Why Season 10 Of ‘Married At First Sight Is Considered The Most Dramatic Season Ever

A show like Married at First Sight is guaranteed to come with some drama, but in the case of Season 10, things actually ended well for one couple. Though Jessica Studer and Austin Hurd were exceptionally awkward on their wedding day (although who wouldn’t be?) the two quickly hit it off and wound up staying married long after their season aired in 2020. Jessica and Austin were one of few successful MAFS couples.

However, the rest of the cast members did not get the same happy ending as Jessica and Austin. Instead, the season was full of drama, including two divorces and two annulments, that everyone saw coming. Although the MAFS experts carefully match couples, there were three things they couldn’t control. First, the tenth season of Married at First Sight had a few liars among the cast. Some cast members also had tempers that flared both on and off the camera. And finally, one bad actor apparently didn’t want to be there in the first place — but decided to make things a little more dramatic before getting his marriage annulled.

Season 10 Of Married At First Sight Had A Cast Full Of Liars

Creative edits aside, it turned out in later episodes that various Married at First Sight Season 10 cast members flat-out lied during their brief marriages, which caused the season to be highly dramatic.

For example, Katie Conrad and Derek Sherman initially seemed to hit it off and, based on how the show was edited, seemed to have a lot of physical chemistry. That later turned out to be false, according to Katie. For Derek’s part, he later claimed he was never in love.

Despite Derek’s learning how to administer Katie’s Type I diabetes medication and the two hashing out the details of a life together, Derek later revealed that Katie had been talking to an ex while they were together.

“Katie made it really easy not to be able to fall in love with her. I got hurt… I do strongly believe that you did have an affair with your ex while we were filming and I don’t believe anything you say because I don’t trust you anymore.” — Derek on Katie’s affair with her ex during the Married at First Sight Season 10 reunion

Katie and Derek later divorced after attempting to work on their relationship.

Sadly (or perhaps happily, for viewers wanting drama?), Katie wasn’t the only one who lied during Season 10. Michael Wilson was also in the hot seat when his wife Meka Jones felt like she couldn’t break down his walls and actually get to know him.

Michael talked about his job in very vague terms, never wanting to discuss finances or really share details of his life with his new wife — creating plenty of dramatic moments where Meka grew frustrated with her husband.

In the end, Meka and Michael opted for an annulment. The lies were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to the drama on the set of Married at First Sight’s tenth season, however.

Some MAFS Cast Members Stormed Off The Set

Lying and cheating were dealbreakers for some couples on MAFS, but others had even bigger issues. For one thing, Taylor Dunklin and Brandon Reid’s marriage was fraught with red flags from day one.

Brandon didn’t like Taylor’s social media use, especially after she tried to film him during their honeymoon. Taylor’s social media activity also included a video where she spoke to her followers about her ‘requirements’ for a man — including being “sane” and over 6’3″ — while she and Brandon were apparently actively filming (and married on) MAFS.

Brandon called Taylor out on his own video footage for MAFS, which only seemed to escalate their issues.

For his part, Brandon snapped at the production team, seemingly had a panic attack, and walked out repeatedly. Ultimately, when it came time to make the decision of staying married versus divorcing, Taylor asked for a divorce. In response, Brandon walked out; he filed the annulment the next day.

That was probably for the best, because the drama didn’t stop when the cameras stopped rolling. During filming, Taylor and Brandon had an altercation at a bar and both of them were arrested. Taylor said Brandon followed and taunted her as she tried to leave after their run-in, and after being released from jail, she filed a restraining order on Dunklin. He replied with his own restraining order request a few days later.

Cast Member Zach Justice Was Not On MAFS For The Right Reasons

Another couple that helped ensure Season 10 was chock-full of drama was Mindy Shiben and Zach Justice. During their wedding photos — which happen immediately after the couples tie the knot — Zach seemed to plant a passionate kiss on Mindy, leading viewers (and Mindy herself) to believe that the two had chemistry.

However, it quickly became apparent that Zach was not being authentic. In later episodes, it was revealed that Zach was flirting with one of Mindy’s friends and bridesmaids; he’s said to have asked for the friend’s phone number at the wedding.

Zach wasn’t attracted to Mindy, which then led viewers to speculate that he only came on the show for notoriety (essentially to earn free promotion for his fitness business) and not a chance at true love.

As fans pointed out, Zach only spoke in circles and never gave Mindy a direct answer to any of her questions. MAFS fans dragged Zach for his bad behavior:

“He was never direct,” one critic wrote. “NOT ONLY THAT, he literally [gaslit] her and accused her of lying to make her seem bad… He is a literal narcissist and just plain bad.” Other fans pointed out that Zach did tell Mindy that he was not attracted to her, but that she didn’t seem to want to let it go.

Mindy did repeatedly ask Zach to meet up and talk, which some viewers found exhausting.

At the same time, it seemed obvious that Zach was uncomfortable — especially when the two did Tantric Yoga together — so viewers were probably right to wonder why he didn’t leave the experiment sooner.

In the end, Mindy and Zach got an annulment — but no word on whether he went on to date her friend afterward. After a dramatic showdown between Mindy and her former BFF over deleted texts and possible cheating, fans were left to wonder how that storyline ended.