Season 12 of Married at First Sight, while not necessarily the most successful in regards to the couples matched — the majority of the marriages made it with three out of five couples staying married — wound up being the most watched season yet. That probably has a lot to do with the spectacle that was the union of Paige Banks and Chris Williams. Something that may have also been a contributor was it not being clear for a full eight weeks which couples were destined to stay together and which ones would get divorced. Nothing about this last season was really predictable. Lifetime is looking to follow that up with another group of participants they hope will draw in viewers with their love stories and drama as they navigate being married to strangers.
Moving from Atlanta, Houston is up next for Season 13. The experts, Pastor Calvin Robinson, Dr. Viviana Coles and Dr. Pepper Schwartz, selected their most diverse group of hopefuls. The biggest addition is the show’s first Asian-American couple who will incorporate a traditional Vietnamese tea ceremony into their lets-meet-at-the-altar moment.
The show is sticking with five couples and two-hour episodes. This season kicks off with three weeks of content. It starts with a Matchmaking Special on July 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, then a Kickoff Special with reunion host Kevin Frazier on July 14 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, giving fans a closer look at the chosen participants. The actual season will premiere with a whopping three-hour episode on July 21 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, all on Lifetime.
It’s good to find out who all the participants are because viewers connect to them in one way or another as the season progresses, but first and foremost, we here at ESSENCE have our eyes out for the Black women and men looking for their happily ever after. Meet them, as well as the rest of the cast, below.