The second round of weddings on Married At First Sight NZ sees one couple on their “best first date ever” and the other hit the rocks before they’ve even spent their wedding night together.
After pairing off Dom and Claire and Lacey and Luke on night one, the experts look to match their next couples.
First up is Andrew, a 26-year-old builder from Auckland, who the experts describe as having “lots of energy.”
Although he comes across as quite laissez-faire the experts say he’s looking for commitment “and someone who won’t hurt him.”
We hear about Andrew’s chequered dating past. “Two of my girlfriends have become strippers while I was dating them and I was lied to and cheated on so… yeah, it does hurt.”
He says his past experiences have left him feeling quite cold and occasionally cut-off to potential partners.
Andrew flats with two guys and Mr Piggleworth the pig in a house that’s in need of a bit of a tidy up.
They match Andrew with Vicky, a 27-year-old flight attendant from Auckland, “a sweet, girly girl who’s just been picking the wrong men.”
From her bedroom – adorned with Disney decals and inspirational quotes – Vicky tells us she’s looking for her fairytale ending.
Talking about her past relationships she wells up and says she felt “neglected” and “not good enough.”
The experts have confidence in matching Andrew and Vicky. “It could be one of our best success stories” but also flag that it’s a “high risk, high reward” situation.
We then meet Wellington woman Angel, a 26-year-old website coordinator. Angel is an effervescent, happy-go-lucky adventurous lass who is looking for someone who she can rely on and “who is always down for a good time.”
She doesn’t mind if they are serious “as long as they are open to opening up their belt buckles,” she blurts out before realising what she’s said and collapsing in laughter.
Angel’s dad Stewart takes the revelation that his daughter is getting married to a stranger in his stride. “That’s fabulous, darling.”
Her granny is also unfazed. “I think she’s mad but that’s alright.”
The experts match Angel with Christchurch business owner Brett.
The 34-year-old runs his signwriting business and is a bit of a gym bunny. He beams from ear to ear when talking about looking for love.
The wedding day arrives and even before she’s met him, Brett is already winning husband points by sending Angel a gift while she’s getting ready for the ceremony. “Oh my god, oh my god,” exclaims Angel.
At the wedding venue, Brett beams as Angel walks in and they meet for the first time. He gives her a big hug and shakes hands with dad Stew.
Brett is suitably impressed with how they experts did, saying Angel looks “like my dream woman.”
Exchanging their vows, Angel gets even more amped as Brett reads his out as his promise of “epic adventures” together.
Angel promises that she’ll do everything to make him think that every day he’ll believe he “hit the wife jackpot.”
Meanwhile, Andrew is a sweaty, nervous mess on the drive to his ceremony in central Auckland where he’ll meet Vicky for the first time.
Vicky walks in and Andrew gives her a nervous smile and tells her she looks beautiful.
Vows are exchanged, with Vicky putting a lot of work into making hers rhyme.
“He probably wasn’t I pictured in my head… but he’s handsome… lovely,” she says of Andrew after the ceremony.
They kiss and it doesn’t end in fireworks for Vicky. “It wasn’t the worst,” she says, acknowledging that it takes time for chemistry to develop. “He’s not my usual type.”
Andrew is more optimistic telling her numerous times how beautiful she is and even goes in for a cheeky kiss in the wedding photos.
They go out to the balcony and Vicky asks Andrew to stay with her for a few more minutes as they look out at the view of the city.
Later in the evening, Vicky’s mum Sandra seems unhappy with how affectionate her new son-in-law is getting with her daughter in public and pulls Vicky aside telling her they should take things a bit more slowly.
Seeds of doubt are planted in Vicky’s mind and over the rest of the evening she starts pulling away from Andrew.
She awkwardly tells him that the kissing and touching is too much. He seems really confused and a little hurt and says she’s sending him mixed messages. “It took me back a bit,” he says.
Over in Kumeu, meanwhile, Brett and Angel’s first few hours are going swimming. They are smiling so much they say their faces hurt.
He has created some table signs for the tables at their wedding with places he says he wants to take Angel on dates and you can almost see her melt inside.
“This is the best first date I’ve ever been on,” says Brett. “Yeah, for sure,” chimes in Angel.
The pair look good together, seem to have the same sort of energy level and are enjoying each other’s company.
After the wedding reception, both couples head back to the hotel in the city.
Brett offers to sleep on the couch but Angel is having none of it. “Sharing a bed with someone after the day we’ve had seems like a walk in the park.”
Over in Vicky and Angel’s room things are getting a little more frosty.
“It doesn’t feel awkward at all,” says Vicky, but her face tells a different story.
There’s an uncomfortable conversation about whether or not they should share a bed or not. Andrew becomes a lot more guarded and confused about Vicky’s feelings for him and what’s appropriate.
The episode ends with a dejected Andrew deciding to sleep on the couch for the night.