Michael Shiakallis has been spilling a lot of Married at First Sight tea since the season ended and most recently he shared another bit of information about how he got on the show.
The Season 17 star confessed that he didn’t initially sign up for the marital experiment, but was recruited on social media.
That’s how he learned about filming for the new season and how his journey began.
Things took an unexpectedly rocky turn for Michael early into the process when he became a part of a historic moment.
His first bride — still a mystery to us all — refused to walk down the aisle, marking the first time a groom was left jilted at the altar.
It was also the first time a participant was given a second chance with a replacement bride — Chloe Brown later in the season — but let’s get to how it all started for the 38-year-old.
Michael Shiakallis admits he was recruited for Season 17 of MAFS
During an episode of the Regular Guys Random Thoughts podcast, Michael got real about how he was cast for the show.
“I was definitely recruited,” confessed the MAFS star. “I was reached out to.”
However, Michael reasoned that being recruited meant someone from the production team told him about the show.
“It’s essentially just to raise awareness, you’re not fast-tracked or anything like that,” he explained. “They’re just trying to get you to apply because they think, oh you might be a good candidate.”
Michael spills more tea about his journey to MAFS
Michael said he was initially suspicious after being contacted on Instagram with very few details about the show.
“They’re very vague, they’re like ‘Oh we’re gonna be filming a dating show in Denver, we think it may be potentially something you’re interested in,'” Michael stated.
The Season 17 star said he initially ignored the message until they followed up.
That’s when he decided to dig on LinkedIn and realized the recruiter was affiliated with Kinetic Content – the production company behind reality TV shows such as Love is Blind and MAFS.
However, at the time he didn’t quite connect the dots.
“I asked for the details; they wanted to set up a phone call and that’s when I realized it was for Married at First Sight,” he explained.
After their conversation, Michael felt the show would be a good fit so he filled out the lengthy application and submitted the required video. The rest, as they say, is history.
Married at First Sight is currently on hiatus.