MAFS’s Paul Brunson promises ‘explosive drama’ – as he opens up on show changes

He’s the smooth-talking relationship expert known for matchmaking stars on Celebs Go Dating and guiding singletons through Married At First Sight UK. But when it comes to his personal life, Paul Brunson is a bit of a closed book.

Despite his burning need to know every intimate detail of his contestants’ love lives, the 48-year-old rarely gives insight into his own. Given the fact he’s been married to wife Jill for 23 years and is dad to two sons, Kingston and Liam, Paul really is the ultimate matchmaker to guide anyone looking for love.

Revealing he is captivated by everything to do with love – from finding it, to learning lessons about how it makes us behave – the star is ready to pick up Cupid’s arrow once again and give encouragement on how to master the art of romance.

As he prepares to return to our screens with new series of both shows, Paul gives the exclusive lowdown on what to expect from the most “explosive” series of MAFS yet, why the Celebs Go Dating house has become a bit of an institution and his dream celeb contestant.

How is filming for Married At First Sight UK going?

We’re almost finished filming this series and I think this will be our most incredible one yet. The one thing I can say about it is that I think we have the most diverse cast that I’ve ever seen on any reality dating show in the world. As a result of it being so extremely diverse, that creates so much conversation and drama. Every day I show up to set and don’t know what to expect – and what happened would always blow my mind. It’s been a crazy series.

So the cast this year is pretty different from the last…

Very, very different. When we were in the early stages of casting and matching, the first thing I noticed was how different the people were. It’s interesting to see because the diverse cast means that it sparks even more conversation and even more drama among the group.

What do you want contestants to take away from the show?

My primary focus is teaching people more about themselves because, ultimately, no matter how long you have been a matchmaker, the probability that you will match two people and have them stay together for the rest of their lives is always going to be relatively low. Ultimately, we are coaching them to be the best version of themselves – that’s the key.

Describe series eight in just three words…

Explosive, explosive, explosive – that’s the only way I can sum it up.

We can’t wait. And you’re returning to Celebs Go Dating this year, too?

Yes. We’re going to start filming in the next couple of weeks.

Can you give us any hints about what viewers can expect this time around?

I can already see that this may be unlike any other Celebs Go Dating we’ve done. I’ve been on the show since series four [this year will be series 12] and it’s become an institution where we haven’t really deviated much from the standard format. But this year the idea is to shake things up a bit and do things differently so I’m excited.

It’s a great line-up, with Vanessa Feltz and Adam Collard joining the show. Are there any dream celebrities you’d like to see in future series?

I would love for Kim Kardashian to come on. I’ve seen her listing all the things she wants in a husband and think she would be so perfect for us to get a hold of. We need to set her up!

What are the main differences between working on Celebs Go Dating and MAFS?

Not a lot of people would guess this, but the celebrities on Celebs Go Dating often seem more nervous than those on Married At First Sight. The celebrities are known in the public eye already and they’re trying to not show certain aspects of their life. They feel like vulnerability is the last thing they want to show. They are very nervous, and I don’t think people realise that, whereas on MAFS, no one is known and they usually haven’t done reality TV before. The stakes are also lower on Celebs Go Dating because they’re not getting married, only dating. This means that we can get the stars to open up their hearts more and be honest because it’s only dating. They’re definitely very different but they both work – you see people still together from both shows.

You’ve recently collaborated with dairy alternative firm Oatly. Why were you so keen to work with the brand?

I’m a long-term Oatly drinker and a big fan of facts and research. So this campaign interested me because we looked into people’s drinking habits and got to make the connection between their habits in relationships, too. I would put myself in the bracket of being a polyamorous milk drinker. I use dairy and non-dairy. But some people refuse to drink milk alternatives because it’s not what they’re used to and they can’t let go, which is similar to how they are in their love life. The reasoning that we use for food is very similar to our romantic relationships.

In what way?

Most people date within a certain type and believe that this is the best type for them. But research shows us that we have no idea what our type actually is. A lot of people are just reluctant to go out of what they are familiar with. When people break up, they tend to want to go back, because it’s what they know and they’re looking back. But when we look back, we tend to romanticise what happened and remember the best times rather than the worst. That’s why so many people go back to their ex. It’s the same thing when you think about attempting to break from dairy.

Celebs Go Dating and Married At First Sight will air on E4 later this summer. Paul has been working with Oatly to analyse the nation’s on-off relationship with cow’s milk. For more information, visit oatly.com

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