This is a PSA for any potential Married at First Sight applicants or recruits: don't do it! MAFS is a crashing plane in a death spiral. You don't want to be on it when it hits the ground. The only question left is whether the fans want to be on it either.
Turd-nado Warning
For many years now, Married at First Sight has been on a steep downward decline. Nothing new to report there. The rot is practically the fourth expert.
The show's faults are well-known: intentionally bad matches, scripted set-ups, constant producer manipulation, deceptive editing, racialized narratives, overt political bias, and unethical counseling, to name a few. If you're a long-suffering fan, it's just the pill you've learned to swallow.
In exchange, you get moments of genuine human interaction and hopeful romance buried amid the ashes. You get to see normal people not otherwise featured on reality TV. Throw in the online engagement, and you could almost convince yourself it was worth it.
Until this season, that is - at least for me. This is the year in which all the worst aspects of MAFS coalesced into a giant turd-nado, destroying anything good in its path. Chief among the ugliness is the virulent mean streak of the fans. It has escalated to a level of evil that should mean no sane person ever signs up for the series again, especially if you're a man.
Abusement Park
Granted, all reality TV attracts a snarky contemptuous crowd, i.e. women. Half the fun is taking sides and judging people we barely know. God knows I engage in it myself. The difference is in degrees and scale.
It's one thing for some fans to call a cast member cold or fake. It's another thing for a raging mob to brand a spouse abusive, based on no evidence. The fandom's online presence has morphed from idle comments to active campaigns to destroy people's lives.
This is not to say that other types of indictments are not leveled, but none carry the personal implications that come from a man being branded as potentially physically abusive. Brennan from this Denver season is the prime example for the fever pitch this phenomenon has reached.
Sure, these people agree to be on a reality show, exposing themselves to strangers' scrutiny. They often display troubling behavior, even hints of clinical disorders. Go ahead and speculate on their true character and maladjustments. That does not mean it's open season on people you simply don't like.
Married at First Side
What makes the fans' treatment of Brennan truly despicable is how much of their assessment is founded purely on conjecture. It is almost solely driven by their affection for his wife Emily, hardly enough reason to defame a man.
In the kangaroo courts of Reddit, Emily's vague assertion that Brennan is different off camera is proof enough of abuse. Her insinuations that she is afraid to be honest with Brennan are automatically pinned on his temper, rather than her immaturity. Rapacious fans happily take these bread crumbs and turn them into half-baked theories about big bad Brennan terrorizing Emily when the crew is gone.
Contrast these implications with what we do see - an Emily who openly disagrees with Brennan constantly. She shoots him endless side-eyes, makes passive aggressive digs, and dismisses his complaints. If she is so afraid of him, why would she tempt his alleged wrath? Wouldn't there be hell to pay at night? Of course not. It’s all the bitter narrative of a spurned woman.
A sane fan base would consider the source and respond proportionally. Instead, the rabid MAFS attack dogs see all male-female relationships as zero-sum games, especially when there’s a white man to lynch. Once they have designated Emily the victim and Brennan the villain, his every word and glance is a red flag.
To crystallize the point, an ex-girlfriend of fellow Denver husband Cameron explicitly said on Reddit that he was physically abusive. Why are those accusations ignored, while Emily's innuendo is embraced? It has everything to do with the fans deeming Cam sympathetic, or at least pathetic, while finding Brennan apathetic to his self-anointed martyr of a wife.
The Chicken or the Eggspert
Beyond Emily's dark fantasies, a lot of the fan base's bloodlust comes from Brennan's willingness to talk to the experts as equals, especially the non-white ones. Apparently, he should be kissing their rings like a good little boy. God forbid anyone contradict these sage oracles.
It is always baffling how quick fans are to defend the fakesperts' therapy credentials. Peps, Pips, and Pops are the same people who co-signed Lauren and Orion and cast Chris for Paige. Yeah, but don't ever doubt their professional ethics. A sane person would look at their disastrous track record and rightly conclude they are hacks, but Brennan is vilified for politely questioning their fallibility.
The fakesperts' integrity is even more suspect considering they happily enable this cruel narrative of abuse. Between Pips and KKP, Emily's fan fiction is indulged front and center. Meanwhile, Brennan is repeatedly painted as hostile and controlling.
If you had a success rate of 10% at your job, you too would be eager to shift the blame for your abject failure. Brennan is only the latest scapegoat for the fakesperts’ incompetence and outright sabotage. They are all too happy to amplify Emily’s grumblings to excuse their own sins. The only difference with Brennan is the length to which they have gone.
This is so much worse than branding Haley from Atlanta frigid, as Peps obsessively did. Hinting at abuse can be life-altering. Combine the show’s willingness to push such reckless slander with a fan base raring to echo it, and the mix becomes intolerable.
Dogma Bites Man
Therein lies the sad reality of 2024 MAFS. As bad as the matches are, the ugly invective that surrounds the show is even worse. If this isn't rock bottom, I don't want to find out what is. No person with anything to lose should come within 100 miles of this show, particularly men with an ounce of self-respect.
If you dare brave the MAFS gauntlet, know that a hostile mob awaits you on the other side. Since it is guaranteed that you will be mismatched, you will find yourself either in or out of the mob's favor. If you are deemed responsible for the marriage's failure, the intensity of the fans' disdain will hinge entirely on the good will of your spouse.
Do you want to take those odds? Get a petty bitch like Emily, and the hordes will follow her like rats after the pied piper. Pied Dr. Pepper will be right there to cheer them on.
Even if your partner isn't a vengeful demon, men will still be held to standards more suited to judging dogs at the Westminster Kennel Club. Obedience is the most prized trait, with a desire to be led around on a short leash a close second. Think for yourself, have an opinion, react with anything but a wagging tail, and you too could be marked for evisceration by a crowd of angry spinsters.
For whatever reason, the fans of these shows really hate anyone resembling a traditional man. Unless you're an awkward mute or a sophomoric clown, you are the enemy. Maybe it's a reflection of broader society, but any man who doesn't bend the knee to his wife is imprinted with the “toxic masculinity” label. The only thing toxic here is the fans.
So if you happen to be a normal guy who gets a weird message on LinkedIn or Instagram about getting married on a TV show, run for the hills. When they tout their “experts” and “scientific process”, laugh in their face. And when they promise you that they will find you a tailor-made match, tell them to go fuck themselves.
A vampire can't hurt you if you don't invite it inside. Never let these bloodsuckers anywhere near you, and I'm not just talking about the producers. The fans are equally malignant. They're mosquitoes who will swarm your carcass once the show's done with you, feeding on whatever is left.
The same goes for any decent viewers still sticking with the show. Unless you are a total sadist, this show is no longer for you. I think this will be my last season watching. I can't stand to be lumped in with the vicious mob that props this show up anymore. I'm saying no on D-Day for good, and you should too.
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