Married at First Sight Season 9 premiered last night and one longtime staple of the Lifetime series was not there.
Dr. Jessica Griffin was not in the Matchmaking Special nor did she appear during the wedding episode of the series. This caused fans to question what happened to the relationship expert and why was she not appearing this season.
Prior to the Season 9 premiere, Monsters & Critics shared news of Dr. Jessica’s departure from Married at First Sight and who would replace her.
The latest season of the show saw the introduction of a new relationship expert — Dr. Viviana Coles. She is a popular relationship and sex therapist from Houston, Texas.
Just one day before the new season of MAFS premiered, Dr. Jessica confirmed the news of her departure on Instagram with a lengthy caption explaining why she left and defending her relationship with Jon Francetic.
“Although not breaking news, I wanted to confirm that I will not be returning to #marriedatfirstsight . I never intended to enter the TV world,” Dr. Jessic’s caption began. “Yet, I loved the idea of reaching others through this unique platform & am thankful for the privilege afforded to me. Working on these shows was challenging, intellectually stimulating, and a lot of fun – until it wasn’t.”
In regard to her engagement to Jon Francetic, who got married and divorced on Season 6, she wrote:
Ironically, in the course of helping people find love, I met my future husband (albeit, so we’re clear, there was nothing remotely between us until we reconnected, platonically, 8 months after we finished filming. I went immediately to the production company & offered to step down. Instead, I was put on 3 subsequent cycles of shows/spinoffs).
While Dr. Jessica didn’t get specific about why she decided to leave Married at First Sight, it looks like that had nothing to do with her relationship.
Instead, she seems to confirm other speculation, which is that she wasn’t happy with the direction the show took recently, as seen in this portion of her caption:
Life works in extraordinary ways. For many different reasons which I’m not at liberty to discuss, it’s time for me to go in another direction in endeavors that allow me to use the breadth of my credentials and the depth of my heart. Work that allows me to use my voice – where I don’t feel silenced. Work that hires me for my credentials & then allows me to actually use them. Although ratings are extremely important in TV, and I get it, people matter more to me. I have no doubt #mafs will continue to be highly successful based on fantastic ratings & growing popularity.
This isn’t the first time that Married at First Sight relationship experts have been replaced and so far, Dr. Jessica’s replacement, Dr. Viviana Coles, seems to be fitting in just fine.
Married at First Sight airs Wednesdays at 9:30/8:30c on Lifetime.