Career girl scared of being left on the shelf weds a stranger... on TV
AFTER a string of relationships and failed attempts at online dating two lonely singletons decided it was time for drastic action.
Financial adviser Harriet and police officer Richard agreed to marry without ever having seen each other.
The pair had signed up for a Channel 4 programme and pledged to wed – without meeting their future spouse until they were “on the altar”.
The TV social experiment follows the fortunes of single people matched by a panel, including a vicar and a sex counsellor.
Harriet, 32, said she was scared of being left on the shelf after long hours at her London-based job stopped her from having a regular dating life, and had been single for five years.
She admitted: “After five years on my own I do worry about finding the person I’m going to be with.
“I look at my friends settling down and I just think, ‘Why haven’t I got that yet? When is it going to happen?’”
She was paired with Richard, 28, who works antisocial hours as a police sergeant.
Romantic
He had five serious relationships but each failed because his partners could not cope with the demands of his job.
Richard said: “We work strange hours, and it does have an impact on relationships but I’m definitely a romantic.
“The sort of love I’m looking for is… kind of skipping down the street at the end of the movie.”
The couple were given six weeks to prepare for their wedding without knowing anything but their future spouse’s name.
They married in October at Gibson Hall, a converted Grade I listed former Victorian bank in Bishopsgate, London.
The pair were seen making their vows last night during the second episode of Married At First Sight.
After they were married there was no kiss – but Richard did awkwardly brush his head against Harriet’s. Rather surprisingly he was soon making unsavoury jokes.
Both sets of parents had been unsure about the experiment, with Richard’s father, Tony, saying the legality of the marriage concerned him because if they split, it means divorce. Harriet’s dad, Robin, was doubtful but also excited to see how the match would work in practice.
He said: “It isn’t exactly what I would have thought of or dreamt of in my wildest dreams, but I think it is very exciting and I’m looking forward to it.”
The fate of their union is being saved for the last of the four episodes but none of the couples married in the previous two series
have stayed together. On last week’s opening show, policewoman Stephanie married millionaire businessman Ben, but Wayne got cold feet over his proposed marriage to Carrie and refused to walk up the aisle.