The dating show where couples marry the moment they meet one another will start on 30th August, and this year will see the UK series\u2019 first ever gay couple take part.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the launch, we spoke to the Married at First Sight experts<\/a>, including matchmaker Paul C Brunson, who returns for a second series, Mel Schilling, who many will recognise from the Australian version of the show, and sex therapist Charlene Douglas, who is completely new to the franchise.<\/p>\n Although they couldn\u2019t give much away about the couples themselves, the trio commented on the \u201cdiversity\u201d in this year\u2019s line-up.<\/p>\n \u201cAbsolutely, there is diversity in the mix,\u201d Mel explained. \u201cThe UK is such a diverse continent, so what we\u2019ve done really well, I think, is try to select a group of people that do represent the community at large. So yes, there\u2019s diversity in there.\u201d<\/p>\n She continued: \u201cThere is our first gay couple, which is incredible. I mean, that\u2019s such a milestone and I think that\u2019s really going to set the course for the next few years of this experiment.\u201d<\/p> This year\u2019s line-up includes 16 singletons, which is twice the amount from the last series, filmed in 2020 during the lockdown.<\/p>\n Married at First Sight is yet to confirm who the couples are, but the contestants have been revealed, from a 36-year-old care home manager and firefighter, to a 47-year-old strength and conditioning coach and a 25-year-old wellness coach.<\/p>\n The new UK series has been modelled on the dramatic Australian version, with commitment ceremonies, dinner parties, and a stag and hen do, which will take place before the couples meet. And for the first time ever, Charlene Douglas will be getting up, close and personal with the couples to talk about their intimate relationship.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s just nice to bring the element of sex and intimacy when it comes to relationships,\u201d Charlene said. \u201cI think often that\u2019s the part that\u2019s kind of missed out a little bit. So it\u2019s nice to see the sexual chemistry between the couples. It was nice to be able to kind of delve a little bit deeper into what\u2019s going on for them.\u201d<\/p>\n Married at First Sight UK returns to Channel 4 on Monday 30th August at 9pm. If you\u2019re looking for more to watch, check out our\u00a0TV Guide<\/a>\u00a0<\/span>or visit our hub for more\u00a0Entertainment<\/a>\u00a0news.<\/strong><\/p>\n Mel says the 2021 line-up was chosen to “represent the community at large”. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":3490,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/married-at-first-sight-experts-address-diversity-of-2021-series-as-uk-show-welcomes-first-gay-couple.jpg",620,413,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/married-at-first-sight-experts-address-diversity-of-2021-series-as-uk-show-welcomes-first-gay-couple-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/married-at-first-sight-experts-address-diversity-of-2021-series-as-uk-show-welcomes-first-gay-couple-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/married-at-first-sight-experts-address-diversity-of-2021-series-as-uk-show-welcomes-first-gay-couple.jpg",620,413,false],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/married-at-first-sight-experts-address-diversity-of-2021-series-as-uk-show-welcomes-first-gay-couple.jpg",620,413,false],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/married-at-first-sight-experts-address-diversity-of-2021-series-as-uk-show-welcomes-first-gay-couple.jpg",620,413,false],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2021\/08\/married-at-first-sight-experts-address-diversity-of-2021-series-as-uk-show-welcomes-first-gay-couple.jpg",620,413,false]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"Mel says the 2021 line-up was chosen to \"represent the community at large\".","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/3489"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/radiotimes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\""Married\"](\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/3\/2021\/08\/Charlene-Douglas-Married-at-First-sight-588ffdc.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" "\\"\"Charlene-Douglas-Married-at-First-sight\"\\"")
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