Wife reveals what it's REALLY like to wed a stranger on Married At First Sight

Home Top

show ad

Home Top

Horrifying moment lioness reared up and mauled Game of Thrones editor to death through her car window in South African safari park
'He made you want to be a better person': Obama wipes away a tear and embraces Joe Biden after delivering an emotional eulogy at Beau Biden's funeral mass
Breast cancer patient sues plastic surgeon for $1million after son found her topless before-and-after photos online
Mistress files $2million suit against her ex-lover for six years of unpaid 'services' after he refused to divorce and leave his wife
GOP White House hopefuls skip Iowa senator's pig roast and motorcycle ride leaving Harley enthusiasts Scott Walker and Rick Perry to impress on their hogs
'My boss, the most deranged diva in Hollywood.' Judy Garland's drug-fuelled decline is well known. But only now is the PA she molested and threatened to kill revealing the X-certificate truth
Police searched car of murdered CEO's assistant, parked just ONE BLOCK away from mansion fire, in the hope of linking him to family killings
Could sea water really be a miracle cure for hayfever with NO side effects?
Horrific scenes at Fenway Park as woman fan is hit in the head by broken bat and suffers 'life threatening' injuries in the stands
Hello Kitty and Minnie Mouse arrested after Times Square brawl over tourist tip money
ISIS is actively recruiting specialists who can develop chemical weapons for the terrorist group and 'is already using chlorine to kill'
Brittney Griner in shock split from her wife a DAY after announcing pregnancy: WNBA star tries to annul month-old marriage and claims she entered it under 'duress'
Border patrol helicopter forced to make emergency landing after it was fired on while patrolling over Texas
Saudi Arabia shoots down Scud missile fired at city by Yemeni rebels in major escalation of conflict
The charming secrets of Britain's biggest birthday party: Never-before-seen photographs reveal the extraordinary little details that make the Queen Elizabeth's official Birthday Parade so spectacular
Female LAPD officer guilty of assault for beating woman in handcuffs who later died
LA cops CLEARED for fatally shooting unarmed mentally-ill man three times just two days after Michael Brown was killed
Serena Williams wins her 20th (yes, her TWENTIETH) Grand Slam after finally sinking Safarova in super French final
Residents of Bruce Jenner Lane debate changing street signs to match transgender Olympian's new identity as Caitlyn
Drunk driver who killed honeymooner on Venice Beach boardwalk as he tried to run down drug dealer in a revenge attack found guilty of second-degree murder
Mystery of the Texas 'earthworm herds' that form a perfect line on roads: Scientists baffled by strange behaviour since storms
Come round and see my gun, I've got an AR-15, Lindsey Graham tells critic who suggested he's not a staunch enough supporter of the Second Amendment
How shoes give a girl a step up at work: Expert says the right footwear can help your career... but they don't have to be high heels
Jessa and Jill defend their brother Josh in Duggar interview part two: Sisters blame 'puberty' for his actions, and say they were kept apart from him and slept behind locked doors

Doug Hehner and Jamie Otis were total strangers when they married on TV
US couple renewed their vows in a real ceremony months later
Channel 4 announced plans to film controversial show in UK last year

By Lucy Waterlow for MailOnline

Published: 10:17 EST, 5 June 2015 | Updated: 18:29 EST, 5 June 2015

View
comments

A couple who met for the first time when they tied the knot have revealed what it's like to marry a complete stranger.

Doug Hehner, 32, and Jamie Otis, 28, married in January 2014 in the first series of controversial TV show Married At First Sight, which is currently being filmed with UK couples and will be broadcast this summer on Channel 4.

Today the couple from the U.S. appeared on This Morning via video link to share what the journey has been like and how they have remained together 18 months on, after falling in love on their honeymoon.

Scroll down for video

Doug and Jamie, who married on the U.S. version of Married At First Sight, appeared on This Morning via video link today, pictured, to reveal what it was like to marry a stranger

Married At First Sight: 'I walked down the aisle towards a...

Jamie, from New York, said: 'It's a crazy ride, you have to be ready to be married.

'I walked down the aisle to a complete stranger. You picture your wedding day and you want butterflies, happiness and romance but none of that happened. I just started crying and I wasn't immediately attracted to him.'

She told presenters Marvin and Rochelle Humes that it took her a while to get used to being Doug's wife.

'When he first called me his wife, I said "don't call me that. it's so strange!" she said. 'On our marriage night we shared a big bed but I told him "stay over there, don't touch me!"'

Two other couples were legally married on the series along with Doug and Jamie and they were all given a choice six weeks later whether to stay together or divorce.

One couple decided to separate while Jamie and Doug and another couple - Jason Carrion and Cortney Hendrix - opted to remain man and wife.

The couple speak to This Morning presenters Marvin and Rochelle Humes via video link about how they eventually fell in love and remain together 18 months after their unconventional wedding

Jamie had gone the show, which she was told was a 'unique dating experiment' because she was keen to settle down and start a family.

She put her faith in the show's psychological experts - who matchmake the couples based on their personalities and compatibility.

She admitted when she signed up for the show, she never expected them to find her perfect man.

But after their marriage got off to a rocky start with her citing their wedding day as 'the worst day of my life', she found the experts hadn't got it so wrong after all.

They started to have feelings for one another on their honeymoon and shared their first kiss. Months later they fell in love and 18 months on they couldn't be happier.

They have renewed their vows in a ceremony that Jamie can cherish and she has taken Doug's surname.

She said: 'I think it worked because Doug respected me, he didn't push me into taking on the role of his wife or make me feel uncomfortable, he was really patient.'

Bride Jamie said her wedding to Doug, pictured when it aired on U.S TV, was the worst rather than best day of her life and she immediately thought she had made a mistake by going on the show

Doug and Jamie, left, opted to remain married after six weeks, as did Jason and Cortney, right, who were married as part of the same series. A third couple chose to divorce

Speaking of why he went on the reality show, Doug, a sales rep from New Jersey, said: 'As much as it's a scary concept and it's stranger we will marry, we did have control over assessments we took. I didn't know who she was but it was based on my information.'

Unlike Jamie, he was immediately attracted to his wife who he said looked like 'an angel walking down the aisle'.

But he said it did take time to convince his family that he wasn't making a mistake by marrying a stranger.

'My mom took convincing that I was doing it for the right reasons,' he said, adding that they have all been fully supportive since.

Jamie agreed that some of her friends were also shocked by her wedding plans - and opted to stay away.

She said: 'We took the wedding very seriously and invited close family and friends to come. Some said they didn't believe in it and that it wasn't the right way to marry so didn't want to come and I respected and understood that.'

The couple got their happy ending but Jamie said it was a slow journey to fall in love after they wed

Married At First Sight was first developed in Denmark and has been already broadcast in Australia as well as the U.S.

Channel 4 acquired the rights to film it in the UK last year and are currently editing the show after finding people willing to marry someone they had never met.

Channel 4 describes the show as a 'ground-breaking social experiment'.

But critics have said the concept of the show is 'ridiculous' and tarnishes the institution of marriage.

For Jamie and Doug, the show has had a happy ending and while they admit they have had a far from conventional start to married life, they intend to spend the rest of their lives together.