Married at First Sight season 17 stars Lauren Goodger and Michael Shiakallis know that some people think they should’ve been paired up with each other.
During a first look at the Wednesday, April 24, episode of the Lifetime series shared exclusively with Us Weekly, Lauren and Michael catch up with their costar Clare Kerr.
When Clare asks Lauren and Michael whether they are dating anyone after their respective splits from Orion Martzloff and Chloe Brown, Michael points out that it sounds like she’s inquiring whether they’re dating each other.
“You know the internet has been willing this, they have been willing this interaction,” Michael then tells Lauren. “My friends always poke fun at me about the whole being rematched [thing]. [They say], ‘Why didn’t they just match you with Lauren?’”
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Lauren then admits that she’s heard similar comments from her loved ones.
“My family in the beginning — definitely in the earlier episodes, especially the matchmaking type of phase — they were like, ‘So, why wasn’t Michael your match?’ I’ve had family members that were like, ‘I feel like just objectively viewing this, Michael [should’ve been your match],’” Lauren says.
Lauren and Michael’s comments about their potential compatibility comes after they both weathered failed relationships on Married at First Sight. Lauren married Orion on the show right after meeting him, and two weeks later, the duo were divorced. They got into a particularly tense argument during a November 2023 episode when Orion declared sex “off the table” after Lauren admitted she’d last had sex two months prior.
“It felt mildly judgy,” Lauren told Orion at the time.
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Michael, meanwhile, was stood up at the altar by his first match. He was then rematched with Chloe and struggled with commitment issues before deciding to divorce her. Michael has since faced backlash online for his decision, which he addressed via his Instagram Story earlier this month.
“I can’t speak too much on this until after the reunion airs, but I will share this: I understand the disappointment,” he wrote. “For those that have shared some kind works: thank you. For those that did not: I understand.”
Michael isn’t the only one who has reacted to hate from the MAFS fan base. Lauren clapped back at internet trolls in March while responding to an Instagram post.
“Every week same comments … why are yall still watching? Its sunny af outside but yall wanna watch a HIGHLY edited tv show instead of getting Vitamin D?! I know exactly why I had to film, but why yall are still willingly watching whilst complaining is beyond me,” she wrote.
Lauren added that she “thought MAFS would be an exciting way” to “start a love story but didn’t realize all the contractual strings attached.”
The Married at First Sight season 17 reunion special, titled Where Are They Now: To Hurt or to Heal, airs on Lifetime Wednesday, April 24, at 8 p.m. ET.
