‘Married at First Sight’ Executive Producer Defends ‘Matching’ Process

Chris Coelen responds to criticism after reality show bride files restraining order alleging husband had threatened to kill her

A&E
A&E

The honeymoon period is most definitely over for one “Married at First Sight” couple, but the show’s executive producer claims the matching process is not to blame.

The FYI reality show has come under criticism since Jessica Castro filed a restraining order against husband Ryan De Nino alleging that he threatened to kill her and members of her family.

The accusations of violence has sparked speculation that producers and the show’s four experts haphazardly chose couples for Season 2, which Chris Coelen is now rebuking.

An “advanced casting team” spends six months focusing on a specific geographic area (the first two seasons were in the tri-state area, and Season 3 in Atlanta) to search for single people, Coelen, CEO of the show’s production company Kinetic Content, told People.

“The men and the women are treated exactly the same. We go to bars, mixers, singles events and church groups” in that area, he said. “We also go on every dating site you could possibly think of — OkCupid, Match.com, Tinder, Hinge. We also go on Facebook, talk to family and friends and try to make the pool as big as possible.”

Other participants “have seen the show and applied specifically and want to be considered as a candidate,” he added.

The 1,000 applicants for Season 1 skyrocketed to more than 20,000 for Season 3, which were then whittled down down by producers. “In groups of 20 to 30 people, we explain how this whole things works,” Coelen said, referring to the workshops, which he attends along with experts Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Dr. Joseph Cilona, Greg Epstein and Dr. Logan Levkoff. “We’re extremely transparent with them, and we do that with the people who are in-the-know that it’s ‘Married at First Sight’ and who aren’t familiar with it.”

Background checks and psychological evaluations follow, along with extensive written questionnaires.

The initial casting process takes about six months and the final casting is a minimum of four to six weeks, Coelen explained, after which the show’s four experts present their matches to Kinetic Content and A&E.

“There’s no debate. The experts always say there is no exact science and no guarantees, but it is based on a high degree of research,” said Coelen.

Coelen also produces “The Taste,” “Little Women: LA,” and prior shows “Wife Swap” and “Don’t Forget the Lyrics.” Earlier this month, he shared secrets from “Married at First Sight” with TheWrap, including details about the prenup process. “There is a prenup that is built in,” Coelen told TheWrap. “It’s a very short, brief prenup. It basically says what they walk into [the marriage with] is what they walk out of the marriage with.”

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