Romilde van Dongen (41) is a reporter at RTL Boulevard and likes to write about love, dating and singles. She enjoys dating programs on television and makes no secret of her opinion. This season she is ready for an afterword about the yes words in ‘Married at First Sight’.
“After eleven weeks, Gerben does what I shout to him from the couch every episode”
The time has come: after eleven weeks the fortunes of the couples come to an end Married at First Sight. Who stays together? And who chooses to divorce anyway? I had put my money on the four J’s: Jeppe and Jantine and Jeffrey and Jerney. But MAFS would MAFS wouldn’t be if there aren’t a few surprises at the end. What kind of strange jump does Jeffrey suddenly make? And then that sour goodbye letter from David in which he completely puts Kim down and blames it for everything. Ouch! Suzanne and Bastiaan were unable to make the connection even during the final interview. Just like Gerben and Erik. Secretly I am a little proud of Gerben. After eleven weeks he does what I shout to him from the couch every episode: stand up for himself. That was desperately needed.
Already during the couples week, Bastiaan and Suzanne give up. You’re right, because it was torture to watch this wedding. “I don’t want it bad enough either,” Bastiaan concludes. That surprises Suzanne a bit. Had it not yet occurred to her that Bastiaan could also pull the plug? Suzanne also thinks it’s a shame, ‘but we did have fun,’ she thinks. Yes, and a tattoo of your ex on your arm. I don’t know if you should be so happy about that. “Have you felt insecure in this relationship?” Carlo wants to know from Bastiaan during the final interview. “Yes, when nothing came back in terms of emotion, it upset me.” The experts believe that they have not opened up enough and have not even gotten around to emotions. “That could be possible,” Suzanne responds. Well, put an end to this misery. Clang, clang, the two wedding rings sound on the plate. Match failed. A little later, Bastiaan tells him that he is going to date an old acquaintance. The smile on his face speaks volumes. Oh Bastiaan, you are so lucky!
If there was an award for being as ugly as possible to each other, it would be for David and Kim. How they make each other’s lives miserable! During the final conversation they meet again for the first time. David goes into it with sharpened knives: “You know that you are going to say things yourself that are not going to come across very nice.” Oh dear. Kim believes that David should have shown more genuine interest. David agrees, but he says it’s because he’s been pushed into a corner by her. After a nice farewell letter from Kim, David comes up with big guns. “I look for warmth and affection in a woman, I couldn’t find that with you.” Ouch. “Rather the opposite.” Um, OUCH! “Sometimes I felt like a leper around you,” David continues. What is this, dude? Well, David, I hope this makes you feel better, but this really doesn’t seem necessary to me. It hits Kim hard. David has two faces, according to her. “What is the difference?” Carlo wants to know. “That he is not such a sweet man, he is very good with his words and that is now evident,” she answers. Well, quickly put those rings on that plate and never call each other again. What a misery these two people put together.
Then Jeffrey and Jerney, one of the sureties of this season – or so I thought. At the final interview everything is still cake and egg. “Today is the perfect day to say that I love him,” Jerney reveals. How nice! She can hardly believe that she is sitting on the couch, married and in love. The distance is not that important at all with this couple. The experts are delighted: “It comes naturally because they are so open about it,” she concludes. Carlo wants to know whether ‘I love you’ has already been said. “No, because I didn’t dare to do that yet,” says Jerney. But at the final vows she dares: “I feel safe, happy and loved by you and I now dare to say with full love: I love you.” Yay, this is so much fun! Now Jeffrey, is he going to say it too? “Jerney, I love you, from the bottom of my heart I have decided to stay married to you.” Yes, this is why we go to MAFS to look? How wonderful this!
The icing on the cake is that they take on the ultimate relationship test: putting together an IKEA cabinet. And that goes well too. But this program continues to surprise, because Jeffrey and Jerney split up a little later. On a vacation, Jeffrey noticed that he didn’t miss her. “I think someone who can push back more is suitable for me. And that’s just not the total picture.” Jerney takes it well. “It’s just a shame, but at least we tried,” says Jerney. I don’t understand this at all. You’re letting gold slip from your hands, Jeffrey. This is such a shame.
Things just don’t work out between Gerben and Erik. After the couples week there is a fuss, Gerben thinks that Erik doesn’t make enough contact. They discuss this during the final interview. According to Erik, Gerben was supposed to call, but he didn’t. How lame this is. I understand that Gerben will throw in the towel at some point. But Erik has suddenly turned around like a leaf on a tree: “I have a very different view on it, but I just notice that I care about you. I always think about you.” Unbelievable, is the penny only now dropping for Erik? “I really can’t understand that,” says Gerben. Well, I get it: this is a typical case of fear of commitment. As soon as Gerben stops making an effort, Erik takes action. So Erik still wants to go for it: “I’m not giving up on our relationship yet.” And then Gerben finally does what I’ve been hoping for for weeks: he stands up for himself. “Unfortunately, I have now come to the point of choosing myself.” Gerben wants a divorce. Although it is of course not what I had hoped for Gerben, I am proud of him. “Come here,” says Erik. And then Erik surprises me: he gives that hug that Gerben has been waiting for for so long. A bit of a shame that it is on the day of their divorce. But hey, better late than never.
Then my last hope: Jeppe and Jantine. They will stay together, right? However? Jantine beams during the final interview. “Is life more fun with him?” Carlo asks. Yes, that’s it, Jantine thinks. “You go from being very alone to someone who is always there for you. But also someone who you really like and who you always want to be with,” says Jeppe. And with Jantine he dares to be vulnerable. They both have tears when they look at the images of the wedding. Tears of happiness, Carlo concludes. According to Patrick, Jantine and Jeppe have been working on themselves in recent years – and this is the result! ‘I love you’ has already been said. Oh, how wonderful this is! Here we look at the only successful couple of the ninth season MAFS? Yes! The couple remains married and they are even booking a holiday a while later. “The two of us are going to have a very nice future. We will do it slowly and in our own way,” says Jeppe. How sweet. And uh, ‘quiet’? Don’t let Eric hear it!
The experts also receive critical questions this season. Have they missed things, Carlo wants to know. They certainly have. For next year they want to conduct research into the subconscious part of when you find someone attractive. Well, that seems like a really good plan. Because if we do something after nine seasons of MAFS to know is that that click, that spark, or the ‘zazazu’ as our Malou calls it, is the most important. So there is work to be done for the experts. One of seven couples just married; I think that is an embarrassing score.
Sarath also gave an update today about his – now successful – love life:
