The long-running Lifetime series is a social experiment that follows people who, having struggled to find love via conventional means, turn to a panel of experts to be set up with their spouses.

Dr. Pepper Schwartz, Pastor Calvin Roberson, DeVon Franklin and Dr. Pia Holec play matchmakers, and couples then meet for the very first time at the altar before starting their new lives as married partners, with the MAFS cameras following their every move.

This season is based in Nashville, and there are five new couples taking part, one of which being software engineer instructor Airris, 39, and competitive cheerleading coach Jasmine, 32.

In 2022, Airris decided to change careers completely and moved back to Nashville where he completed a software development boot camp.

Having taken the last few years to focus on himself, he is now keen to plant roots, start a family and looks forward to finding his wife.

Similarly, Jasmine is more than ready to settle down and start a family and hopes that the MAFS process is her chance to find true, long-lasting love at last.

While the MAFS experts clearly believe Airris and Jasmine could have what it takes to make a marriage work, Airris’s relatives don’t have the same faith in the experiment.

In a clip, exclusive to Newsweek, that will be shown during the January 4 season premiere, Airris breaks the news to his family that he has signed up for the show but doesn’t get the reaction he was hoping for.

Fallina, Airris’s cousin, seems particularly concerned about his involvement in the MAFS experiment, telling him that she thinks it’s “over the top.”

The clip shows Airris and Fallina sitting with Harold and Charles, Airris’s friends, and Laurie, his mother.

Fallina expresses her worry over Airris’s commitment to getting married to a stranger, especially since he has never been in a serious relationship before.

She tells the group: “For someone who lacks experience in traditional relationships… he’s never shared a space with anyone. He’s never been in a truly committed relationship.

“To just go from playing the field out here, to be getting married in two weeks with someone you know absolutely nothing about… you’re planning to do this for the rest of your life. It just seems really extreme to me.”

Fallina then adds in a confessional interview to camera: “Airris should walk away now. I just don’t personally think that he’s ready for everything that comes with a marriage. I would like to see him really take the time to get to know someone and try, first, commitment through traditional dating, versus just going to the extreme.”

Airris then explains the reasoning behind his decision to sign up for the show, saying: “I like dating. It’s fun, but it hasn’t worked. It hasn’t brought me ultimate fulfilment and joy so maybe, like, this is my seismic shift that’s happened, putting me in this moment, right here, right now, to meet my wife.”

Repeating her earlier sentiment, the dramatic clip ends with Fallina saying: “Don’t do this.”

Preview pictures of the season show Airris and Jasmine on their wedding day, so the couple presumably do end up marrying, but fans will need to tune in to find out how the wedding day pans out, and how Airris’s family responds to his new wife.

The four other couples taking part in season 16 of MAFS are Shaquille and Kirsten, Clint and Gina, Christopher and Nicole, and Domynique and Mackinley.

Lifetime has promised plenty of drama in the upcoming episodes as, according to the network, one bride’s husband is set to make an “indecent proposal” to another man’s wife.

Married at First Sight, produced by Kinetic Content, premieres Wednesday, January 4, at 9 p.m. ET on Lifetime.