Married at First Sight star Karen Landry has revealed why she decided to go through with marrying a stranger, who ended up being Miles Williams, and how their two families reacted to the news.
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Miles, a 26-year-old who works with youth from Spartanburg, SC, and Karen, a 30-year-old consultant from New Orleans, LA, were matched by Married at First Sight experts Pastor Calvin Roberson, Dr. Viviana Coles and Dr. Pepper Schwartz to marry on Season 11 of the Lifetime reality series, which aired in 2020.
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Miles and Karen have now been married for nearly a year, and they told Atlanta's Fox network affiliate in a video interview their life together has been "great" and "easy."
On why she signed up for such an extreme dating experiment, Karen shared with her local Fox affiliate, "I think it's just the single life."
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"Dating is hard," she acknowledged, "and sometimes you need a little help finding that right person, because you meet people and you're like, 'Okay, we're not equally yoked,' or, 'Hey, they're a nice person but I can't see myself with him long-term.'"
"So for me, it was about being able to find someone that I think the same as mentally, physically, spiritually and emotionally -- and being able to find that," Karen added.
When asked to reveal how their families reacted to the idea they'd be tying the knot with total strangers, Miles said with a laugh, "They said, 'What is wrong with you?!'"
"They thought we were crazy," Karen added with a laugh.
"Everyone," Miles agreed.
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"But I think they all came around and it was great to see them interacting with each other virtually and develop a relationship with each other's family. It's been pretty cool."
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Miles and Karen got married about a month before New Orleans residents were asked to quarantine amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
"The majority of our marriage has been in quarantine, but I feel like if we can overcome this, I think we can overcome pretty much anything," Miles said.
On Married at First Sight's eleventh season, Karen struggled to express herself to Miles and compliment him.
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Karen desired an assertive manly-man who would put her in her place sometimes, but the sweet and sensitive Miles said he couldn't be who Karen wanted him to be unless he felt confident she truly cared for him and would go through life by his side.
"I'm a person who's open and talks about my feelings a lot. She thinks I'm overly emotional and that f-cking pisses me off!" Miles vented to a friend in one episode.
Nearly 16 weeks into marriage, Karen and Miles also lacked physical intimacy, resulting in Miles feeling unwanted and unattractive. Karen barely kissed or held her husband's hand throughout the season.
But Karen was able to open up more once Miles stopped being "Mr. Nice Guy" and could be his genuine, authentic self around her. Miles also expressed how he desired more affection and reassurance in their marriage, and Karen appreciated his honesty.
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But Miles seemed conflicted on "Decision Day," telling the cameras that his head and his heart were in "two different places."
"My head is saying, 'You've been married for four months and you haven't gotten what you need and you should get a divorce,'" Miles said in a confessional.
"My heart is saying, 'Karen is the type of person that you wanted and what she has shown you in the last three or four weeks is somebody you could see spending the rest of your life with, for sure.'"
Miles added, "I think that's what makes this a very complicated decision... I don't know if she'll be able to meet my needs physically and emotionally."
However, both Miles and Karen opted to stay married on "Decision Day" after determining their marriage really only started about three weeks prior once cameras left them alone and production shut down due to the spread of COVID-19.
"I can see myself spending the rest of my life with Miles," Karen gushed on the show's finale.
"I think we still have work to do, but just based off who he is and how we've been the last few weeks, I can see us growing into love, and I'm really excited for that."
During the subsequent reunion special that aired in October, Miles said things were easy for the couple and they were still living together. They had even signed a lease and moved into a new place together.
"My needs are being met and she takes good care of me," Miles revealed on the reunion special. "We take good care of each other."
In terms of having children, Miles confirmed, "Kids aren't coming any time soon, I'll tell you that. We're just taking some time to enjoy each other. A dog might be coming sooner rather than later."
Miles and Karen will be among the successful Married at First Sight couples starring on Season 2 of Married at First Sight: Couples Cam when it premieres Thursday, February 4 at 8PM ET/PT on Lifetime.
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