Married at First Sight UK review: Tears of joy, family warnings and disappointment in ambitious new series

Getting married to a total stranger might feel to some like a strange concept to digest, but as Married at First Sight UK returned for series five on 6th October, it looked like the series could be set to achieve its first ever success in five years.

Since the show debuted in the UK in 2015, not a single Married at First Sight couple has remained together.

But minutes into the first episode of series five and it looked like this year's Married at First Sight UK matchmakers, Paul C Brunson, Gen Gresset, and Dr Angela Smith had certainly got it right with 25-year-old Michelle and 31-year-old Owen.

Despite not knowing each other before they met on their wedding day, Michelle and Owen instantly hit it off. He calmed her down at the altar as she appeared to be nervous and she later thanked him for this, calling him "the perfect guy."

Owen then complimented her (calling her a "fittie"!) and the pair posed for pictures like they'd known each other their entire life.

On top of this, Michelle's dad welcomed Owen into the family as he gave a speech at the ceremony, which really cemented their union.

With the pair getting on like a house on fire and the family totally on board - in one scene Owen's mother gushed about how "beautiful" Michelle looked when she first saw her - you'd be forgiven for thinking these were two people with a significant history who'd fallen madly in love long before, and now their dream wedding - which they'd been planning for months - was finally taking place.

It's clear the matchmakers were keen to overcome the curse of Married at First Sight with Paul C Brunson saying at the beginning of the episode: "There's never been a successful marriage in the UK series. We're here to change that! It's my reputation on the line and I'm determined to get a match that works."

However, for all the hard work that seems to have paid off for Michelle and Owen, it doesn't look like the same is in store for Shareen and David.

The oldest couple to ever be matched on the show, sales director David, 56, and mum-of-three Shareen, 47, seemed to have a lot in common from the get-go. She wanted a man with a camper van - David had that! He wanted somebody who was decisive - Shareen ticked that box.

Her daughters cried tears of joy when they saw her in a wedding dress, Shareen admitted she was beginning to show a "vulnerable" side to herself and she even said she felt there'd be an "instant connection" when she met David.

As Paul rather bluntly put it, "David is Shareen with a d**k!" so you'd think sparks would fly. But as the first episode drew to a close, it became clear that this might not be the case for the duo, with the preview clip for next week's episode showing a confused Shareen admitting, "I'm really struggling how we've been matched if I'm perfectly honest."

Her doubts made us wonder whether history could be repeating itself for for Married at First Sight, and if, just like in previous years, David and Shareen would be going their separate ways once the cameras stopped rolling.

Could we be proven wrong? Only time will tell...

Series five of Married at First Sight UK starts on Channel 4 on October 6th at 9:30pm. Check out what else is on with our TV Guide.