Married at First Sight Season 17 kicked off with a bang, and everyone is talking about one of the biggest scandals on the show.
For the first time ever, we had a runaway bride who left her groom, Michael Shiakallis, embarrassed and confused at the altar.
The network has been teasing the dramatic episode for quite some time, but it was anticlimactic at best when it played out in Episode 2.
They didn’t show the runaway bride’s face, or that of her family members, and her name was never mentioned.
It’s still unclear why the woman’s identity has been kept private and not the jilted groom who had to live through the embarrassing moment on TV.
The name and photo of a woman named Chloe Brown has been floating around, but is she the runaway bride?
Is Chloe Brown the MAFS runaway bride?
There might be legal reasons why the runaway bride’s identity is being kept private, but so far, there’s absolutely nothing about her online.
Meanwhile, a woman named Chloe Brown has been identified as Michael’s bride, but she’s not the one who ran away.
After Chloe’s photo started to circulate online, people assumed that she was the one who broke Michael’s heart, but that’s not the case.
One Reddit user speculated that Chloe is Michael’s replacement bride, who he marries later in the season.
“He marries Chloe 2 months later in March which is why the season is late in airing. There’s a marriage license application for the two of them in March floating around. The others were all in January,” said the commenter.
This was also confirmed by a popular MAFS fan page that shared a spoiler about the season back in June.
Michael gets a second chance at marriage later in the season
@mafsfan on Instagram gave us the scoop months before the season started.
Back in June, they posted a photo of Chloe and Michael while revealing the Season 17 couples.
They noted in the comment section that “Chloe is not the ‘runaway bride.’ They get married Approx 6 weeks after the initial weddings.”
Viewers will be happy to know that Michael will get another chance later in the season when he ties the knot with Chloe.
What we know about Chloe so far is that she has a background in working for non-profit organizations, including Habitat for Humanity.
In 2022, she was hired by the American Heart Association as the Senior Director of the Heart of Denver campaign.
Chloe also loves to hike, travel, and binge-watch Yellowstone, and we’re keeping our fingers crossed that she’s the perfect match for Michael.
Are you surprised that Michael got a replacement bride?
Married at First Sight airs on Wednesdays at 8/7c on Lifetime.