John and Kathryn of 'Newlyweds: The First Year' at home
It may be surprising for a reality-television franchise that has existed for nearly a decade, but nearly every episode of Bridezillas—WE’s brides-acting-insane docu-series—can trigger the same reaction: There is no way in the world that marriage is going to last.
Professionals, it turns out, agree. Jim and Elizabeth Carroll, a husband-wife team of marriage counselors who may be familiar to TV viewers from their appearances on shows like Gene Simmons Family Jewels, weren’t big fans of Bridezillas when WE approached them to appear on a follow-up show—Marriage Boot Camp: Bridezillas, which premieres on May 31—but when they watched the new show more closely, it was clear that the counselors gotten themselves into quite a marriage mess. Jim Carroll says he heard the voice of Dr. Phil, on whose show he has also appeared, asking what he was thinking.
“I thought, these are crazy women!” says Elizabeth Carroll. “The crazy stuff they brought to the weddings is going to damage their marriages. I was looking at them, going, ‘this is exactly why they need us.'”
Wedding shows like Bridezillas (and My Fair Wedding and Four Weddings and Say Yes to the Dress and others) have been popular for a while, but this season sees Marriage Boot Camp take a look at what comes next—and it’s not alone. They’re not the first to point the reality lens at married couples (see: VH1’s Couples Therapy, the Real Housewives franchise, even Ice Loves Coco) but they’re introducing real marital conflict, and the possibility that a marriage might fail, to the previously special-day-centric world of wedding TV.
(MORE: Why Reality TV Is the New Family TV)
Marriage Boot Camp is what it sounds like: five couples—who appeared on Bridezillas and are now in troubled relationships—attend a “boot camp” run by the Carrolls and live in a reality-show house. The boot-camp format can be more than a bit extreme, to the point that it’s sometimes hard to believe it’s helpful—particularly because, according to the Carrolls, the show’s producers made some of their visualization exercises into TV set pieces (e.g., imagine living without your spouse becomes “climb into this casket and listen to your own eulogy from your spouse”)—but, if nothing else, it’s vindication for Bridezillas viewers who wondered what happened after the weddings ended.
“I’m sure the audience is going to love getting a follow-up,” says Elizabeth Carroll, who also believes audiences will be able to apply lessons from the show to their own relationships. “Now they’re married, and now they have problems. Go figure.”
(MORE: What Reality TV Teaches Teen Girls)
Another new show looking past the altar is Bravo’s Newlyweds: The First Year, which premiered on May 6 and follows four couples in their everyday lives, starting shortly before their weddings. The cast members aren’t necessarily -zillas, and viewers don’t go into the show—which is inspired by a similar U.K. television special—knowing whether any of them will eventually end up needing counseling (though it is reality TV, so odds are things won’t be all wine and roses). But even without the built-in conflict, Bravo exec Shari Levine says that viewers are eager to see TV brides and grooms out of their formalwear, particularly in a world where half of marriages don’t make it.
“That first year, there’s a sense of discovery. There’s a fresh quality to how people are learning to be together,” she says. “As a result, it’s a time of surprises.”
Another surprise, to Levine, is that wedding-to-marriage shows aren’t as big as wedding shows are, even though it takes much more work to put together a show that covers a year versus a single day. “Everybody likes to watch weddings. They’re successful from a ratings standpoint and you’re there for the party. It’s an easy watch,” she says. “This is the next obvious step.”
And which life phase is the step after that? Levine says she’s not sure yet—but that whenever they figure it out, there will be a TV show.