- Being single feels so lonely.
- I want something that's gonna last a lifetime.
- I'm ready for love.
- I truly believe this is my destiny.
- Hoo!
- The nation's most controversial experiment
Is back... - Oh, [bleep].
- For season 13.
- I'm so excited!
- And this time, we've headed to houston.
- I will do whatever it takes to find the right man.
- We've selected ten singles to walk down the aisle
And marry a complete stranger.
- I'm insane for doing this.
- This is a legally binding marriage,
And there's only one way out.
And that's divorce.
- You got it.
- The risks could not be greater,
And the stakes could not be higher.
- Physically, I hope he's hot.
And I mean, like, really hot.
[dramatic music]
- We the experts use science and insight from past seasons
To match five couples who will marry a complete stranger.
- You're getting married in two weeks.
- Oh, god, let's go.
- Stop! Stop!
- In two weeks, dog, you gonna be married.
- Oh, my god. - In two weeks, man!
- You are going to have a husband!
- Oh, if you could only feel
How fast my heart is racing right now.
- That is awesome. I can't wait.
I'm excited. I'm so excited.
- Oh, my god!
- That's crazy!
- No. [laughs]
- [laughing] no!
- In two weeks, you're gonna be married.
- What? No! [laughter]
- Yay, we're here.
- And tonight, our singles will search
For the perfect wedding looks...
- Oh! - Nice!
- Celebrate at bachelor and bachelorette parties...
- Whoo!
- And then one couple will walk down the aisle
And finally meet their stranger spouse.
- It's happening.
- Please stand.
- My dreams of being a husband and father, they start now.
- This is definitely a surreal a dream come true.
- For the first time in my life,
My destiny is not in my own hands.
- All right, we're doing this.
- This could be an utter disaster.
- I'm shaking. I'm scared.
- My heart is racing a little bit.
- Is she gonna be attracted to me?
- Oh, my god.
♪ ♪
- I know him.
Oh, my god, it's johnny.
♪ ♪
- ♪ it's all or nothing ♪
- This is "married at first sight."
- ♪ there's no other way ♪
♪ ♪
♪ it's all or nothing ♪
- ♪ I've been waiting for days like this to come ♪
♪ where I can give you everything you want ♪
- Now that our ten singles have learned the exciting news
About being matched to wed a stranger in two weeks,
It's time to tell their family and friends.
- Hey, guys! - Hey!
- Lucy, kim, hey! - Hey.
- As this is not the typical way to get married,
This news could be exciting for some
And shocking for others.
- ♪ baby, you can have it all ♪
- The first couple is myrla and gil.
They don't know each other now,
But in just two weeks,
They're gonna be meeting at the altar.
We feel they are a great match because of their
Similar upbringing and cultural connection.
We believe they'll balance each other out perfectly.
- Hey, so reason why I brought y'all boys here today
Is to let y'all boys know...
- Uh-oh. - [laughs]
- Ah, crazy idea coming in. Sound crazy.
- [laughs]
Is that I'm engaged.
- Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. What?
- I'll be getting married at the end of this month.
- Are you serious?
- When we see the ring and who--
- Let's see the picture, yeah, everything.
- So...I don't even know her.
- Oh, whoa. - Oh!
- Yeah.
- Somebody else picked your wife.
- Somebody else picked my wife.
♪ ♪
When I tell women I'm a firefighter,
It seems to go over pretty well.
[laughs]
In the past, I've dated some very good women.
They see me as a selfless person and a caring person,
But they haven't been the wifey material
That I envisioned for myself.
♪ ♪
I'm still single
Because finding the right girl that I can relate to
In different aspects of my life has been very challenging.
My job can be very demanding at times
Not only physically
But the mental hardship that I see.
So being married at first sight would be great
For me specifically because, you know,
Having a wife to come to after a 24-hour shift
Would be amazing.
I'm in search of that '90s r&b-type love.
♪ ♪
And what I mean by that is very passionate, very real,
And very just straightforward.
- ♪ they ain't gettin' money ♪
♪ they ain't spendin' what we spendin', huh ♪
- I am a full-blooded colombian.
I love being colombian
Mainly because of the food,
The people, and the music.
♪ ♪
I love to salsa dance.
It's something that's huge in colombia,
Especially where I'm from in cali.
You know, I'm no professional,
But I've been dancing it since I was a kid,
And I hope to bring it into my marriage.
♪ ♪
I am somebody that doesn't trust everybody
But is looking to trust someone,
Somebody that I can feel safe to talk to.
And that's something that goes back
To my childhood experience.
When I was younger, my dad was killed in a home invasion.
Two guys break into the house, not knowing that he was there,
And a bullet struck him.
This happened when I was around 14 years of age.
♪ ♪
And so after that happened,
It took a while, obviously, to start trusting strangers.
So thinking about marrying a stranger
Is insane.
♪ ♪
But, you know, I feel like love kind of
Is the queen on the chessboard,
The most important piece,
And I love the phrase "leap of faith."
So if this stranger ends up being the love of my life,
Then why wouldn't I take that leap?
- You ready for this?
'cause you going from one gear to the next.
Like, it's no more dating, no more...
- Yeah. - I would say short answer
Is yes, I am ready for it. - It's a whole gear switch.
- I'm really shocked.
I never expected any of this from gil.
He's a good-looking dude.
Ladies follow him all the time.
He doesn't need all this.
And I don't even know if this is a joke.
I'm trying to see whether all this is act.
I think he's joking. It's a prank.
Honestly. I don't believe it.
- What about when you see this person
And you feel like, "okay,
"I'm not really attracted to this person
Or I'm not really into this person"?
Like, this ain't tinder. Like, you can just swipe right.
- 'cause, gil, we know... - Are you gonna say, "I don't"?
[laughter]
- Honestly, that's a question I've asked myself too.
But then I also got to think of it as,
What about if she's not attracted to me?
- Yeah. - Right?
- Whoo! - [laughs]
- Gil has just revealed to his friends
That he's going to be marrying a complete stranger
In just two weeks.
Now it's myrla's turn.
♪ ♪
- Finally. - I know, yeah!
- Hey, myrla!
- Fashionably late. - Hey, guys!
- It's about time. - Oh, you look so cute, girl.
- I'm excited. Thank you. Y'all look good.
I'm really nervous and anxious
'cause I'm about to tell my friends,
And I know they're gonna have, like, 1,000 questions.
Y'all hungry? All: Yes.
- We've been waiting on you for, like, way too long.
- But I'm just really excited to be able
To get it off my chest, and I'm reminding myself,
I prayed for this.
You know, I trust the experts to identify
And find me a person who is perfectly matched to me.
And so I think that's given me a lot of hope and confidence
That this is gonna work out.
I know I've been telling you guys about something
That I've been thinking about doing,
And I am going to be getting married at first sight
In two weeks.
- Oh, my goodness! - What?
- That's super exciting!
- Oh, my gosh.
- Two weeks, y'all.
♪ ♪
I'm a little bougie.
It's just who I am as a person.
So, like, my husband has to be okay with it
'cause that's likely not to change.
I want to be married at first sight
Because I'm tired of having to interview men and ask them,
"I'm ready to get married. I'm ready to have a family.
Are you ready? No? Okay, next."
♪ ♪
Being single is lonely.
I love doing things, and I don't like being
A third wheel anymore.
Typically, I'm in the selfies,
I'm like, "third wheeling, y'all."
You know, "busting on this date, y'all."
It's just--it's overwhelming, it's exhausting,
Which is why I do a lot of self-care.
I love doing facials.
I have my little morning routine.
I put on my serums. I put on my moisturizers.
I wear my sunblock.
I always wear matching outfits to the gym.
You have to look good to feel good.
And so for me, you know, get my lashes done every week,
That is probably, like,
The number one addiction that I've had.
Post my little fresh lash Friday every week.
Do a little botox because
I want to look like jlo when I'm 50.
- ♪ just another broken heart ♪
- You know, as a child, I didn't have the privilege
To do all those things.
Growing up poor was tough.
We moved around a lot, five or six homes.
I remember being kicked out of one spot
And, like, we had all our things on the back of a trailer
And it was, like, we're gonna spend the rest of the day
Looking for a home to live.
And I don't want to ever have to experience that again.
- ♪ it's nothing that I haven't seen before ♪
- I love my life, but I think there's a missing part.
When you experience life by yourself,
It's beautiful, it's amazing.
But when you experience life with someone else,
Like, you have someone to look at and laugh with,
That's really what I've always dreamed of having
Since I was a child.
I'm just waiting for them to come and knock on my door.
Hasn't happened yet. [laughs]
- So what does he do?
- All I know is that I have, like,
A very short list of requirements that I asked for.
- Okay. What are the requirements?
- What's the short list? What's the short list?
- A man who believes in faith,
Tall, dark, handsome and bearded,
Someone who is able to enjoy the same lifestyle
That I like to enjoy.
- What if he's cheap?
- No, we can't go with someone cheap, y'all.
- It's about what you need, not what you want.
- But maybe you need somebody cheap
'cause you're high-maintenance. That'll balance you out.
- So I need someone to let me not go shopping?
- Yeah. - There's compromise.
- I'm pretty good at compromise, right, elisha?
- Mm-mm, no.
- Mr. Brown, I'm pretty good at compromise.
Remember, we worked together? - Nope. I'm not in that.
- Picky. Picky. - You keep--picky. Yeah.
You keep your things-- like, all your things
Need to be a certain way, how you roll your day,
How you do your face, like--
- He has to have hair.
He has to have a beard, no bald head.
♪ ♪
- [laughs]
- So if he's bald, that's a no? - I don't know.
I think I would be so distracted by a bald head.
♪ ♪
- I'm conflicted.
If I'm honest, I know that marriage
Is something that myrla wants,
But at times, she can require a lot.
And if, you know, a man doesn't meet that mold,
I fear for him.
- I want to be able to live the lifestyle
That I currently live.
So if I have to shift my lifestyle,
That would be a problem.
- [laughs] - damn.
♪ ♪
- Myrla and gil are going to be successful
Because they both know who they are
And their traits will complement one another.
We feel that gil has the kind of sensitivity
And understanding that myrla needs.
They both came from a very impoverished background
And worked their way up.
Now, even though myrla had indicated
That she was not interested in a bald man,
Gil is bald.
But we believe that that's a part
Of her being superficial.
Gil is laid-back and easygoing
But calls it like he sees it.
Myrla can be a bit of a diva at times but has a big heart.
She'll appreciate gil's ability to go with the flow
And get her out of her comfort zone.
If they are both willing to see the good in each other,
They could have something that could be lifelong.
- ♪ tell me, do you want me ♪
♪ 'cause I'm looking for somebody to love ♪
- Our second couple is michaela and zack.
Michaela is looking for a renaissance man,
Someone who can keep up with her
Both emotionally and intellectually.
We matched her with zack,
Who is smart, successful, and creative.
♪ ♪
- Zachary, what's up?
- I'm nervous to tell my parents I'm getting married
To a stranger in two weeks because this is
A very untraditional way of getting married,
And, you know, that's not what they envisioned for their son.
And it makes me worried because their opinion
And their thoughts on what I do in life definitely matters.
So I'm just nervous as to what they're gonna say.
So you know how, like, I've been talking to the experts
For, like, the last two months about, you know,
Them, potentially finding me, you know, the one?
- Yeah. What prompted you to even consider this?
♪ ♪
- I've never been in love,
And I would love to be with someone completely
And to have, like, someone I could share my life with.
Like, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
- Well, marriage is more than just love.
Love doesn't-- is not everything.
You gotta be committed to it every day.
- ♪ let's appreciate I been on my way ♪
- I'm tired of playing piano for no one.
I would love to be able to play something for my wife.
As I've gotten older, I feel like I've been getting
Further and further away from my ultimate goal,
Which is to have a beautiful wife and kids.
And so, you know, if you would have said,
"zack, you have to do 1,000 push-ups to meet your wife,"
Or, "zack, you have to run 1,000 miles to meet your wife,"
Or, "zack, you have to talk to three experts
And find your wife," I'm gonna do it,
Because I've wanted this all my life,
But I just haven't found the one.
My parents have been married for 28 years.
My brother's getting married soon,
And my other brother has a long-term relationship.
And I'm the odd man out.
I'm the only one that's single.
So that makes me feel very, very alone.
That's why I want to get married so bad.
That's why I want to find the one.
[soft piano music playing]
It's not that I've had a problem finding girls to date.
It's just me, like, you know,
Having this ideal person in my head,
But, you know, no one has ever lived up
To those expectations.
My longest relationship was actually only nine months.
I've definitely never been in love,
But this is something I want, and I'm gonna give it my all.
- ♪ yeah, I know you feel it ♪
- I feel like love is what's gonna make me complete.
[upbeat music]
I have one image in my head.
It's where I come home from work
And I see my beautiful wife playing with our kids.
I'm definitely ready to fall in love
For the first and last time.
- Zack, it is crazy on a whole--
You know, on a whole level.
You might find that person, but it's like,
It's a little bit... [whistle]
- I mean, I appreciate you guys just for, like,
Even being here now,
'cause I'm actually getting married
In two weeks.
- No! - Yeah. Yeah, yeah.
- You know for sure that you're getting [bleep] married?
- What? - Yes. Yeah.
- No. - Yeah.
- You already know this? - No, he's cappin'.
- There's no what-ifs. I'm actually, like--
I'm actually getting married in two weeks.
- Well, wait, wait, wait, wait! - Oh, my goodness!
- You know for sure? - Yeah, 100%.
Honestly, like, one thing that I've started to realize
Is that I'm ready to be a husband.
- [scoffs] no, no, there's no--no.
- He can't be. - Yeah, how you gonna know
How to be a husband if you never been a husband?
[dramatic music]
- What?
What are you talking about, zack?
- Bleep. - He said in two weeks.
I said, "two?" - yeah, that's, like, insane.
♪ ♪
You know how--ma, you know how you always say
That, you know, no woman has ever been--
No, no woman is really good for your children,
Which I understand why you say that.
But do you really believe that, though, ma?
- [exhales heavily]
♪ ♪
- ♪ hold my hand ♪
- Damn, I can't.
♪ ♪
- You know much I love you
And I want only the best for you.
♪ ♪
But I don't want any random girl for my son, so...
- ♪ you're the whole world to me ♪
♪ I can see you shining brightly ♪
♪ ♪
[upbeat music]
♪ ♪
- We matched five couples to be married at first sight.
Our second couple is michaela and zack.
Zack has just revealed to his family
That he's getting married to a stranger.
Now it's michaela's turn.
- I'm excited to surprise my family with the news
That in two weeks, I am going to be a wife.
But I guess I'm just nervous because I'm the baby sister.
And so I just wonder, are they going to be able
To handle this?
In the midst of everything, work and all,
You guys know that I have been trying to find my mate.
So what have you guys thought about that?
- Initially nervous,
Because how do you marry somebody you don't know?
- You just need someone that's understanding
Because you can be very stubborn.
- Oh, don't act like you don't know.
- Oh, don't do it. Don't you do it.
- You are so stubborn.
- We not gonna act like we shocked.
- ♪ baby, I just might ♪
- Why am I still single?
Well, for the most part, it's not my fault.
So that's good.
I am a realtor.
So in real estate, I help people move
Into the next stage of their life.
And I want to do that too.
I know, but we're going this way.
♪ ♪
So to be married at first sight
Allows me the opportunity
To hand it over to somebody else
To find my person.
And then that's it. I'm married.
[giggles] I'm married.
I went from being real single to being real married.
♪ ♪
In my younger age,
I took advantage of being young and energetic.
I was a little bit more shallow,
And I put weight on really,
In hindsight, stupid things, but I didn't know any better.
- ♪ I'm the broken shadow on your sun ♪
- And I realized, at the end of the day,
We all grow old, ugly, and sometimes broke.
So what does that look like?
♪ ♪
Growing up for me was not an easy thing.
I was homeless at one point.
Obviously, you don't see that in young everyday faces,
And a lot of the dudes who I date who I expressed that to,
They're like, "ooh, you're so refined."
So? People from the hood can be refined. [laughs]
But growing up was particularly rough,
And if I hadn't been kept on the right path,
My life could have turned out so much different.
♪ ♪
My father, absolutely amazing person.
He is who created who I am today.
He was killed by a drunk driver,
And losing him was a heavy impact on my life.
He was one of those people who was an amazing example of love.
My hood flew off of my car while I was driving one time,
And I called him, middle of the day.
"hey"--he was at work.
"daddy, my hood flew off of my car."
He stopped what he was doing and came and saved me.
[sniffles] and that's what I want.
That's the kind of love that I want.
- ♪ had my ups and down, been thrown some curves ♪
- I give everything a shot. Let's see what happens.
Like, maybe I'll get it. Like, I do love love.
I have seen love. I have evidence of love.
- ♪ oh-oh ♪
- And if I can get that, I want that love.
Love is love, and I love love.
It's beautiful. It really is.
- There are some things you will need to adjust
In order to be a successful mate to someone
In any type of relationship.
And I think, in the past,
You just decided it was just gonna be that way.
- And that is something that I will need to work on,
Because in two weeks, I am getting married.
- What? [laughs] I knew it. I knew it.
- Are you serious?
- They have found me a match,
And I will be getting married in two weeks.
- Oh, my god.
[laughter]
- I feel good.
- Ey!
There you go. There you go.
- The first thought when michaela said
She was getting married was...
- "oh, [bleep]." - that's right.
- I mean, if we're being honest, "oh, [bleep]."
- If we're being honest, yeah, "oh, [bleep]."
She has a wedding date but no husband to put it to.
- [screams] - I mean, she has a husband,
But she doesn't know who he is.
- I got a secret husband.
- So we don't meet him till the day of?
- Nah, sissy. - Really?
- You trust the experts to do this for you?
- You guys know I've never been in love.
So this is michaela saying, "my life is in your hands,
My future is in your hands, and we 'bout to do this."
♪ ♪
- We matched zack and michaela
Because we believe that they are
A great example of what each other is looking for.
Michaela needs someone who can be patient with her,
Because by her own admission,
She sometimes can go off the rails.
I believe zack has that kind of steadiness
That she needs in her life.
Michaela is so exciting and so full of joy,
And zack needs that.
I believe that commitment has been the thing
That's been missing out of their love life.
And if they can just see each other's best sides,
They have a chance to make this an incredible marriage.
♪ ♪
- ♪ hey, you ♪ - ♪ hello ♪
- ♪ yeah, so happy that you made it here ♪
♪ got a lot I want to share ♪
- Our third couple is bao and johnny.
Bao and johnny were a natural match.
They are both ambitious, sharp-witted intellectuals,
And their devotion to family will create a strong bond.
- How's it going? - Ck. How you doing, man?
- Doing well. - Welcome, welcome.
Going from dating a lot and not getting married
To going to not dating at all and getting married,
I'm nervous about what they're gonna think when I tell them
I'm making this huge leap.
- Hey, guys! - Hey!
- Lucy, kim, hey! - Hey.
- I think that's gonna blow their mind.
It blows my mind, for sure.
I feel a little hug here, elbow, elbow bump.
- Hi. - Oh, yeah.
- How are you guys doing? - Thanks for coming.
So I am trying to find a wife.
- You're always trying to find a wife.
- Yeah, you've been trying for, like, years.
- I've been interviewing with relationship experts
To match me with someone,
And the first time I would meet her is at the altar.
And to be honest, that kind of scares me.
♪ ♪
But I am gonna get married in two weeks.
- [gasps] what? - [laughs]
- Like, for real?
Cheers! - Cheers.
- What? No, for sure?
- This is happening. - Oh, my god!
- Oh, my god. Here. - Thank you so much.
- Oh, snap, - oh, my god.
- J-lam getting married!
- I know.
- I think my friends and family
Would probably say that I'm still single
Because I'm too picky and borderline ocd.
I love it when everything is neat, orderly.
I mean, I'm attracted to hygiene.
♪ ♪
That is the one thing I'm very conscious of is
Kind of tracking a germ and how it might be dirty.
♪ ♪
I've been effectively without a girlfriend
For seven years now.
I've done the dating in person,
Dating through people introducing me to people,
And I've been on dating apps
For probably since the inception of dating apps.
♪ ♪
Basically, I need to always be in control of a situation,
And I prefer to find people that are way more into me
Than I am into them.
I like girls that make the first move.
I like the girls to say
That they love me first before I say it,
Because there's a fear that I might become vulnerable
And exposed to someone and they may hurt my feelings.
So I think control has been a big,
Big story of my relationships and why I'm here today.
♪ ♪
[speaking native language] - hello.
- Spending time with family is very important to me
Because I think that's the foundation of who I am.
When I was young, my parents divorced,
And eventually, my dad moved away to california.
I kind of have this love-hate relationship with him,
But his opinion still matters to me because he is my father.
My mom, being a single mom, two kids,
We had a lot of kind of community in the family.
I was raised by my aunts and my uncles.
I grew up with my cousins,
Like, as if they were my second siblings.
And the thing that I can't wait to do
Is to bring my wife into my friends and family,
Because it would just complete the circle.
- ♪ want to let it go ♪
- Every night when I'm getting ready for bed
And I'm in my bathroom, I've got two sinks,
And I really only use one.
The other one's completely bare,
But as I'm brushing my teeth, I look over there,
And I kind of just have this fantasy
Of my wife over there brushing her teeth with me,
Giggling, kind of making faces at each other.
And I would really love that.
I kind of think about it all the time.
- ♪ you got me thinking about you all day ♪
- And so for the first time in my life,
I am relinquishing control to a set of experts.
It's frightening. It is--
This is the scariest thing I've ever done,
And I don't know how it's gonna go, to be honest.
But I really want to start that chapter of my life now.
- I don't think I've seen you smile this big
In, like, forever. - I know.
- I'm really excited about finally having someone.
I've lived by myself for a really long time,
And I haven't been able to, like,
Watch shows on tv together.
If I'm laughing about something,
I kind of just laugh to myself, which is kind of sad.
And I feel good about it.
- Yeah. - I mean,
As good as I can feel.
- I think johnny definitely is a good catch,
And I'm definitely feeling excited for him.
But I think the biggest challenge for johnny
Is to learn to just let go.
He's used to doing his own thing
And being his own person.
He's super independent.
So he's gonna have to learn
To share his life with somebody else.
- Now, what if she's more of a control freak than you?
[laughter]
Sorry, I should have waited-- - is that possible?
- Maybe. - Maybe.
- I have met people who are worse than you are.
- I think I could adjust to that.
Maybe. - Mm.
- I mean, this is definitely my first step,
Giving up control on who I date or who I marry, even,
'cause to me, marriage has always been, like, a huge--
It's a final thing.
And you guys know my background.
My parents were divorced at an early age
And they never remarried.
So I want to make sure that I work on it.
- Are your mom and dad going to your wedding?
- [sighs] that's a tough question.
My mom, definitely, she's coming.
But my dad, my dad's a little more closed-minded
About this stuff.
And he has a certain picture
Or feeling of what marriage should be
And what courtship should be and the kind of girl
That I should be looking for.
And if I were to tell him
That I'm getting married without ever seeing her,
He would flip and he would call me day and night
Until I say I'm not-- I'm backing out of this.
♪ ♪
- So he doesn't know?
- I haven't told him anything about this.
- So when are gonna tell him?
- Are you gonna tell him? - Yeah.
- Um...
♪ ♪
[upbeat music]
- ♪ it's time to go up, so let's go ♪
♪ yeah, yeah, yeah ♪
♪ we going up, up, up ♪
- Our third couple is bao and johnny.
Johnny has just revealed to his friends
That he's getting married to a stranger.
Now it's bao's turn.
- Hello.
♪ ♪
I am super anxious about telling my brothers
The big news that I'm getting married.
I didn't sleep all night, thinking about this.
They mean the world to me,
And I'm afraid if I don't have the approval of my family,
I'm not sure that I can really do this.
Thank you guys for coming here for brunch.
I wanted to talk to you guys about something.
I actually brought you guys here
'cause something happened yesterday.
[dramatic music]
Dr. Pepper actually ambushed me, and...
The experts have found a match for me.
♪ ♪
- ♪ hey, yeah ♪
- My parents are always giving me a hard time
That I'm 35 years old and I'm still single.
- ♪ hey ♪
- They want to see grandchildren,
But it's quite tricky finding the right person.
[laughs]
I am so awkward.
♪ ♪
One little quirk about me is that I use
Excel spreadsheets for everything,
For making bread,
Making a travel packing list,
And even for big life decisions.
Most recently, I did a weighted pros and cons list
To determine the value of a relationship.
- ♪ let's do it, let's do it right ♪
- And that's because I know myself and I know my worth.
I've gone on many good first dates,
But I left it as that because I'm always thinking,
"what if there's someone else that's a better fit?"
♪ ♪
My childhood was tough.
When I went to school for the first time,
I didn't know a single word of english.
And it was a challenge because you get made fun of a lot.
♪ ♪
And we grew up very poor.
We lived in a dilapidated trailer.
I remember going to the school bus.
And when we got back from school,
I would walk past my house 'cause I would not want
The school kids to know where I lived.
There was a lot of shame.
The environment is so important
And integral to your happiness.
Like, that was a really dark time.
- ♪ nothing's gonna stop me now ♪
- Sometimes, you know,
I think about when something wonderful happens in my life,
You know, I get that promotion,
Or my mom's biopsy result came and it was negative,
These wonderful things, and sometimes sad,
Heartbreaking things in my life,
And at those moments, I feel lonely.
- ♪ I know I can make it ♪
- I want to be married at first sight
Because I want my person so badly
That I'm willing to put my all into it.
I just need help.
And so this is the biggest risk I've ever taken,
But I know that with big risk
Potentially come big rewards.
The reward might very well be
That I find the love of my life.
♪ ♪
- Wow, you can finally pawn her off.
- That's somebody else's problem.
- I know.
[laughter] - dang it.
- I'm happy for her.
I'm happy for her, and I applause her courage.
Being the only daughter in a conservative family,
She had to try really hard to break out on her own.
And all these risk-taking,
It's just part of this journey to get to where she is today.
So I think she'll handle it fine.
- What kind of advice would you give my future husband?
- I would say that he should be flexible,
Because I know sometimes that you're a little bit particular.
- You can be very intense and even difficult at times,
But your future husband just needs
To have a little patience,
And he can see all the good things that you have to offer.
- 'cause I'm a catch! - No, I mean, you have
A lot of good values too, you know?
- Yeah, I do.
- You know, you can be hardheaded and stubborn,
But you're also smart and reasonable.
- I'm hoping that they have matched me with someone
That is more flexible than me.
We'll see.
I'm so nervous.
♪ ♪
- We matched bao and johnny because we believe
That they can fill in the gaps where the other one lacks.
Bao is incredibly smart, she's very progressive,
And she can be a great asset to johnny
By giving him the stability that he needs.
Johnny is fun, he's outgoing, he's mr. Life of the party,
But he needs somebody to sort of make him accountable.
I believe bao is that person.
They're both so picky,
They're both so particular about things,
But I believe that they're going to complement each other
If they're both willing to work together,
As married people should, and we think that this can be
The beginning of a beautiful and lifelong marriage.
♪ ♪
- ♪ I, I, I-I, I-I-I-I'm gonna ♪
- Our fourth couple is brett and ryan.
We've matched ryan with brett because we feel that ryan
Will love brett's romantic and bubbly personality
And she will be drawn to his sense of adventure.
♪ ♪
- It's fun watching you cook. - Yeah, this is a change.
- Treat.
- This is very untraditional.
Oh! [laughter]
- That's the ryan I know.
♪ ♪
- I've dated an obscene amount in this city.
It's exhausting.
I've spent a lot, a lot of time
And resources and effort into dating.
I'd say I've dated 50-plus
In the last three or four years
And not just houston.
I've joked that there are some small towns
That I'm not allowed to go back to
Because of people that I've dated.
But those days are over,
Because I'd say around 18 months ago,
I lost my best friend, so you have no choice
But to see life differently after stuff like that happens.
It makes you value your time
With the people that really matter,
And it's not fun just running around like I was doing.
But through all the casual dating,
I was still looking for the right woman for me.
I was looking for my wife,
But I'm not gonna just settle with anything.
I want something great, someone to laugh with,
Somebody to cry with, somebody to just do everything with.
And I'm ready to do whatever it takes
To get to the next step in my life.
I grew up in a very small town in the country,
Running around on four-wheelers
And going to the river and fishing,
And I helped my cousin with pigs and stuff like that.
And I really love anything outdoors, in general.
♪ ♪
But I would consider myself a kind of romantic guy.
Yeah, I just bake pies and cry watching "the notebook."
I love the movie "the notebook."
And I hate that I'm saying this to you, but I do.
Because I mean, if it makes sense,
Like, the pain of the happiness,
Like, them clearly wanting it so bad
And it not being able to happen,
And then it does happen.
And that's honestly what I want.
So I'm taking this leap of faith
Because there's no reward
Greater than finding that person for me right now.
- Yeah, this is new.
Ryan and I lived together for three years,
And I usually was the one doing the cooking.
So this is nice. - You had somebody to cook for.
- Yeah, cooking for yourself isn't very fun.
- I'm very nervous about telling my family
That I'm getting married in two weeks,
'cause it's definitely not something
That they would ever see me doing in a million years.
I'm much more worried about telling my sister
Than my parents
Because the fact that she is so opinionated,
And sometimes my parents go with her strong opinion.
And I'm hoping that's not the case.
So coming here for dinner tonight,
Y'all kind of knew I've been trying
To get married at first sight
And it's getting pretty serious and pretty crazy.
I can admit that.
- You ready?
- I have no choice to be ready.
And I hope y'all are ready as well,
'cause it's happening
And I'm getting married in two weeks.
- Oh, god.
- [laughs] look at mom's face.
- What?
- Ooh.
- Ryan! - Lord, lord.
♪ ♪
I don't know, man.
♪ ♪
Just seems, like, so unorthodox.
I could never imagine me marrying somebody
I never met.
♪ ♪
- Wow, I just have no words.
- I think they're most shocked
Because I think they already gave up on you.
Ryan has dated a lot of women.
We used to call them flavor of the weeks.
And then as he's gotten older,
They've become more flavor of the months.
Nothing has worked out yet.
So we're hoping to find a woman
To be his flavor for the rest of his life.
- I'm hoping for the best and--
- I mean, you fall in love easy.
- Oh, I can absolutely fall in love in eight weeks.
That's not a-- - yeah, eight weeks--
He's fallen in love in 24 hours,
So eight weeks is nothing.
- Wow. How could you--
- Why can't my children be normal?
- Yeah, why can't you just be a normal son?
- You don't think I'm normal? - No, I don't--
I don't think you're normal doing something like this.
- [sighs]
- Hope you know what you're getting into.
♪ ♪
- ♪ I've been waiting for days like this to come ♪
- Our fourth couple is brett and ryan.
Ryan has just revealed to his family
That he's going to be getting married to a stranger.
- Hey, girl. - Hi!
- Now it's brett's turn. - Hi, guys.
- Hey, lady. - Come on in, girl.
- Thanks for having me. I miss you.
- I know!
- I'm so excited to be telling my friends my big secret
Because I know that they want to see me happy so bad
And they have been with me through, like, all the ups
And downs that anybody could ever go through.
And it's also killing me to have been keeping a secret
Because we literally tell each other everything.
You guys, I am so happy we can get together
'cause, you know, like,
Husbands abound and kids and my job, so...
- That's what girls' nights are for.
- I know. So I have a question for you guys.
- What?
- What are you doing in two weeks?
- Sitting here with you. - What's happening?
- Unless...
♪ ♪
- I'm getting married in two weeks.
[cup bangs table sharply]
[laughter]
- Are you serious? - Yes.
- Yay! - They found you a match?
- They found me a match. - Oh, my god.
- Stop. - Yay!
- I know. - Are you excited?
- I'm really excited. - We're excited.
- No, this is amazing. This is so exciting.
- ♪ I was trying not to scare you ♪
- I didn't expect to see myself still single at 33.
Over here.
I'm not dating. I am not talking to anybody.
There's not a man I can text a cute picture to
To, like, flirt with. There's nothing.
The last time I was intimate with anybody
Was over two years ago.
That includes kissing.
I know.
I'm crying too.
- ♪ I just want to sleep all day ♪
- I think the reason that I've been single for so long
Is because I tend to prefer quality over quantity.
So I do really value, like, getting to know somebody
Really deeply, and that takes a lot of time.
I feel like I've always been committed,
But I don't feel like I've ever had commitment in return.
So that does make you feel unwanted.
Seeing my parents' marriage, they spend a lot
Of time together and they like to do the same things.
And all of these years later, like, enjoying each other
And doing stuff that they don't want to do
For the other person.
Like, my dad's watching golf,
You think my mom wants to sit there and watch golf?
No, but she does because they're spending time together,
You know what I mean?
And so I just had always grown up
Wanting the same thing.
I know that I can have it. That's the thing.
I know that I can have it. I just need help finding him.
♪ ♪
- ♪ you, me ♪
♪ are sweet and sour ♪
- I've been told men find me intimidating, not all men,
But I've definitely had that comment said to me before.
I think people think scorpios are low-key a little crazy.
Depends on what crazy is to you,
But I am definitely a little crazy.
- You're definitely, like, a fairy-tale...
- I know. - Hopeless romantic.
I mean, just, like, "the notebook,"
The novels, like, you read so much.
And I think, in your mind, there's just gonna be, like,
This fairy-tale prince charming.
I think that's what you have envisioned in your mind.
But he is a stranger. You're gonna have to mesh.
♪ ♪
- Brett is the biggest dreamer on the planet.
She always tries to look at the positive side of something.
She's very understanding. She's very patient.
And it concerns me for her to get married to a stranger
Because if this ends in divorce,
I think she's gonna be heartbroken.
♪ ♪
Marriage in general is not all happy and wonderful every day.
So, like, the days that you hate him,
You still have to choose to be with him.
- I feel like for how long I've wanted
Not just marriage, of course, but, like,
Just, like, the opportunity
To be able to do that and have the same thing
In return. - Yeah.
- You know, they're not choosing me.
So I mean, of course I think about that.
- You need that to be reciprocated back.
- Yeah. - You deserve that.
- That's the thing.
It's a risk, and it does scare me
Because I mean, there's a huge potential
That I could get my heart broken.
♪ ♪
- Brett and ryan both have a sensitive spirit
That's been searching for its counterpart.
We think they will feel a natural connection
Right off the bat and sparks will fly.
Ryan has been an athletic guy his whole life.
Brett is a coach of volleyball and softball
And has a sporty and competitive nature
Ryan is gonna love.
And their common values will make for instant chemistry.
♪ ♪
- ♪ ooh, ooh ♪
♪ ooh, ooh ♪
♪ ♪
♪ ooh ♪
♪ ♪
- And the fifth couple is rachel and jose.
Rachel and jose, I believe,
Are meant to be together.
They both want this so badly.
Jose has achieved so much in his life
And wants a true partner who will help him
Continue to climb that ladder.
And we feel that rachel's sweet and determined nature
Will fit the mold of the wife jose has been searching for.
- So y'all know I've been talking with the experts
And just trying to find a match with someone,
And y'all do know it's gonna be with a complete stranger.
- Yeah. - Why do you make that face?
[laughter]
I'm really nervous. I'm about to break the news
To my mom and my best friend.
Oh, thank you.
Even though I seek my mom's approval,
I'm really curious as to what my best friend,
Lirice, is gonna say.
She's so blunt, and I know she's gonna give me
The hard, cold truth.
- [inhales sharply]
I think you're absolutely insane to do this.
- It's crazy, but this-- you know, that's rachel.
You know, it's--
- I feel more confident and secure of who I am
Than I've ever felt before.
- ♪ like shooting stars and silent nights ♪
♪ I wonder what's out there ♪
- Over the past nine months,
I've taken really good care of myself,
And I've lost a little over 35 pounds.
Even though I feel better health-wise,
I feel better energy-wise,
I just feel so completely by myself, and it's hard.
- ♪ and I've been reaching for the sky ♪
- In the group of my college friends, I am the single girl.
Everyone's with someone, and I'm like,
"so I went on a horrible date."
Like, though that's what I have to contribute.
- ♪ my heart is screaming ♪
- And so it does get kind of lonely.
The little that I cook, it's usually for two,
So I just have to save everything
And eat the same thing the next day.
But sometimes the stuff I make is good
And I'm like, "there's no one here to try it."
- ♪ no ideas, don't know what I'll do ♪
- My last relationship ended six months ago.
We were long-distance, but because of the pandemic,
We decided to quarantine together.
So it really felt like we were playing house.
Unfortunately, after nine months, I found out
He was being unfaithful to me, and I ended things.
- ♪ I didn't know there was a hollow ♪
- As much as that crushed me, it did make me realize
Being in a relationship, having that love there--
I like doing this,
I like doing these things for someone.
But now I want to give all of that to someone
That actually deserves it.
- ♪ not giving up, I'm gonna conquer ♪
- I know being married at first sight
Is an extreme jump from dating,
But I want to do this so badly
Because I just have a pattern of dating the wrong guys
And I'm ready to break that cycle.
- ♪ don't want to be ♪
- In my past relationships,
I have been accommodating, insecure,
And just molding myself to the man I'm with.
- ♪ not giving up, I'm gonna conquer ♪
- But I learned a lot about myself this past year.
I'm my true self, I'm strong, I'm confident, I'm free,
And I'm ready to find someone who is deserving of me,
Who I can continue to grow with
For the rest of our lives.
- I think, honestly, you're ready now.
I think, in the past, you've kind of been not ready.
- I definitely feel ready.
I feel like maybe this is, like,
The right step in trying to, you know, find someone.
♪ ♪
It's happening. It is happening.
I'm gonna get married in two weeks. [laughs]
- I cannot believe that you're actually gonna do this.
♪ ♪
So, like, this person has to like you,
Like, first time meeting at the altar.
- No.
- I mean, have you thought about that? Like--
♪ ♪
- I haven't. Again, I just feel like--
- "oh, I don't like how she smells,"
Or whatever, like--
- You told me
The absolute worst that could happen.
- Yeah, he hates you.
♪ ♪
The moment he lays eyes on you,
He sees you, he's repulsed, he still goes through with it,
And then you're gonna live with this person.
♪ ♪
- I am gonna live with this person.
So, like, those are some things I'm concerned about.
Like, if I leave my makeup all over the counter,
Like, is that gonna just drive him insane?
- Here's the thing.
If you feel like something's not working,
Like, be very completely honest,
Because I feel like you try to not say things
That are going on in your life.
You're too accommodating. That's your problem.
You go along with what guys want to do.
You really don't speak up, and you're married to this person.
- 'cause you keep everything inside, inside, inside
Until one day, you just...
- ♪ out of my, out of my ♪
- That's my concern.
♪ ♪
[upbeat music]
- Our fifth couple is rachel and jose.
Rachel has just revealed to her mom and best friend
That she's getting married to a stranger.
Now it's jose's turn.
- Thank you, sir. - Thank you.
- I'm most nervous tonight
About telling my friends and family this big news.
They have no idea that I'm getting married in two weeks.
- Well, that looks like a lot of fish.
- Mm-hmm. - It looks awesome.
- And it is a huge bombshell in regards to the time frame
In which this is happening, and it's overwhelming.
So I hope that my family's support can help
Calm some of my nerves.
Well, as some of y'all well know,
I've been single for a long time.
So I thought about being married at first sight.
Yes, it's something that's outside of the norm and--
- Yeah, I definitely thought this was a crazy thing.
- Well, this is the opportunity to meet that special someone
That I don't know that it's even
In the deck of cards for me.
So I hope y'all can be on board too...
♪ ♪
Because I'm getting married in two weeks.
- What? - Really?
- What? - Yes, yes, yes, yes.
- I thought that it was never gonna happen.
- I thought so too. You're not the only one.
In my 35 years on this earth,
I feel very proud of all that I have accomplished.
- ♪ what you waiting for, get up and take it ♪
- I graduated college.
Got accepted to a master's program.
Have an incredible job.
I'm a flight mission specialist for nasa.
Bought and paid for two homes,
Paid off my truck, all my student loans.
So at this point, I mean,
I feel that I have everything that I could ever want,
Just missing one piece.
And that's a wife.
- ♪ oh, oh, oh ♪
- I think I'm still single because I'm a perfectionist
And I haven't met anyone that is kind of on my level.
I hold myself to a high standard,
And I'm looking for a wife that's ideally perfect.
- ♪ I know we'll overcome ♪
I keep a nice and tidy home.
I'm very routine, very structured.
I'm very picky in kinda how I like things done.
I totally get there's 1,000 ways to skin a cat,
But I like things done a certain way.
- ♪ show everyone, I know ♪
It's just one of these things where a lot of these women
Nowadays, they may or may not want
To partake in half of the work, and they may want something
Just kind of given to them on a silver, you know, platter.
And that's not what I'm looking for.
♪ ♪
I want to be married at first sight
Because I'm willing to admit when I need some help.
And clearly I was doing something wrong,
And it's almost like I don't know where to look,
Where to find these women.
Of course, you can go to a grocery store, I guess,
And look for oranges, and you possibly may find her.
You see that in movies. That never happens to me.
So I'm like, "I guess I gotta go get oranges again,
And we'll see what happens."
- ♪ believed anything I couldn't see ♪
- You know, for me, marriage is something that's sacred.
So worst-case scenario for me would be divorce
Because I would feel, you know,
A little bit like a failure.
- ♪ I just keep moving my feet ♪
- When I was 18, my parents got a divorce
Because my father wasn't being faithful.
Seeing that unfold and how it changed our lives
Was very difficult.
So in a marriage,
Something I need to have is absolute trust.
- ♪ I know the future's ours ♪
- In my career, in the industry I work in,
We assess risks.
So I think, for me, I've already outweighed the risks,
And it's either gonna be a fairy tale,
Or it could be unfortunately a train wreck.
And I've assessed that and I understand
And I'm 110% committed.
I mean, at the end of the day,
If I'm gonna be married to someone,
I want to at least know that she's somewhat educated
And she's classy and she's sporty
And things like that.
That's not a long list.
- I mean, I don't want her to, you know...
- For sure. - Yes.
- So what are your experiences and what advice do you have?
- Well, I mean, you know, obviously,
Everybody says communication.
- Sure. - Yes.
- Yeah, that's one thing that, you know, unfortunately,
I hope that she's not someone that doesn't communicate
As much as I would like her to, because again--
- But you talk too much.
How the hell is she gonna get a word in?
- Hey, hey, I--no, I don't talk--I don't talk a lot.
I don't talk a lot. I listen--
No, I listen more than I talk, but I do love talking.
You're right, I do love talking.
- She ain't gonna freakin' be able to say boo.
[laughter] - we will talk together.
How about that? I'll become a better listener and not talker.
How about that? - Cha-ching!
- Yeah, I'm officially off the market, so it feels good.
And hopefully, we can be each other's soul mate.
So we'll see what happens...
[laughter]
♪ ♪
- We feel rachel and jose are a great match
Because they will have something
That will be enviable.
Rachel's worked incredibly hard
To be the strong and confident woman she is today,
Both physically and mentally.
We feel she will be a great match for jose
Because he's ready to take on the world
With his wife at his side.
Rachel will be not only supportive
But can challenge jose where he needs it.
They may not be on the exact same page
When it comes to chores and spending,
But they're going to even each other out nicely.
With a little compromise,
They're going to have a great marriage.
- ♪ this love, don't run away from this love ♪
♪ don't run away from this love ♪
♪ don't, don't, don't run away ♪
♪ don't run away from this love ♪
[line ringing]
♪ don't, don't, don't run away ♪
- I've been hesitant to call my dad just because
I didn't want the additional stress of letting him know
And then letting him stress me out
Over the next two weeks before I get married.
Hey, baba.
But he's still my dad, and I want him involved.
I want him to tell me it's okay and he'll support me.
I want him to open his arms and accept her too.
So yeah, it's just important to me.
[speaking native language]
♪ ♪
I don't know I'm just, like, sad, disappointed,
A little angry.
[sighs]
♪ ♪
Ah!
[sighs]
Okay.
He sounded pretty upset on the phone.
He sounded furious,
According to him and what he thinks
Is right and wrong and safe or dangerous.
He used the word "dangerous" over and over and over.
This is not something he approves of.
He made it very, very clear.
And now for me to-- after I've already told him
And he says, "don't do it," I mean, what happens there?
[sighs]
I just want people that have my best interest for me
To support me and what I'm doing, and...
[sighs]
♪ ♪
I just don't need this right now.
It's just too much.
But I do want his approval on this.
♪ ♪
I have a lot to think about.
♪ ♪
[sighs]
[upbeat music]
- ♪ nothing's gonna stop me now ♪
♪ 'cause I'm back and I'm ready to go ♪
- Our ten singles are days away from taking
The biggest risks of their lives,
But they won't be doing it alone.
- Hi. - Hi.
- I'm rachel. - Nice to meet you, rachel.
I'm myrla. - Oh, my gosh, I'm so excited.
- Today the soon-to-be brides...
- My name's johnny. What's your name?
Jose? Nice to meet you. - Pleased to meet you.
- And soon-to-be grooms will be getting together
Separately to meet each other for the very first time.
- Hi. I'm bao.
- Bao, nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.
- I'm brett. - Brett.
- These are not typical marriages,
And our hope is that these men and women
Will be able to encourage and support each other
During this crazy new chapter of their lives.
- I think we're doing shots around.
- Are we? Yeah, I'll drink whatever
As long it's not jaeger.
[laughter]
- Hanging out with the other grooms,
I'm curious to see who else is crazy enough
To do the exact same thing I'm doing
And what series of unfortunate events has led them
To be in the same position.
I have all this anxiety
About what's about to happen, and to be able to share that
With somebody that's going through the exact same thing,
That's something I'm gonna lean on.
- Okay, so how old is everybody?
- I'm 35. - 35?
- I'm 35. I'm glad I'm not the old man.
- What? I thought I was gonna be the old man.
I'm 35. - You're 35?
- That's crazy. Same. - I'm 27.
- Wait, wait, wait, what? Wait, wait, wait, wait.
- So you're the kid!
Let's get this man a sippy cup.
[laughter]
- We're all doing this.
- Oh, yes. - Very soon.
[laughter]
- This is completely not like me to do.
I'm very risk-averse.
So, you know,
And I've lived a very planned and calculated kind of life.
And so it's taken me really outside of my comfort zone
To be a part of this process.
I'm very much introverted.
- You're an introvert. I'm an ambivert,
Which I think is a good balance 'cause I can do both.
And I also don't have a lot of friends.
I don't make friends easily at this age anymore.
- Yeah.
- What are your must-haves? What must you have in a woman?
- So, like, one of the things I said,
"I just want to make sure she has
Less than 1,000 followers on instagram."
- See, that's a good point, man.
So, like, my--yo, I get that. - No ig models.
[indistinct chatter]
- Hey, real quick, I said the exact same.
I was like, "I don't want no ig"--yes.
- Nothing against them. - Yeah, yeah, right.
- But they're just too into themselves.
I need somebody that's more centered.
- Personality-wise,
To be honest, this sounds terrible, right?
But I want somebody that's kind of clingy.
[laughter] - it's levels to clinginess.
You know, you got little psycho is worst-case-scenario clingy.
But then you got somebody that just--
- Gil, you know what? I might even be okay
With psycho, as long as she's psycho for me.
- I definitely want somebody that's clingy,
But if we were to rate it from a one to a five,
I want, like, a two.
Johnny maybe wants, like, a four or a five,
So he might like a little drama.
I feel like he would do better
With somebody that has a little more spice to it.
So a little more red sauce than green sauce.
[laughs]
- Yeah, so for me, so I had kind of
An unfortunate laundry list.
I was like, "I want her to be simple, classy,
"humble, no ig models,
You know, active, work out, be a little bit thick."
- Sounds kind of picky, though. Are you a picky guy?
What's your laundry list, though?
Let's just reel off, like, ten of them.
- So okay--
- 'cause I feel like I'm kind of like you.
I have, like, a checklist of things that I want in a girl.
- You know, I want her to be educated.
I want teamwork. I want consistent communication.
'cause, you know, I don't know what I don't know.
So if you don't tell me you like green eggs and ham,
How the hell am I gonna know
That that's what you like to do the small--
'cause I'm a man about detailed little, small things, right?
- For me, like, quarantine got the best of me,
And I gained so much weight.
- Girl, who you telling? [laughter]
- None of my pants fit.
I had to buy all new clothes for this.
- But then it's like,
I just had gotten out of a relationship and everything,
So I, you know, took time
To kind of put myself back together.
Now I'm, like, so confident and happy and everything.
- Oh, I feel the same. - Yeah.
- But bringing someone else in, the risk would be
What if they deteriorate my confidence again?
- Oh, I said the same thing the other day.
- Like, what if they completely break me?
It was like, am I gonna be able to like, you know...
- Yes, you will. - Get myself together again?
- Yes, you will. You'll be fine.
- I think that's the biggest risk.
Like, I'm basically signing up to put it all on the table,
Like, good and bad.
And then what if I do all of that
And he's, like, not into that?
You're like, "cool. Great."
- Ryan, what about you?
What'd you tell the experts that you wanted?
- I really just told them, I was like,
"I just want a good human. I want a good person."
I need--she's gonna have to be a confident person.
I mean, I've dated a ton, and I'm gonna have to tell her
A lot of stuff. - Yeah, yeah, yeah.
- I feel like ryan's got kind of, like, a jaded look to him,
Like he's been through [bleep].
He seems like he has traveled,
Like, a very, very long path to get to where we are today
And he's just ready for that end.
Just think of, like, a weary traveler
Just ready to find his inn for the night.
[laughs]
- I need to thank pastor cal
For making me delete those apps.
- Do y'all have, like, any,
Like, really serious deal breakers like, "no!"
- Someone who's aggressive, controlling.
- Oh, that too, yeah.
- I don't like being told what to do.
- If he doesn't want kids and he smokes.
- Oh. - Love that.
- Yeah, kids, yes.
- Yeah, doesn't want kids, for sure.
I think, for me, income-wise, like, I enjoy doing things
And, like, a certain lifestyle.
So I would want to make sure that they can afford to,
Because I'm not gonna change my lifestyle, you know?
I'm not gonna stop taking trips.
I'm not gonna stop, you know, shopping.
- Like, that's not gonna stop. - Absolutely,
It's not gonna end.
- My worst-case scenario is that
The person I'm matched with
Is so over-the-top obnoxious, class clown,
Someone that's just all about themselves and egocentric
And it's just always "me, me, me,"
Because that will bring out the ugly side of me
That I don't want to come out.
- Stop it!
I think bao is probably one of the nicest,
Sweetest women that I have ever met,
But I feel like she has
An undercover spicy side to her.
A woman of little words,
But the words that she does say
Are very powerful.
She really needs somebody
That is willing to concede wearing the pants.
- What are you guys most worried about?
So I can tell you what I'm most worried about.
My longest relationship was nine months.
- What? - Nine months?
- Yeah, I know. The other two after that
Was, like, two months and three months.
- That's a fling. - I know. I know, right?
- I barely have, like, a couple dates in two months.
- Yeah. So, like, I personally have never been in love.
What is that feeling like? I just really do not know.
- Whenever I get to the point where I care more about
Their time, their-- just them being happy
Over me, my time and me being happy,
That's when I feel like, "okay, you got me."
- For me when I was in love, I can be 100% vulnerable
With them.
- That's a good point, man. - I wasn't scared
To tell them anything. - Right.
- I think respect, like, for me,
It's like the cornerstone of love.
Once I respect somebody, like, they've earned my respect,
That's when I know I have the capacity to love this person.
- That's it, that's it. - That's what I'm hoping for.
- Please! - That's it, that's it.
- Who's going to go in for the kiss at the altar?
- Not me. - No?
- No? I want it.
- I'm just gonna put my face out there and see what he does.
- I'm going. - You going in?
- Oh, I'm going. I'm going.
If he's not a troll, yeah, I'm kissing him.
- Yeah, yeah.
- Well, I'm not. I'm gonna take it slow.
I'm gonna take it slow, I'm not.
- I get the impression that myrla is more rigid
Than the rest of the ladies, and is very reserved.
She is more guarded.
And I hope that she's matched with someone
Who's very patient.
- I want to kiss. Yeah, this is a stranger,
But I'm marrying this stranger.
So tongue, give me all of it, right?
- See, I-I respect that, man.
- I'm very affectionate.
So for sure, if we could start off with a bang, why not?
[laughter]
Should we get another shot?
- Whoa! - We got no chill gil over here.
- So when was the last time you guys were with someone?
Like, with them?
♪ ♪
With them in the biblical sense.
You know what I mean? - I just was like, "hmm!"
- I'm not, like, that ashamed to answer it.
I mean, but it's been over two years.
- [gasps]
- [mouthing] -and that's just because
Of the relationship factor.
If I'm not in a relationship with you,
So if I've been single, it's not happening.
- Yeah. - You know what I mean?
So hopefully, that's not an issue.
I think people would understand that.
I think maybe a guy would be like, "that's good."
- Yes, I think so too.
- And if they don't, well, then they're not the one.
- Yeah.
- And it also ensures you're clean.
[laughter]
- Exactly, yeah.
- Yeah, mine was a little bit more recent than that.
And when I told him that I got matched, then he was like,
"wait, are you kidding me?" I was like,
"no, I'm engaged now. Sorry. I'm engaged. Bye."
[laughter]
♪ ♪
- ♪ I, I ♪
♪ ♪
♪ I, I ♪
- Yay, we're here.
- With just a little over a week
Before our ten singles marry complete strangers,
It's time to get their wedding attire locked in.
They say you never get a second chance
To make a first impression.
And when you're getting married at first sight,
That comes with a lot of pressure.
- Oh, my gosh, y'all see this back on this one?
[laughter, chatter]
- Missus gonna throw a party in the back!
[laughter]
I am getting married in nine days.
This is the biggest milestone in our family
Since my father's passing.
And the idea that I would
Let somebody I don't know have all of me emotionally,
I'm starting to feel like, "oh, my gosh, [bleep] is wild.
It's crazy. No, ugh."
[laughs]
What am I doing? [laughing]
This is gonna be the dress that he sees me in, y'all.
Like, how crazy is that?
- He's gonna see you and be like, "yes!"
- Yeah, that's it. Hopefully, I'm like "yes!" too.
[laughter]
- Welcome to al's formal wear.
- All right. - Let's get my boy right.
- Who's getting married? - I am. I am.
- This man right here. - What do you have in mind?
- Definitely something blue.
I'm more so on the side of conservative.
Not as flashy.
I never been to a wedding,
So my wedding will be the first wedding that I go to.
It's crazy, you know what I mean? Like, damn!
But, you know, a lot of my friends are single.
No one's even close to getting married,
And my brother is engaged.
But I just never been-- I haven't been invited.
So it's really cool to kind of go through this experience.
I'm not mad at this. I like it.
- That the dark blue is pretty nice.
- Definitely feeling those nerves because
I've never been in love,
And once you make a first impression with someone,
It's kind of hard to change that.
So if I'm gonna be marrying someone
That I have never met before,
A tux that represents me is what I'm really looking for.
- Are you feeling pretty nervous, man?
- Yeah, I'm very nervous, man.
- I know, you ain't never met this girl before.
So you gotta be a little nervous.
- I can't even process, like, the wedding day right now.
- Are you ready, though?
Are you ready to get married, bro?
- Yeah, I'm very ready, actually.
You guys know, like, I wanted to get married at 25.
That was my goal, like, 25, but obviously didn't work out.
So whatever I do to get there, I'm going to do it.
- Aww! - Ohh!
- Right up there in the pedestal.
- As she should be. Put her where she belongs.
- This is pretty. - This is all good.
- Oh, you look like a bloom baby.
You are blooming. - You are a princess bride!
- You're blooming!
- Ooh, the back. Oh, my gosh.
- Let's see the--bam!
Ooh! Oh, baby!
- Oh, gosh! - You are a present in that.
- ♪ I've seen it all ♪
- It's just surreal, like...
I'm gonna be somebody's wife.
I hope my husband is slender, kind of basketball-build.
I would like for him to have a deeper voice, bigger hands.
I hope that he thinks I'm beautiful, like,
"okay" you know?
- Aw! - Ohh!
[laughter]
- Okay. - Oh, I love that body.
- Her face. - Her face.
- Yeah, it's gorgeous on you. - [groans]
- How are you feeling in that?
- I feel beautiful. - Yes, indeed.
- ♪ look me in the eye ♪
- All right, michaela, I'm gonna have you
Close your eyes.
It's your wedding day,
You're getting ready to walk down the aisle,
You're gonna meet your husband for the very first time.
All right, michaela, whenever you're ready, go ahead
And open your eyes.
- ♪ I know ♪
♪ we're gonna give it all love now ♪
♪ we're gonna take it up to the sky ♪
- Oh, my gosh, this is gorgeous.
I feel beautiful.
I feel like myself, which is good.
But I'm emotional as I see myself in this dress
Because I know
That my father won't be able to walk me down the aisle.
♪ ♪
[sighs and exhales] - wow.
You complement that dress. - Yes, absolutely.
Love it. - It's beautiful.
- It's gorgeous.
Michaela, she's my baby.
So to see her in that, it just is overwhelming.
- This dress is absolutely stunning.
- You know going into something like this, adventure like this
Not knowing who's gonna be at the end of the walkway--
She's very bold.
But she's committed, and she has a good heart.
So I support her 1,001%.
- Oh, my gosh.
This morning, I felt like, you know, and this is a lot,
Like, I don't know if I'm strong enough for this.
But let me tell you, if I were not meant to do this,
Daddy and grandma thelma would not have let me do it.
- 100%. - There was something
That they saw that they were like,
"nah, she needs this." - yeah.
- My father and my grandmother,
They died within months of each other.
My dad was killed by a drunk driver,
My grandma died of a broken heart.
And those were my people.
So going through this process,
I know that they're still around,
And that if this wasn't something
That I needed to experience,
I know they wouldn't never let me do this.
I know that for a fact.
I hope that I do fall in love with him,
And I really hope that I'm capable of letting him in
And not shutting him out and being able to express myself.
- I just want to reiterate,
It's not gonna happen overnight.
I still struggle to open up and be vulnerable.
So give yourself some leeway. Give yourself some slack, okay?
- It's not gonna be easy. Take your time.
Don't rush. What you rushing for?
- Okay, okay.
- Okay, okay. Hey, it's real. Let's do it.
- Yes, sir! - [humming]
[laughter] - that's crazy, though.
- Yes, sir!
- I like this. I like the style.
I like the vest.
- I'm trying to picture her next to you in the dress, man.
I'm trying to see how it looks.
- Yeah, like, meeting her and then, like, saying the vows,
Like, to me, that is the scariest part
Of this whole process.
I just hope that I fit her,
You know, her standards, you know?
- You're a free man, man. - I know.
But like, you know, everything I do in life,
I always think it's not good enough.
So that's why I'm kind of thinking about,
You know, what if I'm not good enough for her?
I mean, I know it's not the best mindset to have,
But I'm just nervous about, like, the attraction,
You know, because that is real.
And so if she's not attracted to me when she first sees me,
Then I do think it will be a challenge.
People have their preferences and, you know,
What they're used to.
What if I'm not, you know, the height that she wants
Or the body build she wants or the skin color she wants?
It's just the honest truth.
She may not be attracted to me,
And that would be heartbreaking if she isn't.
- What if you come down the aisle and you see him,
And you're like, "ugh!"
- Oh, [bleep]. - We've been thinking about
The other way, but what if it happens that way?
- Can you run in that dress? - Yes, ma'am.
I can run anything. I'm squirrelly.
- You can run in anything.
♪ ♪
- ♪ whoa ♪
♪ ♪
- Oh, boy, this is a lot. Oh.
- Bao, what do you envision yourself in
And what style do you prefer? - Very simple.
I'm just realizing how meaningful it is
To go wedding dress shopping with the people I love.
And in a way, it's like getting married.
You know, you're picking the right one,
You're committing to it.
You're making a statement and announcing it to the world.
A part of me kind of just feels like I would be happy
In a white power suit.
- We're not running for congress,
So we're not doing that.
- I do want to impress him,
But I want to feel like it's me.
I want to look beautiful on my wedding day.
- So no yoga pants.
- Okay, maybe no yoga pants. No fanny pack?
- No. - [laughs]
- What did you have in mind? - I kind of like these.
[laughter]
- That's some bold patterns there, johnny.
- Yeah, this looks kind of cool.
I really thought about it long and hard.
And despite my dad's disapproval,
I'm still committed to making this happen.
I have to make peace with it because I have
Too much other stuff that I need to prepare for.
And going in to get tux-fitted today
Kind of brings me back on the right track.
- I don't know, man. - I'll find your size.
- Looking like hugh hefner there.
- Red in asian culture is a lucky color.
And if I can control the color of my suit
To bring some luck into the situation,
I'm gonna do it because I'm just tired of dating,
And I don't want to date anymore.
- ♪ here comes the bride ♪
♪ all dressed in... ♪
- You don't sound too happy.
- I think it's, um...
I feel like this is a timeless look.
I don't know why,
But I'm thinking marilyn monroe for some reason,
But with less blossom.
And asian.
- Sure. - I do like the swish of this.
- Are there pockets? - No, I wish there were--
[screaming]
- Okay, this one's good. - My gosh.
- Oh, my god, I love it. God, and they're deep pockets.
I could stash all kinds of food in here.
I'm like, "okay." - yeah, sure.
- Nothing greasy, just...
- Okay.
- Aw, wow! -Oh, man!
[chatter]
- Is that the last suit you'll ever wear?
- Might be. I do like this contrast right here.
And maybe a different color of bow
But I mean, I like this jacket a lot.
- You're getting some gold. - Take a look.
- Now, which one, you know, which one screams, like,
"I want to bang johnny"? [laughter]
I'm just really excited.
I can't wait to see like what her personality is like.
Is she quirky like me,
Is she witty, or is she really serious
I need to like soften her up a little bit?
Is she really career-oriented
Or is she more of, like, a dreamer?
[exhales] so many questions, and I'm like,
Just excited to meet somebody that has the same values,
Same goals, same place in life,
And wants to be with me.
Like, she's committed to this as much as I have.
And that's the thing that excites me the most
Is that we have that baseline of commitment to one another.
I mean, I don't expect this to be easy.
I don't expect this to be like a walk in the park.
- You know, growing up in the family that we did,
We aren't very good at expressing ourselves.
We just have to be not afraid to show ourselves, right?
I mean, she's your wife, she's the person
You're gonna spend the rest of your life with.
And I think that if you do that you know, it's gonna be good.
- Man, I can't believe, like, him saying that,
It plucks, like, a little heartstring
Because I wasn't hugged as a child,
Because my mom never told me she loved me, you know?
And holy [bleep], I think that's where I get that from.
I just want to see that she really wants to be with me,
She's happy with what I look like and excited
To go get married and go through this journey with me.
- Mom, did you ever think--
You ever think this-- - I got shocked
When she told me.
I said, "what? Really?"
She pretty.
Why she have to do it like that?
- It's okay, it's okay.
She's pretty, but she's picky.
- She's very picky.
- Yeah.
- I feel like she's gonna have, like, 100 questions
On her wedding night.
- Probably gonna set up a table with a...You know,
Like, interrogation.
[laughter]
- Here I come.
- Oh! - Ooh.
Look at that gown.
- It's just like the other dress, but [indistinct].
- I think it's very beautiful.
I think I like the train on this one
More than the other one.
- Yeah. - No, yeah, it's better.
When I see my daughter wear the wedding dress,
I feel very hopeful and very nervous.
With her husband, I still a little concern about that.
So I just wish and prays for her.
And I hope they be very happy.
- I think this more complements you well.
- It's not too blingy,
And it has just enough like elegance to it.
- Yeah. - It's kind of ethereal.
- Like, if this one had pockets, it would be so nice.
Like-- - no.
- Oh, shoot! - Wait, does it?
[screaming] [laughter]
But it's lace. We're gonna see what you have in your pockets.
- Yeah, you can't put--
- You cannot put anything in there.
- Oh, my gosh, it can't get better than this.
This is the dress.
- ♪ we try and cage a bird ♪
- This dress is not what I expected,
But I'm surprised at how beautiful I feel in this dress.
Oh, I look so pretty.
I'm not a camera-ready person
That cares about dresses, normally,
But I'm doing this because I'm putting my all into it.
And anything I set my mind to doing, I do it
To the fullest of my ability.
And now that he's my husband,
I have that expectation of him too.
And it might be a tall order, but it is what it is.
I look great.
My gosh. And I'm blushing.
Like, naturally blushing.
I hope he's handsome, 'cause this is hot.
Like, I need him to look handsome next to me, right?
I hope he's handsome.
♪ ♪
- ♪ just give me one, one, two, three more shots ♪
♪ I need another, that's my song ♪
♪ so fill it up I fill my cup up, baby ♪
- You guys excited? - Oh, excited, brother.
- Very excited. - Excited, man.
That's a great look right there.
I like that. That's kind of cool.
♪ ♪
- Tonight, before their big day,
Our couples will have one last chance to get together
And celebrate leaving their single life behind.
- Whoo!
In a few days, our couples will enter into
Legally binding-marriages to complete strangers.
- I will tell you I want to do a shot, but I don't know.
- Yeah, go for it. Come on.
- You can't even bring that up.
- I know. I was like, I don't want to take it.
- Come on, man.
- I see that you're the influencer. Okay, okay.
- He said yes?
- I'm down. Let's do it, let's do it, let's do it.
- I'm hoping to have so much fun with the fellas.
I'm just excited to see them let loose a little bit
Before we take that plunge,
And hopefully meet the love of our life.
- This place is interesting. - This is out of my realm.
- Yeah, yeah, me too, I mean...
- I might get in there and do something.
I mean, I'll move, but it won't be right.
Not at all. - I'm catching good vibes here.
- ♪ you don't want to scrub, you don't really want a mob ♪
♪ you don't want to know your eyes ♪
♪ when it comes to the best ♪
♪ you ain't never tried, you ain't never tried ♪
♪ you ain't never ride to survive overtime ♪
♪ with the best ♪
♪ I've been doing this y'all my whole life ♪
- Yes! Yes!
- Yeah, work it!
- See, I'm afraid if I drop it, it's gonna split my dress.
- I need a drink.
- It's just not my ambience I'm into.
- Yes. - You know?
- If she's the person
That the experts, you know, put me for me...
- Is she calm? What she like? - She the life of the party.
♪ ♪
- You gotta dance. - I don't want to dance.
- Oh, my god, look at them.
- Myrla is to herself, and she's closed off.
So, yeah, in this process-- in this kind of process?
You gotta open the [bleep] up.
- So how are you feeling? - I feel excited.
- How are you liking the bachelorette?
- It's okay. - Yeah.
- I'm not really a bachelorette person, though. You know that.
- Well, you've never been married.
So this is not your bag?
♪ ♪
- No. Like, I just want to get married.
I just want to be past all this and just, like, be married.
Then life starts. Both: Yeah.
♪ ♪
- ♪ I said the good times comin' along ♪
♪ oh, goodbye trouble ♪
♪ good times comin' ♪
- I'll do what you do.
Okay, go.
♪ ♪
Just like that.
- Oh, my god.
- ♪ baby when you move like that ♪
♪ she ain't looking for love or romance ♪
- I'm learning.
- Gil is a party animal.
Whoever he gets matched with,
I hope she has the same energy as he does.
- Okay, I'm done.
I would definitely perform for my wife like this.
If that's what she's into, if that's what she wants,
Or even if that's what she doesn't want
But she doesn't know that she wants,
That's definitely something I would do for her.
- Hell, yeah. - Come on.
[screaming]
- Oh, my god. - Yeah, bao!
- Oh, my god.
Oh, my god!
- I think that bao is the kind of person
Who will say she's reserved, but secretly, is not.
Once you open her up, she is fun as [bleep] yeah.
- Whoo!
[laughter]
- I mean, I'm hoping that we have sparks right off the bat.
I think the first thing I'm gonna want to find out
When we walk up is that I want to see on her face
That she is happy to see me, she's excited,
And, like, if she walks up to me and she's just like,
"aw, okay, this guy."
Unfortunately...
- She turns around and walk down the aisle the other way?
- Yeah, she starts crying in a bad way. Happy tears?
[bell dings]
- You're a little picky, which is what I love about you,
And that's why your standards are so high.
What do you think your husband's doing right now?
♪ ♪
- I would love to think that he's at nasa.
- Yeah, studying. - You know, I hope...
- Reading books? - Yeah.
- And definitely watching cat videos.
- Oh, I hope so.
- Are you ready to spend the rest of your life
With somebody, a complete stranger at that?
- I'm totally ready. I'm over dating.
I'm ready to be with one person for the rest of my life.
- Ready to replace me on the twerk team?
[laughter]
- I hope he can twerk. Oh, my goodness.
♪ ♪
The fun we're having right now, like, I hope
I can have that kind of fun with my husband.
- Hopefully, he's gonna be your best friend.
- This is the person that you're gonna spend
The rest of your life with? - Absolutely.
- It's a great night, man. - A fun night.
- We got some dancers in the group.
- He danced until his pants tore.
He's got a little rip in his pants.
- I'm still looking for it. - Yeah.
- I knew in this scenario that I'd be,
Like, more reserved,
As much as I'd love to tear my pants up.
- What are you guys most nervous about in terms of,
You know, after the wedding?
- Think it's the intimacy.
- But I'm looking more forward
To the conversation, like, after the wedding.
You're gonna meet her in that first sit-down,
In that first conversation and like
What's your first question gonna be?
It's like, I don't know what my first question's gonna be.
- So I will say this.
Here's what I have done to combat, well,
I wouldn't say combat that.
I'll say, like, bridge the gap.
So I wrote every single question now
That I have thought of.
[laughter] right?
- Kinda funny, yeah.
- How many questions you got so far?
- So it may be teasy, it may be me crazy,
But I wrote everything down.
So there's 256 questions.
- Oh! - I already did it.
I already did it. I already did it.
- I think jose needs a wife that's gonna be like
Affectionate and lets him know
That he's appreciated because he is unique.
He's like a pokémon, like unique pokémon over here.
A rare pokémon, and he needs somebody
That is looking for that rare, like, perfect fit for me.
If I was a chick, I'd be into jose.
- When do you guys think you'll cry?
I personally think I'm gonna cry when I--
- I'm gonna cry during my speeches, 100%.
- Do you guys have-- - no question.
- I just--
- I don't think I'ma cry not one time
During this whole thing.
[laughter]
Look, if her vows--
Her vows gotta be, like, made by--
Mother teresa...
Might have to write her vows for me to cry.
- I practice my vows, practice my vows every day, man.
- Me crying? You got it memorized?
- I've had multiple goals in life, but my main goal
Has always been to have a beautiful wife and kids.
And so now I have the opportunity to have that.
And so...I want this.
♪ ♪
- She's getting really into it.
♪ ♪
Really into it.
- ♪ you let the money talk ♪
- Oh, baby, she's eating this up right now.
- ♪ making commas on a check ♪
- No, ma'am.
- ♪ I just let that money talk ♪
- Here you go.
[laughter]
- No, you take all. I'll take that.
- ♪ talk, talk, got a lotta zeroes ♪
- I'll take that.
- Michaela!
- Turn around and twerk.
- Oh, you havea great ass. - I don't knowhow to do that.
- [laughing]
- You should do it! - No, girl.
No, ma'am. - Here's another.
- Lookit, though. - I'm sorry, it was fun.
- Oh, my god!
- No comment.
- I didn't ask for this!
- I underestimated bao.
- How does bao still have money but I don't?
[laughter]
- My advice for my michaela's husband
Would be to, like, hold on to your seat.
I think she's going to bring, like, a flair and an energy
That he might not have had before.
- Whoo!
[laughing]
This is what I like!
- Michaela's putting us to shame.
- Whoo! Yes!
- She's so fun.
- I feel like, now that I've met the women,
That I was authentically me.
And I don't know why I got a match.
I don't. I honestly don't.
And I contribute a lot of it to the way I was raised
And my siblings and my parents and all that.
It's like, wow, I'm very-- it makes me even more curious
To learn who my spouse is 'cause I don't think I am
Like any of the women who were matched with me.
I really don't. Yeah, I'm feeling so good.
- You ready to get married? - I am ready to get married.
My man gotta be damn good.
I hope he's tall, beautiful, kind, ambitious.
Like, he's just the [bleep].
- And what's your manifestation on like...
- Oh, I would love for him to have it strong,
But he has to be able to work it.
You don't want a big [bleep] and he, like,
Rams like a rabbit. That sucks.
Uh...Ow.
- Are you gonna smash the first night?
What are you expecting?
If you don't like him, what are you gonna do?
- So honeymoon night. Well, y'all know me.
If he's attractive, and if I'm liking him,
If he's handsome but we done spent
12 [bleep] hours together, if we have good rapport,
I am not opposed to smashing the first time.
[hysterical laughter]
- Don't get pregnant.
- ♪ I can never get you off my ♪
♪ my my mind ♪
- With only one day remaining before our spouses-to-be
Say "I do" to a complete stranger,
Nerves are heightened, and pressure continues to build.
These will be legally-binding marriages
And not something for any of these individuals
To take lightly.
- ♪ tick tick tock, tick tock tock ♪
♪ time waits for nobody nobody ♪
[phone line ringing] ♪ time keeps ticking away ♪
- Hey - hey, kim. How's it going?
- Good. How are you?
How are you feeling? You're about to get married.
- I'm feeling kind of nervous about it.
This is probably the biggest risk I've ever taken.
And... - Huge risk.
- My normal level of confidence
Is not where it should be right now.
Nothing is in control.
And for a guy that plans every little aspect out in his life
And having a big question mark over what's gonna happen
The next few months, that's very scary.
I mean, I definitely am going into this wedding day
With a lot of insecurities.
And one of the things I'm kind of ashamed of is
I kind of prefer the needy girls,
The girls that are clingy, like, stage five clingers.
Like, it gives me comfort.
And when do I tell her that that's what I want
And that's what I need? I don't want to scare her off.
- I definitely think that you should take the time
To really think about why is it
That you like the stage five clingers.
Like, I think I would think about why do you feel
The need to get-- why you want somebody
To have all that attention on you all the time?
- Every relationship that I start, I always make it
To where I make sure the girl is really into me first.
Coming from a family where there wasn't a lot of
'I love yous' to be thrown around, not a lot of hugs,
I do feel like I've overcompensated for that
In looking for that in relationships.
I look for someone that's hyper-affectionate.
And I see it in other people,
And I want to feel that warmth.
I want to feel that for the person that I'm married to.
- How do you feel about tomorrow?
- It's weird. You know, like, I haven't met this guy.
I don't know how he looks. I don't know his background.
I don't know anything about this guy
Other than that he's a human
And he probably won't have a micro penis
Because I mentioned it as a dealbreaker.
[chuckling]
I've been living with van for a number of years now,
And he knows me well.
So I really need him to give me some insight
Because I'm nervous to meet a man I've never met before.
I mean, it's a complete unknown,
And that is unnerving,
Because there's so much I don't have control over.
- What if he has, like, a really overwhelming libido?
- There's gonna be a compromise.
- He's just like, "I need it, like, every day." yeah.
- Mmm. But he's got a hand. [laughter]
In some weird way, I trust the experts.
Naturally, I'm optimistic, but I'm cynical, and I'm skeptical.
- Yeah.
- I don't know how his family is.
And what if he has a different background?
Like, you know, my family, you know,
We came from great adversity, and there is
Some insecurity there with my parents and my family.
- But I mean, do you think he'll under--
- No, that's the thing.
Unless he has, like, a real immigrant background,
I cannot imagine that he will understand how that feels.
When you talk about refugee poor,
That's like you came here with absolutely nothing.
Most of the people I've dated don't know that I grew up
In a 50-plus year-old dilapidated trailer.
And for most of my life, it was a big source of shame.
It's gonna take some time to be open about my upbringing.
Like, I want to be sure that there will be somebody there,
In the long haul, who's gonna be with me,
That I can grow old with.
There is some insecurity there
Because the last thing I would want
Would be like for his family to look down on my family
Because of our very humble beginnings.
I mean, at this point, I don't know my husband,
And that is quite scary.
I do think I do read up into things
Sometimes more than I should,
But it's something that's so important to me.
Like, my family is small, they're all I have.
- ♪ one two three four ♪
♪ I'm countin' every second till you open my door like ♪
♪ one two three four... ♪
- T-minus 24 hours until I finally get to say,
"good night, husband."
- So I'm really hoping that my husband is tall,
Dark and handsome, and everything that I asked for,
Because if not, I'm not going to be happy.
- Man, this is really happening.
The day I've thought about, the day I've dreamt about.
- I can't freakin' wait to meet this man and his family,
And, you know, like, just ask him a million questions
And just pick his brain
And just even see what it looks like, you know?
So the curiosity is about to kill the cat,
Like, I need to know. [laughs]
- To my future wife, you know, I know you're probably nervous
And worried about tomorrow, but just know
That I feel the same thing, and I got your back.
We got this.
- This is it. Tomorrow is the start of my new life.
That means that michaela is off the market.
This is insane, but I'm ready for this challenge.
I really am.
- Yes, I have nerves and sometimes I don't,
Sometimes it comes and goes and I'm super calm,
Calm before the storm, if you will.
And then there's other times where I'm kind of nervous,
Like, right now.
- Like, my life is completely
Going to change in basically a second.
And the first thing I'm gonna have to tell my husband is,
"hi. My name is rachel."
I want to smile and just be happy,
But I think my emotions are just gonna get the best of me
And I'm so scared,
I'm just going to be crying the whole time.
- Good night, and I hope you hug whatever pillow
Or body pillow that you've got
One last time.
Give him one last nice tight squeeze
And then kiss him goodbye
'cause I'm coming for his spot tomorrow.
Good night. - ♪ so everywhere you go ♪
- That's all for me.
- ♪ let's go take a walk ♪
♪ I don't know why it's like ♪
♪ I want to feel the vibe ♪
♪ are you ready or not ♪
All: Hey! - It's your wedding day.
- Oh, snap! It's going down!
- Today is the wedding day.
- Let's get up, boy!
[overlapping shouting]
- Good morning. It's my wedding day today.
Let that sink in a little bit.
- Oh, my god. I just want to fast forward.
Like, I'm just ready to be married.
I'm ready to meet my husband.
- I am probably the most annoying and hopeless romantic
That there is.
And so hopefully, I can keep it together.
- It's time to get married.
- You nervous? - I am. It hit me, for sure.
- For our five couples,
This is the biggest day of their lives.
They are risking it all for love
As they prepare to say, "I do"
To a complete stranger.
The first couple to get married at first sight
Is bao and johnny.
- I'm here in my bedroom at the intercontinental.
I'm waking up on my wedding day.
- Today represents the first day of the rest of my life.
- I am excited. I'm nervous. I'm anxious.
- There are a lot of things I'm looking forward
To know about my wife,
But the top two things have got to be
That she loves her family,
Gets along with them, and is looking forward
To building one with me,
And that she thinks I look damn good.
Really, those two things
Will make this day a fairy tale come true.
- I'm gonna see him very soon. So please, let him be nerdy.
- Hey. - Surprise!
How's the getting ready process?
Are you excited or more scared?
'cause I'm honestly a little more scared for you.
- I'm not scared.
I'm more excited,
But it's also kind of all these mixed emotions.
Oh, my god, I'm getting married to a complete stranger!
I didn't really sleep much last night.
I stayed up. I snacked on all the snacks.
I feel a little bit bad about it.
Estimated, it's probably over 1,000 calories
Consumed in one sitting.
There's all these questions
And all these, no, there's not enough answers right now.
It's just all in my head.
The things I'm most worried about are more like, okay,
Is it gonna be good for my mom and dad,
Is it gonna be good for my family,
Is it gonna be good for me?
Like, is my husband going to be the right match
And the right person for me?
Like, those things. - But you don't have
The answer to any of that. That's what I'm saying,
Like let it go.
You know, like, take the stick out of your ass.
Don't be such a control freak.
- Yeah.
- ♪ my destiny is nothing ♪
♪ live quick, level off my game ♪
- Wow, look at the size. - Oh...
- This is nice! - Look at this view.
Where you gonna spend your last hours as a bachelor.
- Today is my wedding day! [laughs]
It's been a long time coming, and I hope today is magical.
It's like a fairy tale, a dream come true.
I really appreciate y'all being here
To support me on my big day.
I'm gonna be leaning on y'all a lot today
'cause I'm extremely nervous.
I've never done anything even remotely close to this.
For somebody that's, like, risk-averse like I am
And, like, a control freak like I am, for me to do this,
I just got to the point in my life where love is first.
I need to find that,
I need to see if it's in the cards for me.
And I'm ready now to make that commitment and make that leap.
I hope I'm not the jittery one
When I'm over there and standing my tux.
♪ ♪
- I am absolutely worried that my personality
May clash with my future spouse.
I might be shy at first,
But I know I have a strong personality.
I'm very opinionated, and I'm a straight shooter.
So it doesn't always rub well with men.
This is definitely the biggest risk that I've taken in my life.
♪ ♪
- Oh, looking good.
[cheering] - very nice.
- Looking good, man.
- I've kind of held out this long from finding somebody
That I want to get married to
Because I just don't wanna get married to the wrong person.
For the first time in my life, things are beyond my control.
It's frightening, and it all culminates
To this one moment when we first meet.
Is this gonna take off, or is it gonna fail to launch?
Everything's happening very fast.
- Have the butterflies settled yet?
- Not yet.
♪ ♪
- ♪ I'm singing about you ♪
♪ ooh, there ain't nobody but the two of us ♪
- Aw, wow!
- Beautiful. - Yeah.
- Thank you. Yeah.
My ideal life with my spouse
Would be one where we complete each other.
I have high expectations for myself and my partner.
But if I end up spending my 50th wedding anniversary
With the husband I meet today, that would be
The most radical love story you could possibly write.
- It's been a long journey for you,
And we're all here for you.
- Congratulations, baoy. - Thank you. Cheers.
- Cheers. - Cheers. Cheers.
♪ ♪
- Delivery. - Oh, my god...
- Hubby! - Hubby! Oh, man.
- Look at that handwriting. - Whoa!
- Oh! Oh, what is this?
- Ooh, it's two gifts. - I have two gifts.
- All right, let's see.
♪ ♪
- "with sympathy." [laughter]
She has a sense of humor.
This is totally something I would do.
- "to my wife, your husband-to-be.
- All right. How do you feel about his handwriting?
- Okay. So far it's legible and in caps.
I would do that. Oh, my god, he wrote a lot.
- Oh, no. - Oh, no, you saw what I wrote!
- "dear husband, I inhaled a cheeseburger
"while writing this note.
"I can't wait to meet you very soon.
See you at the altar, your wife."
And it says, "may you find comfort
And support from those around you..."
[laughter]
...During this difficult time."
She is a quirky individual
Because if she's able to laugh at herself,
She's able to laugh at the situation.
Groom's day-of survival kit. Alcohol, mints,
And a ring pop.
- She has a sense of humor.
- She does. I'm a fan.
I love a girl that's able to do that,
Kind of poke fun at herself, make light of the situation,
'cause that's what I do.
What in the world are these?
- I think she's wild.
- All right, I'm gonna do it. I'm gonna wear them.
- "I hope you have your passport ready.
"we're going to see the world together.
"and I wrapped the gifts using a home and away jersey
'cause I hope you're into sports."
What?
- Oh, no. - Oh, no.
Oh, no, I'm not into sports and don't want to be matched
With anybody that's into sports.
- Go on. - "I can't wait to see you.
"I've been dreaming of this moment for my whole life,
And I hope you have too, hubby."
Okay, so we'll see.
- Let's look at the present. - I hope he's not a bro.
I don't have the patience for this right now.
No. Oh, no, it's definitely a jersey.
- Oh, no. - Oh, god.
God, I hope he's not the kind of guy that would, like,
Buy me power tools for our anniversary gift
Or some [bleep].
Oh, my god, he doesn't know how to wrap.
- No, you don't need to peel it all off.
- Holy moly. The lack of detail is painful.
- "I married a stranger." - oh, god.
We're gonna have to fix that
Because we would not hang it up.
- What's in the other one? - Okay, let's see.
What is this? - Oh, it's another jersey.
- Oh, my god, he's a big sports fan.
Guys! I wanted a nerd, not a bro.
[johnny exhales]
- It's all about you. - All right.
- It's your day, man. - My day. It's my day.
- You got this? - You're doing all right.
- Get the jitters out, just kinda...
[rhythmic breathing]
Wedding day. Let's go. Let's go. Let's go.
- Let's go.
You ready? You got this.
- I'm ready. Let's go. Yeah, let's go.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
[sighs] whoo!
There's something coursing through my veins right now.
It's excitement, nervousness,
Nervous, excitement.
And I'm right now just really full of hope.
I hope she's everything that I dreamed of,
And I hope she's as nervous as I am,
But I'm so excited to see her
And meet her for the first time.
I wonder if I'm ready to say my vows.
Oh!
♪ ♪
- You okay?
- I mean, I work with some of the most brilliant minds
In cancer research.
I don't know a single one that's a huge sports fan
Enough to give their unknown bride sports gifts.
That says a lot.
I'm not feeling good about this.
My biggest fear right now
Is that the man standing at the altar is not the one.
I've dated people that are sports fans
And it did not work out.
- Don't be worried. Don't think about that too much.
It's okay. - Yeah.
♪ ♪
- This is it. I'm getting married,
And to a stranger, of all things.
The worst thing that can happen today
Is I'm standing there at the altar
And she never shows up.
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- I mean, if I'm having all these thoughts
Race through my head, what if she's feeling that
On a higher level and she decides, like,
"today, I can't go through with this"?
♪ ♪
- Where is she?
♪ ♪
[dramatic music]
♪ ♪
- Where? Where is she?
♪ ♪
Is she coming? [laughs]
♪ ♪
- This is my wedding. It is my day, it is my life.
I would have much rather his gift be books.
This is a big red flag for me.
♪ ♪
I'll just do this,
But I cannot hide my utter disappointment.
♪ ♪
I'm literally about to go walk down the aisle
To this big sports fan,
And I've never had success with big sports fans.
So that is quite scary.
♪ ♪
But he was picked for some reason.
So I have to take a huge risk on love,
And I hope that the risk pays out dividends.
All right, we're doing this.
- My adrenaline's pumping,
And my heart is thumping out of my chest.
I'm gonna meet my wife for the first time,
And I have no control over who she is.
♪ ♪
What am I doing?
- This is crazy.
[intense music escalates]
♪ ♪
[uplifting music]
♪ ♪
- I know him.
I think he knows me. [music warps, slows]
Oh, my god, it's johnny!
Oh, [bleep]!
[laughter]
Oh, my god! [both laughing]
You're all red, johnny.
- I am. [laughter]
Oh, my goodness.
Oh, my god.
Out of the entire world of possibilities
That I thought might happen today,
This is like pluto. [laughs]
Oh, my god.
- Oh, my god.
I never in a million years
Would have thought it would be you.
- No? - No.
- Everyone, please be seated.
[bao laughs]
- Oh, my god. - Here we go.
- Oh, my god. Okay. All right.
[laughing] hi. [laughter]
- Haven't seen you in a really long time.
- I know. Aaah!
Okay. - You look beautiful,
By the way. - You look very handsome.
- Thank you.
- Bao, meet for the very first time here, johnny.
[laughter] - hello again.
- Hi. - Hi.
[exhales heavily]
- You're about to enter into a legally-binding marriage
With a person standing across from you,
Whom you've only just met, again, today.
[laughter]
Johnny? - Yes.
- Bao's friends and family would like you to know
That she is a very special and unique woman.
Even though she will come off a little strong,
Can be critical at times, and is very meticulous,
She means well.
Just a little tip.
If she's ever mad or not in a good mood,
A little backstreet boys
Can go a long way. - Hey.
- Bonus points if you can sing and dance to it too.
- Oh, dancing, I don't know.
- And lastly, it's very important for you to know
How much bao values her family.
We wish you the best.
And with some compassion and patience, we hope
You will be part of her family for years to come.
- Bao? - Uh-huh.
- Johnny's friends and family would like you to know
That he is like an ocean full of life, depth, and insight.
So we challenge you to be open-minded and unafraid
To share your views with him even if they differ from his.
He comes from a large extended family that is very close.
Finally, don't be afraid to lean on johnny
For the emotional support that you may need,
Because ultimately, you will be the ray of sunshine
That brightens his day.
- Oh, that's so sweet. - Thanks guys.
- Johnny and bao, you have each written your own vows.
- Oh, boy. - Johnny.
- You can go first.
- Please recite your vows to bao.
- I've gotta go through all the revisions over here.
[bao laughs]
To my wife, bao, I met you only minutes
Plus many many years ago.
[laughter] but by simply being here,
Standing across from each other today
In front of our family and friends,
I get the feeling we already have a few things in common.
Most importantly, we're both at a stage in life
That we're willing to risk it all
To find our spouse, or better half,
Our first and forever date.
I will work every day
To prove to you the risk was well worth the reward.
I promise to keep our conversations
Full of witty observations, bad puns, and inside jokes.
- Yes! - I vow to patiently
Listen to you and lift you up when you're down
And be mr. Glass-half-full on days that feel half empty.
I hereby give you a coupon for an endless supply of affection.
I'll snuggle you when you're cold
And then roll back to my side if it gets too hot.
I promise that throughout our journey together,
I'm going to respect you, honor our marriage
And give my whole heart to being the husband
You want and deserve.
I'm all yours. - Oh, so sweet.
- Bao, please recite your vows to johnny.
- I wrote a poem. - Oh, I like poems.
- It's titled, we will.
Dear johnny, we finally meet.
You're in for a treat.
The path that led us here, I must confess,
Can hardly be described as perfect or fun.
We braved so many grueling tests,
And today we know it's worth it and done.
We will celebrate the fancy and the cheesy.
Laughing and dancing in a world of our own,
And care for one another in times less easy,
Returning always to our space we call home.
We will travel while we're nimble and spry,
Or sit hand-in-hand and watch paint dry,
Just content in knowing that our love is growing
With the rise and the fall, together, through it all.
We have each other today, and hopefully, always,
I can say I found my one and only, no longer lonely.
- Thank you.
- Johnny, take bao's hand and repeat after me.
- Oh, my god! - Oh, your hand's cold.
- With this ring, I wed you, bao.
- For today, for tomorrow, and for all the years to come.
- For today, for tomorrow, and for all the days to come.
- It fits.
- Bao, take johnny's hand and repeat after me.
- It's this hand, right? Okay. - That's the one.
- With this ring, I wed you, johnny.
- With this ring, I wed you, johnny,
For today and tomorrow and all the years to come.
You're stuck with me.
- And now with the authority vested in me,
I pronounce you husband and wife.
Johnny, you may kiss your bride.
[laughter] - may I?
[cheers and applause]
- ♪ all the pressure and all the pain gone in a heartbeat ♪
♪ ♪
- It's gonna work. I think it's gonna work. Yeah.
- Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to introduce,
For the first time, in the state of texas,
As husband and wife, bao huong and johnny.
[cheers and applause]
♪ ♪
- I have so many questions. - I know, me too!
[cheers and applause continue]
♪ ♪
- Done. Locked down.
♪ ♪
This is wild. [laughs]
[cheers and applause]
- Bao and johnny are the first couple
To get married at first sight.
Now they will take their wedding photos
With family and friends.
Even though bao and johnny's paths crossed many years ago,
Taking photos in front of their loved ones
May still feel a little awkward.
But our hope is that these photos will be something
They can cherish for a lifetime.
Oh, you're good.
♪ ♪
- All right, everybody looking this way.
- ♪ I'll take you by my side every day and every night ♪
- Bao is my wife? Wow, this...This is crazy.
I mean, she's gorgeous, beautiful, hot, sexy,
Everything I've been looking for, like,
And, you know, I was so nervous.
But when I saw bao, all those jitters went away
Because I knew who she was when we were in college.
Bao and I were both presidents of student organizations
At the same time.
She was the president of vietnamese students association
At u of h, and I was the president
Of vietnamese students association at ut.
So we did cross-events. I met her.
It was kinda like
A president-meets-president thing.
And I thought she was very bubbly and very energetic,
But at the time, I wasn't even looking for anything serious.
What should I do with my hands?
- I don't know what to do with my hands either.
- You hold her hand. - Oh, we're holding hands?
[overlapping chatter]
Oh, we gonna hold it like that?
- Beautiful. - Whoo!
- Hold our hands together. - Like that?
- ♪ let's get deep in this tonight ♪
- I'm gonna get bride and groom shots at this time.
- Oh, these are the intimate ones.
[bao giggling]
- Two and three.
♪ ♪
Come in a little bit. There you go. There you go.
- Oh, what do I do with this hand?
- Grab my ass. [laughter]
[light music]
- Okay, all right. - All right.
If he's okay with grabbing your waist, then it's fine.
- Like, here or here? - I don't know.
Yeah, wherever you feel comfortable.
- Okay.
- It's overwhelming to be taking pictures with johnny
As my husband.
In college, he had a reputation of being
A little bit of a playboy.
And you know, like, I can see why.
He is suave.
Like, he's handsome, he's well-dressed and put together
And he has a way with words, and a lot of ladies like that.
- ♪ let's go play ♪
- What a day.
- Oh, man, we have so much to talk about. It's crazy.
- I have no idea what she's thinking right now,
But I'm really excited to see if there is,
Like, a romantic connection there.
One, two, three. - Yay, good job.
- I just have so many questions.
- I know.
- I think we'll probably have all night
To talk about this, but cheers to us.
- Cheers. - Reunited.
♪ ♪
It's good.
- Oh, my god.
- I'm not gonna lie.
This is awkward for me, because I already know you.
But at the same time, I'm kind of put at ease because
Both: I know you.
- Right? In a way, it's kind of cool.
- And I know you're a good person.
And from at least our past interactions
From ten years ago, you seem like me, actually.
You're a lot like me.
- Yeah. I can totally see already why we were matched.
Like, as soon as I saw you, part of me was like,
"this is insane. This is crazy."
But a part of me was like, "oh, my god,
It kind of makes sense, in a way."
Johnny actually has many layers.
And yes, he does like sports,
But he can dig deep when need be.
I know that much of him.
- At least we haven't dated.
- Well, I made sure
That that wasn't gonna be the case for me,
'cause I gave them--I sent them a long list of exclusions.
Like, names to exclude.
- That's like an insurance policy.
- Please do not match me with any of my exes or people
I've worked with in the community.
But you weren't on that list.
- That's funny. And do you think that's a good or bad thing?
- I'm feeling like this is actually
A good thing, in some way.
- I think like,
We probably have a lot in common
Just from your poetry vows.
It seems like we have a lot in common.
- Your vows too.
-It's just that I've never even thought
That we would date and now we're married.
[laughter]
Back when we were in college together
I never even thought about dating her.
If I'm being honest with myself, I am very picky.
In the past, I did have a checklist
That I was trying to check off
And I wanted 100% of it, but bao's so interesting,
Down-to-earth, and we have so much in common.
I just want to find out how much more we have in common.
Were you ever on, like, dating apps and stuff?
- I have. - You swiped left on me?
- No, I don't. I never swiped left on you.
I kept you in the list of maybes.
You've always been in the list of maybes on all of the apps.
- I am so honored. Wow.
- 'cause it's just like, you know,
Like, when you know somebody, you feel bad about swiping left
So then I'm just gonna leave them in the, like--
- You could have saved us a lot of time
Just by sending me a like.
So I do have a plan for something after this,
Something my family does at every wedding.
We have done, at some point, a tea ceremony.
And I would love to continue that tradition
With our marriage
And see if we can present some tea to the family
And get their blessings.
- That's what you wanted to tell me?
- I want to do that.
- Oh, okay. - Can you do that?
- Oh, yeah. Actually, what I wanted to tell you
Is that I insisted on a tea ceremony.
- Hey. Okay.
This day has been a fairy tale come true.
I just met the woman I'm gonna spend
The rest of my life with.
Even though we're not technically strangers,
This feels like destiny.
And it just blows my mind that,
Yeah, I mean, she's the one that would have made sense all along.
We're totally compatible. - Yeah, I think so.
- ♪ and after all is said and done ♪
♪ you'll always be the only one ♪
- Next time on "married at first sight"...
- [exhales] I would love to fall in love with
This man who's gonna be at the other end of that aisle.
- [bleep] I can't!
♪ ♪
- I've always wanted to have a family,
Someone who I can build traditions with
Because I didn't have that growing up.
- I haven't kissed a boy in over two years,
So bring me to him.
♪ ♪
- Breathe.
- Please stand.
- We're doin' it.
- I'm anxious. I'm nervous. I'm shaking.
- My heart is racing a little bit. I'm nervous.
- You actually picked red and gold?
- I said wine and rose gold. - Oh, my god.
- I'm very, very scared. - It's time, let's go.
[intense music]
- I truly, truly can't wait any longer.
Today's gonna affect the rest of my life.