Red flags and telling-offs: Married at First Sight counselling ‘nothing like the real thing’

The couples live in the same complex, meaning they often confide in each other about their relationships.

I’m the first to speed dial my friends to moan about my partner, but where my friends keep my relationship drama a secret, most MAFS participants are eager to share their titbit of gossip with others.

Dr Sham Singh, a US based psychiatrist says “external support may be well-meant, but too many voices can be confusing”.

“Therapy is a place where both partners get to be heard without some outside bias”, he explains, adding that he helps couple “strengthen their direct communication so that they become confident enough to tackle an issue first before involving others”.

The matchmakers have advised couples to focus on direct communication, but this can sometimes be challenging, due to the format of the show.

It includes prompt questions for the couple to address, at the weekly dinner parties, which can fuel the drama.

In response, a spokesperson for MAFS tells the BBC the show “is unscripted and observational, and reflects the wide variety of sometimes complex and challenging relationship dynamics that exist in the real world”.