be a lot that the Chicago edition will present.MAFSseason 17 was hard to watch. Hopefully, season 18 will not be a repeat of the same -mismatched couples, clout chasers and a long season that wasn’t worth the hype.
There should also be no more couples splitting halfway through the experiment likeClare Kerr and Cameron Frazer did. The couple didn’t give their marriage a fair chance and gave up when they faced the first challenges. The new batch of Chicago singles should be committed to going through the process to the end. Nonetheless, shouldMarried At First Sightfail to redeem its reputation during season 18, season 19 (and beyond) should be better, based on the lessons and the feedback the producers and experts will have gotten.
Married At First Sight
Cast
Based on the Danish version of the series, Married at First Sight is a reality show/social experiment that gives singles a chance to find a lifelong partnership with one particular caveat: they must agree to marry a stranger arranged the moment they meet. Experts provide counseling and guidance as they help couples navigate their new marriage with their unknown partner and highlight the journey of the newlyweds from wedding to honeymoon to beginning their new lives together. At the end of eight weeks, couples will decide to stay married or divorce.