Before being matched with wife Jasmina by the Married at First Sight experts, Season 14 star Michael felt like he had tried everything to find the life partner with whom he could start a family of his own. The 28-year-old Boston resident opened up to PopCulture.com ahead of the season premiere of the Lifetime show, revealing what exactly he was looking for in a wife while signing up for the unconventional marriage experiment.
“I decided to get married at first sight after a conversation I had with my older sister,” he revealed. “We were talking about how I wanted to find a person to settle down and start a family with. It was my hope that the experts could find me someone who shares the same values as me and who eventually wanted to start the family that I’ve always wanted.”
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Before being matched by experts Pastor Cal, Dr. Pepper and Dr. Viviana Coles, Michael had been single for almost three years. Despite dating a number of women, he said he could never find his person – the one who had the same interests and values he was looking for in his wife.
“I was looking for someone who can effectively communicate and can resolve conflicts without being intentionally combative or toxic,” he explained. Signing up to be married to a stranger, Michael did assume there would be “some conflict” as they got to know one another, but he figured being matched with someone who could communicate their emotions well would “make the process a lot smoother.”
“My biggest concern was being matched with someone who didn’t have the same intentions as me,” he continued. “I knew going into this I was going to give my all to whoever my wife was going to be and I was concerned that I may not get the same in return.” While his journey with Jasmina is just about to start airing on Married at First Sight, Michael did reveal the biggest lesson he learned throughout the process – that marriage is more than liking or loving your partner.
“When you marry a stranger, you don’t have the foundation of love to keep you together when times get rough,” he explained, “so the only thing you have to rely on is the commitment to the marriage itself.” Season 14 of Married at First Sight (produced by Kinetic Content) premieres Wednesday, Jan. 5 at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime.
