The proliferation of dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, Grindr, Hinge, Feeld and Coffee Meets Bagel provides Chicago singles with a nearly endless feed of enticing profiles through which to swipe and, hopefully, match.
For Camille Parsons, a 33-year-old resident of Lake View East, this superabundance is precisely the problem.
“The dating app culture … creates a false sense of choice,” she says. “You meet someone and [the apps] dupe you into a ‘grass is always greener’ mentality, so at the slightest inconvenience, you want to see what else is out there. … You start to double down on what you think you want or what you think is a dealbreaker — you get in your own way.”
Parsons decided to shake things up by relinquishing choice altogether, appearing as a contestant on “Married at First Sight,” whose 18th season, filmed in Chicago, premieres 7 p.m. Tuesday on Lifetime.
The concept of the reality show exists in its explicit title: Beleaguered singles face their new partner at the altar, at which point their romance with a stranger begins. Ensuing life events happen in reverse. After marriage, spouses meet each other’s parents and friends, go out on dates, explore physical intimacy (or not) and converse about life goals. They have only two months until “Decision Day,” at which point they choose to stay together or divorce.
Unlike a traditional arranged marriage, the couple’s families are afforded zero input. Instead, a panel of experts oversees the matchmaking and checks in on the couples after they tie the knot. Parsons says the process includes completing extensive questionnaires, psychological evaluations, home visits and a gauntlet of interviews with experts. The forthcoming Chicago season features three show veterans: marriage counselor Pastor Calvin Roberson, sociologist Dr. Pepper Schwartz and sex therapist Dr. Pia Holec.
Parsons was familiar with “Married at First Sight” before applying and says she was struck by its authenticity.
“It always seemed like genuine people with genuine intentions trying to find the right one,” she says.
Sometimes, “Married at First Sight” knocks it out of the park, like in the New Orleans-set season 11, when it paired Amelia Fatsi and Bennett Kirschner — two easygoing, hippie-chic free spirits who wore animal costumes, built blanket-and-pillow forts and stayed up late telling spooky stories. (The couple has since announced an amicable divorce.)
Unfortunately, most aren’t built to last, and viewers become witnesses to knock-down-drag-out shouting matches, dramatic reveals or, worse, cold indifference. Since “Married at First Sight” debuted in 2014, the show has made 69 matches, 39 of whom chose to continue their marriage on Decision Day. Only 11 couples remain together today.
One of those success stories played out in the Windy City. Season 5 of “Married at First Sight,” which debuted in April 2017, also filmed in Chicago and included three couples, married at the Palmer House Hilton, all of whom decided to remain together when the eight weeks were up.
Anthony D’Amico and Ashley Petta, who live in the southwest suburbs with their two kids, are the last couple standing, and the pair appeared on “Married at First Sight: Couples’ Cam” in 2020, filming themselves during Illinois’ COVID-19 stay-at-home order.
The couples appearing in season 18 showcase an assortment of Chicago personalities. A few include Ikechi (pronounced like “EKG”), a second-time auditioner who works as a college adviser for high schoolers and creates paintings at Spin Art Nation; Karla, a hairstylist and first-generation American whose parents immigrated from Mexico, and David, a bubbly social worker who lives in his parents’ basement.
Parsons, who was born in the city and raised in Champaign, has laid down roots in her community, as well. She serves as the director of operations at CurlMix, a local Black-owned and -operated beauty product company for folks with naturally curly hair (she was a user before joining), and says she is invested in property on the South Side.
It remains to be seen whether the contestants have met before or run into each other on a dating app — a true Chicago phenomenon.
“Chicago is a big city, but at the same time, it’s not that big,” Parsons says. “Certain social circles have a lot of overlap, and once you start to narrow down what it is that you’re looking for, it makes that Venn diagram even smaller.”
Parsons won’t say what became of her TV marriage, to a banker named Thomas. But she committed to embracing the process in the name of finally overcoming the obstacles of modern dating, even if “Married at First Sight” airs private moments she’d rather not share.
“I know I’m a genuine and authentic person, and it gave me a little comfort knowing that, no matter what, if I stay true to myself, people can take it or leave it,” Parsons says.