Married at First Sight alum Kate Sisk has made a bold statement in saying she believes the show is intentionally putting women in marriages that will fail and profiting off of their pain.
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After a tumultuous couple of months in which Kate fought an uphill battle trying to save her marriage to a man who admitted he wasn't attracted to her and left her feeling unwanted and unappreciated, the pair decided to split and get a divorce on "Decision Day."
A similar storyline is currently playing out on Married at First Sight's twelfth season with Chris Williams and Paige Banks, and many viewers are outraged show experts Dr. Viviana Coles, Dr. Pepper Schwartz and Pastor Calvin Roberson chose to cast someone like Chris, who made disrespectful comments and had been engaged just three months prior to signing up to marry a stranger.
Viviana recently addressed the backlash in a series of videos on her Instagram Stories and said Married at First Sight viewers need to "chill out" and not have such "strong" reactions to the Season 12 cast's "shocking" behavior.
Viviana's videos were reposted by @mafsfan, and Kate made it known in the comments section of the post she's totally offended by how Viviana is apparently making light of the situation.
"She says 'Don't stress? Chill out?' WOW. So we witness abuse on this show and now they're telling fans to stop talking about it. Fans are not overreacting. These are real people," Kate complained.
Kate engaged in conversation with several Instagram users in the comments and went on to make some serious allegations against Married at First Sight production.
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"Producers used to ask me if I felt 'safe' before they left me with [Luke] for the night... I said yes but I realize now that they should never have to ask me that about a husband they chose for me," Kate wrote.
"The show is intentionally putting women in marriages that will fail and profiting off of their pain."
In addition to herself and Paige, Kate also cited Season 9's Amber Bowles and Season 10's Mindy Shiben as alleged examples.
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"Pick me apart all you want. Some people are tired of watching people in painful situations," Kate wrote.
When one person argued that Kate didn't have to stay in her relationship with Luke and the experts couldn't have predicted how Luke would behave or treat her, Kate rejected the suggestion.
"You say they can't predict what a person can do? Yes they can. The show did extensive psychological tests on all of us and matched me with someone they knew would hurt me. On purpose," Kate claimed.
"And then there was the gaslighting from Luke. If you don't know about gaslighting and psychological abuse, I suggest you look it up for your own sake."
Kate's comments sparked a bit of a debate on the Married at First Sight fan account.
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Many Instagram users agreed with Kate in saying the experts think too highly of themselves and are "self-seeking opportunists" who "play with people's lives for ratings" and are "possibly responsible for trauma."
Other followers, however, told Kate that she willingly had sex with Luke multiple times during the experiment despite his clear lack of interest in her and she should take accountability for her actions.
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In the videos Viviana posted to her Instagram Stories, she was flashing a big smile the whole time and seemed to think all the casting criticism is a bit silly.
"Do we three have the final determination of who's on the show? Yes... Don't stress so much about it," Viviana said, brushing off viewers' concerns.
"I mean, like, yes, they are real people. Yes, some of these things that you're seeing are shocking, for sure, believe me, I'm there too. But you know, stop freaking out."
Viviana appeared bothered by all the hype surrounding the show and its cast members.
"I can't imagine that every fanbase has, I don't know, I don't know, this strong of a reaction to every episode of every reality TV show," Viviana said.
"Let's chill out a little bit. Take a deep breath. Take a deep breath. Go along for the ride. Watch what happens with all of these couples and relationships. That's what it's all about!"
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Pastor Cal also addressed all the scrutiny surrounding Chris and Paige's union on his own Instagram page late last month.
One Instagram user wrote at the time, "Paige deserved better. Seems like her happiness was compromised for ratings. So sad."
But Pastor Cal insisted Chris and Paige were not matched to boost ratings.
"Thank you for caring for Paige," Pastor Cal responded. "We do also, and she knows it, since we're in communication with her. Rating are never more important than our couples."
Another person asked, "So how Chris get cast?!?"
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Pastor Cal therefore suggested the experts had no idea Chris would behave unfavorably in a marriage.
An additional follower complained, "Why couldn't there be better representation of a black man for Paige? I'm truly disappointed at the matchmaking. You have to represent better than this for us Pastor Cal. I feel so bad for her."
Pastor Cal responded, "People surprise us. But there's always a chance for redemption."
Married at First Sight's eleventh season is currently airing iWednesdays at 8PM ET/PT on Lifetime.
RELATED: 'MARRIED AT FIRST SIGHT' COUPLES NOW: WHERE ARE THEY NOW? WHO IS STILL TOGETHER? WHO HAS RE-MARRIED? (PHOTOS)
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About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
