Do you really expect us to believe that a panel of experts can notice the smallest changes in facial expressions and body language at a dinner party but they can’t spot two people plotting an affair?
This must be at least the third season of Married at First Sight Australia (MAFSA) to feature a love triangle between two adulterous contestants and one poor, devoted husband or wife.
It’s boring, and it’s not why we’re tuning in to the show every evening.
So why are the producers so hellbent on filming, and dare I even say instigating an affair?
In real life, affairs happen. Of course they do. And I understand that the show is in some ways a microcosm of real life.
But then again, it’s not, is it…
The contestants only have to look over their shoulder to see a camera, or feel the microphone dangling down their back to realise they’re being watched at every turn.
This makes it even more odd that some are willing to tarnish their own character for some air time.
What are the odds that in a group of roughly a dozen people, two of them will want to leave their other halves for each other every single season? Are these people paid actors or just gagging for a bit of controversy?
It’s such a shame, because the experiment doesn’t need the adulterous scandal to be an entertaining watch.
The magnetism of the show lies in the simple truth that strangers are willing to tie the knot.
It’s enough to watch the trials and tribulations of each relationship and recognise the behaviours and attachment styles we see in real life unfurl on our screens.
MAFSA can only pull the affair stunt so many times before people will write the entire show off as a farce, myself included.
It’s offensive to our intelligence. It’s eye-roll inducing.
An affair is the kind of thing we expect from Love Island, often filled with people searching for PLT contracts or a bigger social media presence.
But this isn’t that – or at least, it didn’t start off like that.
The show simply needs to remain a window into people’s wide-eyed hope and optimism at finding true love.
That’s what’s gripping to a population of people plagued by cynicism and heartbreak.
Of course, great reality needs TV to be dramatic, but that’s not synonymous with infidelity.
