
Here are three similar shows to watch after the finale airs this week
BY YASMIN VINCE, IMAGES BY NETFLIX, BBC AND CHANNEL 4
This year, Married At First Sight UK featured its second lesbian couple. While Eve and Charlie did not have the same incredible success on the show as MAFS UK’s first sapphic brides, Zoe and Jenna, this season has been an incredible watch. With the finale and reunion airing this week, we are sorely in need of something else to put on for our reality TV fix.
With that in mind, here are three reality TV shows you should watch if you enjoyed MAFS UK…
I Kissed A Girl
A standout show from this year has to be BBC Three’s I Kissed A Girl. Essentially a WLW version of Love Island, the show was the first British dating show to feature exclusively lesbian and bisexual women.
The show saw several 20-something sapphics head to an Italian country house to explore connections with each other and hopefully walk away with a new girlfriend. In a little twist, the first contestants to enter the “Masseria” are pre-matched and must kiss their partner as soon as they meet them. All episodes are available on BBC iPlayer, where it’s referred to as “a heart-breaking, heart-racing hot girl queer summer”.
The Ultimatum: Queer Love
This LGBTQIA spin-off of Netflix’s The Ultimatum diverts from most reality dating shows by featuring couples that are already together. These existing relationships are put to the test as they face a choice – get married or split up forever.
Each couple is already on the verge of marriage when they start the show and are given eight weeks to work out if they think the relationship can go further. During the course of the show, each couple must split up and re-partner with someone else in the group for a trial marriage.
First Dates
Channel 4’s First Dates has been setting up blind dates for over 10 years and is perhaps one of the most beloved dating shows in the country. The show has featured tonnes of same-sex couplings, including Sophia, who would rather be around robots than people, and her date Sian, an art teacher who voiced Zoe Zebra on Peppa Pig.
A special Pride episode was released in 2022 featuring all the LGBTQIA couples to appear on the show up to that point.
MAFS UK finishes on Thursday 14 November on E4.
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