Married at First Sight star Karen Landry has revealed she actually knew Henry Rodriguez before they both signed up to marry strangers on Married at First Sight's eleventh season.
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On Wednesday night's episode of Married at First Sight: Unfiltered, host Jamie Otis, who starred on Season 1 of the show, asked Henry which qualities he'd like to show Christina in their relationship about three weeks into the experiment that he had yet to show her.
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"I think it takes a while for people to get to know who I am whether it's colleagues or friends or, in this situation, my wife," Henry revealed.
"And I think once I become comfortable and just do a complete 180, I just want to be myself and I want [Christina] to know who I am."
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Karen then chimed in and disclosed, "So, fun fact... Actually, I knew Henry before the Married at First Sight journey as well. We used to work together in the same department."
Karen, who works as a project manager, went on to defend Henry's claim that it takes him some time to warm up and open up to people.
"And I would say the same thing, like, he's quiet, but then as you get to know him, he opens up."
Henry, a clinical recruiter, thanked Karen for saying that.
During a late August episode of Married at First Sight: Unfiltered, Karen and Amani revealed they also knew each other prior to appearing on Season 11 of the Lifetime reality series.
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"We had some mutual friends, you know, before this," Karen revealed at the time. "So we kind of hung around with some of the same people."
Amani added, "We definitely met before, yes. New Orleans is pretty small, so everybody goes to the same places -- the same bars and hangouts."
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As viewers are well aware, Karen's husband Miles Williams and Amani's husband Woody Randall also knew each other before signing up for the show. In fact, they're best friends!
Miles and Woody both applied for the show together in the hope of being matched with New Orleans-based wives of their dreams. The guys looked forward to going through this extreme experiment and taxing process together so they'd always have a shoulder to lean on.
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Jamie asked Married at First Sight expert Dr. Viviana Coles on a previous episode of Unfiltered what pros and cons went into the experts deciding whether to cast two best friends -- Miles and Woody -- on the same season.
"It really didn't weigh that heavily on our decision," Viviana replied, speaking on behalf of Pastor Cal and Pepper.
"It really was coincidence. It certainly was something that at one point, we were like, 'That's kind of cool [or] that would be cool,' but behind the scenes, there are so many factors that go into matching someone."
"So the fact that they both were able to get matches," Viviana added, "I love that we were able to do that."
Viviana and her fellow experts, Pastor Calvin Roberson and Dr. Pepper Schwartz, had made it know on the casting special that New Orleans is the smallest city in which they've ever searched for participants.
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As a result, there was a strong possibility the strangers matched to marry could already know each other or have even dated before.
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"That was one of the things I was most nervous about," Henry said on Unfiltered after the Season 11 premiered in regards to recognizing his wife right away.
"New Orleans is a small city, which makes the dating world rather complicated. I'm glad it wasn't me."
As it turned out, Season 11 Married at First Sight couple Amelia Fatsi and Bennett Kirschner recognized each other at the altar.
Amelia and Bennett had actually met twice before their wedding day due to having a mutual friend, but at the time of their initial meetings, Bennett had been dating another woman and wasn't looking for love.
The New Orleans participants worried about marrying somebody they already knew, but Amelia and Bennett were best case scenario since they apparently found each other attractive and likeable at first glance.
Pastor Cal noted on an August episode of Unfiltered it was "not surprising" Amelia and Bennett had ties before the show.
"We've had people who may have seen someone or might've had a slight introduction or what have you on one season," Pastor Cal noted, likely referencing how Season 8 couple Luke Cuccurullo and Kate Sisk met at a speed-dating event Luke had hosted several weeks before tying the knot.
"But no, this is the first time -- and it's not surprising."
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Pastor Cal explained, "New Orleans has around 400,000 people. It's definitely the smallest city that we've ever done Married at First Sight in. I'm glad that even though [Amelia and Bennett] met each other, it was a pleasant and productive meeting. So this is a good thing."
During a late July episode of Unfiltered, Pastor Cal said there's "a reason" why the experts don't want people to know their matches ahead of time, and Karen's situation with Miles was evident of that.
The night before Karen's wedding, one of her bridesmaids received a text with Miles' name on it. The text was intended for one of Miles' groomsmen.
Since New Orleans is a small city, Karen was able to look Miles up on social media and do some research on him.
Karen quickly determined Miles wasn't her "type" and seemed too emotional based on his videos, so she went into the Married at First Sight process with some preconceived notions about her husband. She also considered quitting the show altogether.
"[Karen's response] was a little disheartening... If you've been successful at dating up until this point, then you wouldn't need Married at First Sight," Pastor Cal said on Unfiltered in July.
"The people who are not finding success -- and not that anything is wrong with them -- but for instance, when she says, 'He's not my type,' well the types that you've had have not worked."
He added, "The whole idea here is we're getting you a type that can work based on the information you've given us... Be open to the person and find out whether or not you two are compatible. You may be surprised and find out that what you thought was your type actually was your anti-type and what you have is what you need."
Karen and Amani both have had successful relationships so far on Married at First Sight. While Karen and Miles are taking things a little slower, they laugh together and really enjoy each other's company.
As for Amani and Woody, the couple were smitten with each other right away. Woody has since said "I love you" to Amani, who is in turn "approaching" the love stage with her husband.
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