Does Married at First Sight Pay Couples? Secrets From the Show

The "social experiment" show Married at First Sight has been a national guilty pleasure since its 2014 debut. As crazy as the premise is (strangers marrying each other on TV), the show has had a 66 percent success rate. However, over the years that percentage has dropped to just 20 percent (today only three couples remain married). But that hasn't stopped couples from lining up to audition for the show anyway.

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Not only are participants given rigorous background checks, after marrying a stranger in front of millions, they're then forced to go about their regular lives while being followed by a film crew. The whole thing is no easy feat and it makes us wonder how they still manage to find people willing to subject themselves to such a daunting process. But according to past couples, even ones who've gotten divorced, they have no regrets. Below, nine secrets about the show, revealed.

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The couples aren't paid as much as you think.

Executive producer Chris Coelen revealed that the couples are only paid "a nothing stipend." He later clarified the same comments to The Wrap. "[They're paid] almost nothing,” he said. “Honestly, almost nothing.” He says the show does this to make sure they find people with pure intentions. However, an anonymous production assistant who worked during season 2 revealed that the couples are actually paid $1,500 per episode. Previous couples have denied this.

Sometimes conversations are edited to make people look bad.

Ahh, the ol' reality show staple. In season 1 when Vaughn Copeland asked his then-wife Monet Bell if she was into threesomes, fans thought he looked like a jerk. However, he later told Jet magazine that it was all editing. "The ménage à trois comment at dinner…you gotta understand. There’s certain things I can say and I can’t say…But what I can say is that reality TV has its ways," he explained. "The way it was edited makes her look like she was mad, but she really laughed at that comment. There were a lot of questions asked and answered, and we’re both consenting adults. But Monet will back me up on this: that was a fun night."

Not all participants apply to be on the show. Some are scouted from dating sites.

Although thousands of singles show up to auditions, many of the participants who actually get on the show are found on dating sites like Match.com, OkCupid, and even Facebook. That's where controversial season 2 stars Ryan Ranellone and Ryan DeNino were found. "We go to bars, mixers, singles events and church groups," Chris explained to People about the casting process. “We also go on every dating site you could possibly think of – OkCupid, Match, Tinder, Hinge. We also go on Facebook, talk to family and friends and try to make the pool as big as possible.”

The couples must wait six months before they get a divorce.

Although filming only last six weeks, and the couples have to decide at the end if they want to stay together or not, according to an anonymous tipster, the couples' contracts say they must stay together for at least six months before they begin the legal divorce process. The show also helps out with the legal fees. “We will contribute within a certain period of time if they get divorced," Chris said. "We will help them cover the costs of an attorney if they choose to do that. I don’t know what the amount is. It’s nominal.”

The couples sign a prenup.

Thankfully for the participants (since the majority of them eventually get a divorce), they all have a brief prenup built into their contracts. "We want to give them some protection walking in,” Chris explained. “If for some reason it does not work out, at least you are protected with this basic form. You are not going to get yourself in to any legal trouble. Once they are in to the marriage, everything is completely up to them."

Couples have to squeeze filming into their real-life schedules.

Although the show makes it look like the couples have all day to sit around talking about their relationships, the reality is that the couples all work average jobs and have to squeeze production into their busy schedules. It can take a toll on contestants and later affect how they react on camera.

This is exactly what happened to Nick Pendergrast during season 4, who infamously lashed out at his wife and said he wasn't attracted to her. "The cameras always add to the stress when you're on day six or seven in a row and it's 1 a.m," he told The Knot. "But [the cameras] also forced us to face a lot up front and not put it on the back burner."

Unsurprisingly, but couples get along better off camera.

Because the couples keep their day jobs, many of them are forced to film way into the wee hours of the morning after working a full eight-hour day. "Having cameras in front of you every day for eight weeks can be a little crazy at times," season 5 participant Anthony D'Amico said. "Like when you get home from a crappy day at work and all you want to do is sit on the couch and do nothing….Yeahhhhhh that didn’t exist during filming. There was always something going on which could really test your patience sometimes. Ashley told me after filming one day that I was way more affectionate after the cameras were turned off. I never realized that but looking back I can see what she was saying."

During season 1, half of the applicants walked out when they learned they would have to marry a stranger.

During season 1, producers waited to reveal the premise of the show to cast members, and half of them walked out! “About half said they didn’t want to do it,” Chris said. “It was really scary as a producer; we didn’t know that we were going to get people who would agree to do the show. We thought we might come out of these workshops with nobody–with nobody agreeing to do it, let alone people we thought we could match.”