Season 17 of “Married at First Sight” started off with an unexpected twist that set the tone for a tumultuous journey ahead. For the first time in the show’s history, a bride refused to walk down the aisle, leaving groom Michael Shiakallis alone at the altar. This unprecedented moment left viewers and participants alike in shock.
Michael recently shared more about the incident and the mysterious woman who was initially supposed to be his bride. Despite the wedding being featured on the show, the bride’s identity remains unknown. The episode only showed a brief glimpse of a woman in a wedding dress from behind, without revealing her face or any family members present.
Michael opened up about the situation during an interview on the “Regular Guys Random Thoughts” podcast. He revealed that neither he nor the other cast members were prepared for the dramatic turn of events. “We were not briefed ahead of time,” Michael admitted. It wasn’t until the filming of the MAFS Afterparty episodes that the cast was instructed on how to handle the situation.
“Maybe like 20 minutes before [the MAFS Afterparty episode], the executive producer comes to me and is like, ‘Hey, we’re doing this, don’t mention her at all, we’re essentially going to be doing it from your perspective,'” Michael recounted. He was informed that the only time the bride would be seen was at the actual wedding.
The identity of the runaway bride remains a mystery, likely due to legal reasons preventing the show from revealing her. Michael hinted at this during his interview, noting that he never received a clear explanation for her removal from the show. “Given the lengths that were taken, I’m assuming there were other implications beyond, ‘creatively, this is what we wanted to do; this is what we thought would be the best way to tell the story,'” Michael speculated.
It seems the runaway bride has taken significant steps to keep her identity hidden, and we may never know who she is.
