‘Married At First Sight’ Couple Austin And Jessica Open Up About Pandemic Struggles

The newest “Married at First Sight” couple is having an intense year. Jessica Studer and Austin Hurd got married as strangers last summer, and now they’re figuring out the pandemic together. Fans are watching the Washington, D.C. duo get through this unprecedented time on Lifetime's self-filmed spinoff “Married at First Sight: Couples Cam,” and Jessica's promotion to patient care manager in charge of a COVID-19 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is proving to be a stressful situation. They opened up to International Business Times in an exclusive interview via email about how life has changed for them recently.

International Business Times: Why did you want to be part of “Married At First Sight: Couples’ Cam”? What can viewers expect on the show?

Jessica and Austin: Everyone is going through rough times and being part of “Couples' Cam” allowed us to continue to share our journey with how [we] are handling [the pandemic]. There might be some people out there that can relate to us and it can help them out. People watched us fall in love and we have no problem sharing our lives during quarantine. Viewers can expect to see us adjusting to our new normal of Jess working at the hospital while Austin is working from home.

IBT: How has your relationship changed since viewers last saw your marriage on "Married at First Sight" Season 10?

Jessica and Austin: Since “MAFS” was done airing, we had to adjust to life without cameras and then adjust to a new normal like many other people. Originally, Austin was traveling for work and gone a lot, but with the pandemic, Austin is now working from home while Jess is working increased hours in a COVID ICU. Our relationship has grown stronger as we learn more about each other and adapt to the many changes thrown at us this year!

READ: Jamie Otis Says New ‘MAFS’ Spinoff Is ‘Raw And Real’

IBT: Are you close to any couples from other seasons of “Married at First Sight”? Do you go to other alums for advice?

Jessica and Austin: We haven’t gotten the opportunity to meet any of the other couples from the previous season but looked forward to “Couples Cam” to have that chance! Jess has reached out to Beth [Bice] from Season 9 who has been extremely welcoming to the “MAFS” family and offering guidance!

IBT: What was the most unexpected way your life changed after “Married at First Sight”?

Jessica and Austin: With such a short time after being “Married at First Sight,” the most unexpected way our life has changed is this pandemic. We were adjusting to life without cameras together and Austin traveling to now having it all swapped [with] Austin working from home and Jess being away more on the COVID ICU.

IBT: Aside from meeting your spouse, what was the best part of being on the show? What is your favorite memory from your season of “Married at First Sight”?

Jessica and Austin: Aside from meeting each other, the best part of the show is the friends we have gained! All of the people on our production crew were amazing. We still regularly talk to and meet up with our producer who lives in the area, and Jess still talks with all of the girls. Jess would say her favorite memory is meeting Mindy [Shiben] in the bathroom on our wedding day!

IBT: How has social distancing and/or being in lockdown affected your relationship recently?

Jessica and Austin: We are still getting to know and learn about each other so social distancing from our other friends has allowed us to spend more quality time together! We know each other’s limits, though, and are able to do virtual game nights or video chat with other friends for balance.

IBT: When was your last date night and what did you do?

Jessica and Austin: We try to always eat dinner together, and once a week we will order take out and make it feel more like a date night at home. Our last date night out at a restaurant would have been the end of February at one of our favorite local spots.

READ: ‘Married At First Sight’ Couples Divorced After Deciding To Stay Together

IBT: How do people react when you tell them how you and your spouse met?

Jessica and Austin: We are very comfortable with each other, and to us, it feels like we’ve known each other for years, so people are genuinely shocked when we tell them we met and married at first sight. We usually will get a bunch of questions asking if we REALLY didn’t know each other, and yes we really knew NOTHING about each other!

IBT: What are your plans for the future? Babies, house hunting, career moves?

Jessica and Austin: Our plans were to spend this first year together traveling and getting to see new places, with COVID those plans have changed! Our new goal is to expand our family (with a dog) and start house hunting with our apartment lease up in the beginning of fall.

IBT: What advice do you have for people who want to be on “Married at First Sight”?

Jessica and Austin: People looking to be on “MAFS” should understand that it can be very stressful during filming and especially during airing. Make sure you have a strong support system in place and understand that people will form an opinion online that may not be accurate of you as a person which can be hard to read. Really think it's needed to be confident in who you are as a person.

“Married at First Sight: Couples’ Cam” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EDT on Lifetime.