In "Married at First Sight", three couples were brave enough to get married on the first day (or the very minute) they had a glimpse of their respective partners. Regardless of what they feel, they took the challenge of finding true love and lasting relationship in blind arranged marriage. But... does arranged marriage really work?
Not for everyone - It may depend on one's culture.
Philly.com writes, "Although India is rapidly becoming westernized, almost all marriages there are still arranged. Conservative young adults, mainly women who seek family approval, prefer that traditional route of marriage. Indian divorce rates in arranged marriages are considerably lower than in non-arranged marriages. In India, where divorce is strongly frowned upon, the divorce rate for arranged couples is 1.1 percent, according to the Human Rights Council of UNICEF."
In the U.S., where "Married at First Sight" is being shown and where arranged marriages are said to be not a custom, divorce rate is 3.6 per 1,000 populations.
With this statistics, people may ask: What makes an arranged marriage successful?
An expert claimed that "arranged marriages are far more likely to lead to lasting affection than marriages of passion". Daily Mail reported that according to research, those in arranged marriages have the tendency to feel more in love as time passes by, while those in regular marriages feel less. In a span of a decade, the connection between two people in an arranged marriage is believed to be twice as strong. This is because the process of the marriage is carefully thought of - whether families, interests, and goals are attuned.
But Greg Epstein, one of the four experts in "Married at First Sight", was quick to say that they do not encourage people to get into blind arranged marriage. He told The Huffington Post, "What the show is promoting is for people to think long and hard about what really makes for a long-term relationship, what really makes for a good marriage. The show is trying to get people to think in a different way on how they are choosing potential partners."
