Reality romance
Dating show Married At First Sight is drawing to a close and, despite drama, there have been successful relationships formed. One couple still going strong, Simon and Alene, tell DANIELLE McGRANE about their experience on the show.
Nobody could have predicted how much the fourth season of Nine’s TV experiment, Married At First Sight, would capture the attention of the nation since its kick-off in January.
The marriages might not be real, but the way the relationships have played out before our eyes has been utterly legitimate.
There have been break-ups, new relationship formed and even some (unsuccessful) spouse swapping.
But despite the drama that often unfolded, one couple in particular has found a real relationship.
Alene, the nurse from NSW, and Simon the businessman from Queensland have managed to build a solid relationship having been paired up on the show and, three months since they filmed their vow renewal, they’re still going strong.
“When I applied for the show, of course I was hopeful but I also thought, ‘Come on, there’s going to be a thousand applicants’,” Alene said. “And then when I was chosen, I had to psychologically prepare myself by saying, ‘ Oh there’s no chance I’m going to walk out with a partner here, just put it down to an experiment’. But when we did it and we renewed our vows and I was walking down to that beautiful arch I thought, ‘Oh my God, I did it’.”
As soon as the show finished, the pair were faced with a problem – their distance from each other.
“At the beginning, it was hard because you have to establish a routine of how to communicate and how often,” Alene said.
“It’s been hard because we were with each other all the time and now we’ve got to try and do the long-distance relationship which is friggin hard,” Simon said.
An initial promise to see each other every two weeks proved pretty impossible because of work, so now they see each other every six weeks but speak to each other every day.
“In the beginning it felt like a chore … but now it feels natural. I come home from work, I pick up the phone, I vent about my day and it does feel like I do have a partner,” Alene said.
If things keep going as well as they are, Alene said she would be willing to make a move.
“If we maintain our relationship for a year, I would move to Queensland,” she said.
As the show’s final episodes loom, Simon says he thinks some of the other couples have a chance of making it. “There are some really sincere couples there and most of the people went in there for the right reasons,” he said.
“Sean and Susan were definitely dedicated to each other … Vanessa and Andy, as on and off as they looked, they were still dedicated to each other,” he said.
While they’re not giving everything away, Alene said there will be something to look out for in the final episode.
“There is one surprise at the end which could shock people,” Alene said. “I didn’t see it coming.”
Alene: “There is one surprise at the end which could shock people. I didn’t see it coming.”