‘Married At First Sight’ Season 6: Jaclyn And Jonathan Reveal Biggest Challenges

Marriage is challenging for anyone, but an arranged marriage to a stranger is even more stressful. “Married at First Sight” Season 6 stars Jaclyn Schwartzberg and Jonathan Francetic told International Business Times that they certainly had struggles, and some of their biggest issues had to do with the cameras.

The Lifetime reality show’s cameras can make marriages even more stressful, and Jonathan added that it made going out in public with his wife, Molly Duff, kind of awkward. “The hardest part in the beginning was trying to get over the cameras and people stopping and staring when we were out with the film crew in public,” Jonathan told IBT via email.

For Jaclyn, who married Ryan Buckley, balancing her full time job as a sales representative with her reality TV gig was a lot to handle. “My biggest struggle was juggling a full time job with filming and also finding time to truly get to know Ryan off air, as he has a very packed schedule,” she told IBT in a separate interview.

Of course, it isn’t just the cameras that cause stress. Jaclyn chose to be on “Married at First Sight” because she felt like she was ready to settle down and have a family, but she also had to get over some preconceived ideas how the relationship would be. “I also struggled with trying to differentiate my real emotions towards the relationship vs. the idea of what I wanted,” Jaclyn added.

Marrying a stranger also means getting a new roommate. For Jonathan, an army veteran, that meant adjusting to noise. “Remembering there’s another person living there when it’s the middle of night and there’s a noise. I was in the army after all,” he said.

Jaclyn said that living with her husband wasn’t too difficult in terms of sharing space. However, not knowing him meant not being able to predict his mood. “The one thing I had a hard time with was not always knowing what I would be walking into whether he would be happy, mad or sad and that made me uneasy at times,” she recalled.

While the newlyweds weren’t allowed to say if they are still married, it sounds like viewers will see both Jaclyn and Jonathan go through some difficult times with their new spouses. When asked what they hope viewers will take away from watching their “Married at First Sight” experiences, both mentioned that getting through hardships together was important.

“I felt like this was the first time I didn’t run away from a relationship during tough times,” Jonathan said. “I hope viewers going through hard times can relate and know that (when you care) you can always go a little bit further than you think.”

Jaclyn added that love at first sight isn’t always the case. “I hope viewers recognize that love can truly grow and that it is not all about first impressions,” she said. “For me it was the experiences and getting to know his friends and family that really led me to fall for him. I also hope people recognize the extreme importance of truly communicating with your partner and to not give up when things appear tough. Sometimes it is the tough times that make your relationship stronger.”

Viewers can watch their marriages starting Tuesday on Lifetime. “Married at First Sight” Season 6 kicks off with the matchmaking special at 8 p.m. EST followed by the premiere at 9 p.m. EST.