Picture this: You’re sitting in the audience at a wedding set against a photogenic Colorado backdrop. Perhaps you know the bride or the groom, but they have never met each other. In fact, they don’t even know each other’s names.
That will be the scenario for five couples on the upcoming season of Lifetime’s hit reality TV series “Married at First Sight,” set to premiere Oct. 18.
Each season, matchmakers Pastor Cal Roberson, sociologist Pepper Schwartz and psychotherapist Pia Holec travel to a different U.S. city to find singles who are ready to walk down the aisle – so much so, that they will do it with only trust in the matchmaking process.
For Season 17, the show touched down in the Mile High City, a place with the requisite population that includes diverse demographics and a robust cohort of marriage-aged individuals, plus the opportunity to capture some good B-roll.
“Denver, God, it’s such a beautiful city,” Roberson told The Denver Post recently by phone. (Roberson heard about and wanted to visit the Church of Cannabis, but didn’t get a chance.)
“Besides the food, just the entire vibe of the city just seemed to be calling us, and the opportunity to do a season in the winter in a city was exciting also.”
“Married at First Sight” was filmed here over the course of six months. (The show declined to share the specific dates.) During that time, couples started their lives together by first getting hitched and then moving into a shared apartment to work out the kinks in their relationship. At the end of their “trial marriage,” each individual decided whether or not to remain together.
The concept is unconventional but is also billed as a modern take on arranged matrimony. Still, it requires participants who are open-minded.
“One thing we love about Denver is that it is progressive and open,” Roberson said. “Because this is such a radical experiment, you need people who are accustomed to something different, radical thinkers basically.”
When it came to matching singles here, Roberson said he and his fellow experts did what they always do. The trio looks for individuals who have similarities they can relate to, but also differences that help provide balance in a relationship.
“You don’t want to marry yourself; you want someone who can make you better,” he said.
One foundational quality most locals have: a love of the outdoors.
“Anyone who’s going to find somebody in Denver and make it work, you better love the outdoors,” Roberson said.
The pool of applicants in Denver was smaller compared to other cities that “Married at First Sight” has visited, in part just because the population is smaller, Roberson said. The Mile High City also didn’t provide as much racial diversity as he would have liked to see, but there was a wealth of cultural diversity among applicants.
And given the city’s reputation as “Menver,” Roberson expected more men to apply. Despite all that, Season 17 “broke the mold,” he said.
“This is going to be one of the most twisted, turning, exciting, everything you can think of,” he said. “There’s drama, there’s comedy, there’s horror, there’s mystery – every genre of theatrics you can think of will be in this season.”
While the matchmakers invest considerable time into pairing people up, not every couple works out. Apparently, one couple doesn’t even make it past the wedding day this season. When that happens, Roberson said it’s devastating for everyone involved. He maintains the “Married at First Sight” track record is still better than other shows with 15 successful couples, 12 babies “and counting.”
The pastor’s biggest piece of advice for couples: Be willing to embrace change. Most relationships fail because people have a “static” idea of what marriage should look like. Once they accept it as a dynamic thing, they’re better able to roll with the punches and resolve conflict, he said.
For locals who are bummed that they missed their chance to be married at first sight, Roberson and his wife plan to release an app called Marriage Ain’t for Punks in 2024. Unlike Tinder, their app will be a matchmaking service and include resources for couples – no swiping necessary.
The new season of “Married at First Sight” premieres Oct. 18 on Lifetime and airs on Wednesday nights thereafter.
Before you tune in, meet the couples below:
Denverites Brennan and Emily are paired up by the expert matchmakers on season 17 of “Married at First Sight.” (Provided by The DeLaCastros)
Denverites Clare and Cameron are paired up by the expert matchmakers on season 17 of “Married at First Sight.” (Provided by Madison Leigh Creative)
Denverites Lauren and Orion are paired up by the expert matchmakers on season 17 of “Married at First Sight.” (Provided by Kelsey Huffer/Poppy & Co.)
Denverites Brennan and Emily are paired up by the expert matchmakers on season 17 of “Married at First Sight.” (Provided by The DeLaCastros)
Denverite Michael gets paired up by the expert matchmakers on season 17 of “Married at First Sight,” but his bride might not make it to the altar. (Provided by Kelsey Huffer/Poppy & Co.)
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