‘Married At First Sight’ Season 4 Stars Sonia And Tom Reveal Why They Think FYI’s Experiment Will Work This Time

Sonia Granados and Tom Wilson are not married to each other, but they did both get married to strangers in April. The two are cast members on FYI’s “Married at First Sight” Season 4, a reality show that arranges marriages.

After getting fed up with typical dating methods, Sonia and Tom let experts pick their spouses for them, despite the fact that the last two seasons have resulted in divorces for everyone. They met their respective partners at the altar right before they said “I do,” and filmed the first month of their marriages. Sonia and Tom talked to International Business Times about their experiences on the show, which premieres Tuesday, and revealed why they were not put off by the show’s past results.

The two had very different experiences when it came to joining the show, which moved to Miami for Season 4. Sonia had watched the FYI show since Season 1, so when her friend sent a link to applications, she was happy to apply. Meanwhile, Tom ended up at a mysterious casting call after being approached on social media.

“They said at first that it was a dating show and then they revealed that it was ‘Married at First Sight,’” the interior designer revealed to IBT. “And they gave everyone in the room the opportunity to leave the room if they weren’t interested, and there was like 60 in the room. They all got up and walked out, pretty much, so there was only seven or eight of us left, and I just asked a bunch of questions and was more interested and intrigued.”

Tom, 28, later discovered that only two of the nine couples from the show had remained married, but that didn’t scare him. “It didn’t really make a big difference,” he said. “I think to me, I felt like I had a different approach. I’m a different person, so I felt that what those couples went through, what all the couples went through, wasn’t going to be my experience, so I didn’t really hold it against the whole process.”

Sonia, 33, felt the same. “Although I knew that only two had made it, I’m different and you know, in my mind I’m going to try harder than them,” she added.

The two really trusted the in-depth application process. “There was 800 questions,” Sonia, a social worker, said. “There was a psychological evaluation, a lot of background checks. It was intense, but it was really good because I knew that my husband was going through the same thing. So that’s comforting.”

Tom agreed that the comprehensive process was actually a perk. “It was just this onslaught of like background checks and really digging just to find anything negative about your past. I think it’s definitely comforting to know that they’re doing that with everybody, and you don’t get that with normal dating,” he reasoned.

It isn’t just the experts’ search for a soulmate that is helpful, though. Throughout the first month of filming, the couples are given access to professionals that can counsel them. After much of the original panel of experts left, Pastor Calvin Roberson and communications expert Dr. Rachel DeAlto joined sociologist Dr. Pepper Schwartz, and it seems the new cast members have bonded with them.

“I think Pastor Calvin was awesome. Dr. Pepper was amazing and Rachel is my absolute favorite person,” Sonia gushed. “So yeah, they’ve just been amazing.”

Viewers should expect to see Tom and his wife opening up to the pastor. “Calvin was definitely one expert I really connected with,” Tom explained. “And I had a great connection as well with Rachel, but I feel like for my situation, Calvin was definitely able to counsel me and help me through the whole process.”

With a rigorous application process and helpful experts on their side, these two are hoping their marriages survive. Fans will have to tune in to “Married at First Sight” Season 4 to see if their hard work leads to successful relationships.

“Married at First Sight” Season 4 premieres Tuesday at 8:45 p.m. EDT on FYI. It will be preceded by a matchmaking special at 8 p.m. EDT and followed by the after show, “Unfiltered,” hosted by Jamie Otis, at 10 p.m. EDT.