MAFS Season 9 in Charlotte brought a lot of firsts to the show. It was the first time the show came to North Carolina, it was the first time couples lived in neutral apartments provided by the show, and it was the first appearance of our beloved relationship expert, Dr. Viviana Coles.
Five couples went into the Married At First Sight Charlotte experience…let’s see how many couples came out of it.
Matt Gwynne and Amber Bowles: Divorced
Unfortunately, this divorce was no surprise to anyone. After weeks of living a double life, Matt Gwynne finally showed his true colors when it finally came out that he did seem to have a lady or perhaps multiple ladies, on the side.
Matt spent weeks leaving Amber home alone, sometimes for days at a time, while still claiming to Amber and the experts that he wanted to work on his marriage and have it be successful.
Matt had gone into the marriage claiming he wanted to put down roots in Charlotte, end his career as a professional basketball player, get married, start a business and begin his life. Slowly but surely it became apparent that none of that was true.
Matt admitted that he had had offers to start a new contract for professional basketball abroad and was considering taking it, which would mean leaving Amber behind for 9 months at a time.
He then began disappearing from the couples’ shared apartment, not coming back for hours or sometimes even days at a time, leaving both Amber, and his wedding band, behind.
Eventually, one of Amber’s friends let her know that he had seen Matt out and about on the town…with another woman. The truth came tumbling out and finally, on Decision Day, the couple called it quits and went their separate ways. Their separation did not end the feud between these two as Amber has continued to be very outspoken about her experience being married to Matt, and we can’t say we blame her.
Deonna and Greg Okotie: Married (with a baby!)
Greg and Deonna were a bit of a surprise couple for us. While the two did not have the explosive fights of castmates Beth and Jamie, or the infidelity struggles of Matt and Amber, the two just didn’t seem that into it. Or each other.
Deonna struggled to even hold hands with Greg initially and Greg seemed frustrated by the lack of intimacy and progress of the relationship. Deonna even told Greg to tone it down on the compliments he was giving her because it was “too much.”
The couple seemed to continue to struggle with intimacy although they did finally consummate their marriage during the show’s season. However, immediately following that, Deonna became sick and the couple was unable to repeat the experience for several weeks. But it seems what the couple lacked in fiery passion, they made up for in long-term goals and compatibility. Something about them just works.
When Decision Day rolled around, the couple decided to remain married and are doing well by all accounts. The couple even just welcomed their first child, baby boy Declan. Congrats, you two!
Keith Manley and Iris Caldwell: Divorced
We won’t lie, this one we did not see coming. Yes, Iris and Keith had some differences but it did not seem like anything the two could not overcome.
However, it turned out that Iris’s virginity was a much bigger deal to Keith than he had let on. That, coupled with some disagreements the pair experienced over the season, culminated in Keith asking for a divorce on Decision Day, taking both Iris and the fans by surprise.
On the outside, the two looked like the perfect couple, their wedding photos looked like a model photoshoot. Both were successful and intelligent, both seemed committed and dedicated. But apparently, underneath the surface, the two had bigger problems than anyone realized.
The couple went their separate ways on Decision Day but both seem to be thriving in their post MAFS lives.
Beth and Jamie Thompson: Married
For us, this season was just full of surprises. We did not see Deonna and Greg staying together, we did not see Keith and Iris breaking up and we did not this next couple, Beth and Jamie, staying together.
Beth and Jamie had a fiery romance, and we do not mean in the bedroom. The two could rarely go an episode without some knock-down, drag-out brawl. Everything from Beth’s job to Jamie’s bedroom habits came under fire for the two. The couple even had a fight escalate to the point that Beth knocked over a coffee table.
Things did not seem like they were going well. But somehow through it all, the couple decided to stay together on Decision Day and have actually stayed together ever since.
The couple announced on the Reunion Special, that they would packing up and moving to Northern California, where they have been living in somewhat marital bliss, ever since. The couple still regularly dodges rumors around trouble in paradise, but as far as we and the Couples Cam’s can tell, the two are still together and going strong. Or as strong as these two can ever be.
The final couple count is two out of four
So far, the final tally for MAFS Season 9 Charlotte is two couples together and two divorced. So half and half.
While that may not have been the final number the experts were looking for, it was certainly better than some of the previous seasons where none of the couples ended up staying together.
Here’s hoping the current season, Season 13, will bring the highest couple outcomes yet!
Married at First Sight airs on Wednesdays at 8/7c on Lifetime.