How Long Do Reality TV Relationships Last?

Reality TV shows are not always as real as they appear. The crazy antics and dramatic twists are often staged by producers for added drama. While the “reality” may be less than real, the same cannot be said for the couples appearing in the shows. Many successful reality TV stars have managed to find true love whilst playing their part.

To find out more about the relationships of reality TV, Heart Bingo analysed hundreds of couples across dozens of shows to reveal which show you are most likely to find true love.

Which Shows Had the Longest Lasting Love?

To determine the merits of hundreds of relationships which blossomed on reality TV, we scored each show against several romance ranking factors. The objective: see which show really meant true love and had the longest-lasting relationships.

We researched and analysed every couple across 11 shows, focusing on those who stayed together. Plus, not forgetting those who had marriage proposals. We then placed each data point into our “Love Algorithm” to find which show has successfully found the most love.

Which Dating Game Shows Are Most Successful?

Dating game shows are like regular game shows, but they incorporate an element of matchmaking for the contestants. In many instances, the relationships themselves are pitted against each other. Does the competitive element of these shows result in longer lasting relationships?

Temptation Island Shows Love Can Last

Leading the way with the longest relationships on reality TV is Temptation Island, with the average relationship lasting nearly four years. Although the format of the show was designed to test if an existing couple’s love is real, rather than find new love. Those couples who pass the show’s trials end up in a stronger relationship for it.

Love Island Is the Best Dating Game Show for Finding Love

After multiple recouplings around the firepit, explosive drama and contestants finding their type on paper, the UK smash hit Love Island managed to produce some of the longest on and off-screen romances anywhere on TV. On average, Love Island was found to be the most successful dating game show for single contestants looking for love.

Love Island relationships were found to last for one and a half years on average, with a total of eight islander couples going on to get married. These include Nathan Massey and Cara Delahoyde-Massey (season 2 winners), Alex and Olivia Bowen (season 2 runners-up), Camilla Thurlow and Jamie Jewitt (season 3 runners-up) and Dom and Jessica Rose Lever (season 3).

Research also revealed that Love Is Blind contestants were more likely to become engaged and eventually get married after appearing on the show, with a quarter of the couples (25%) doing so. Despite this, the average relationship only lasted around seven months for those failing to tie the knot.

Most Married at First Sight Couples Break up within 5 Months

Married at First Sight (MAFS) match couples based on scientific and sociological factors. A team of experts with various backgrounds fuse their professional knowledge to create matches for successful relationships. Out of over 200 applicants, six participants that are looking for long-term love are selected to take part.

Despite having no knowledge about their match, the chosen couples agree to get married and meet for the first time at the altar. Each couple are filmed for six weeks after getting married. At the end of the six weeks, the married couple must decide whether they will stay together or go their separate ways.

The study found that very few couples managed to find lasting love on Married at First Sight (MAFS), with the average relationship usually lasting just four months.

102 relationships were identified in the study across both the UK and Australian versions of the show, with just five couples staying together for longer than a year. This includes Erin Bateman and Bryce Mohr (season six of MAFS Australia) and Cam Merchant and Jules Robinson (season six of MAFS Australia).

The least successful dating show was Netflix’s Too Hot to Handle, where only Cam Holmes and Emily Miller (season two) are still together.

Which Reality TV Shows Are Most Likely to Find Long Lasting Love?

Made in Chelsea Stars Were More Likely to Find Longer Lasting Love

First aired in 2011 and still going strong with 23 seasons, Made in Chelsea (MIC) follows a group of affluent young men and women in their twenties who live in the borough of Chelsea. The show is a structured-reality TV series and partly scripted unlike dating game shows, and although some relationships we see on the show are considered set up, some relationships also seen off-air are genuine.

On average, showmances tend to last a year-and-a-half but Made in Chelsea relationships were more likely to go the distance, with the average relationship formed on the show lasting around three years and 54 days.

A third of MIC couples formed throughout the course of the show’s run are still together, whereas none of the famous couples on Geordie Shore are together.

Which Kardashian Family Member Has Found The Most Love?

The Kardashians have graced our screens for over 14 years and their huge popularity has led to more than a dozen spin-off shows being produced. The five Kardashian sisters, along with their brother Rob Kardashian, have been linked to a handful of partners over the years. The siblings have seen a total of 28 relationships (mentioned on the show).

Kim Kardashian is the queen of reality TV but is she also the queen of hearts? Out of all the sisters, the study shows Kim has racked up the most proposals – with three of her relationships ending at the altar. She has also been married twice during the show’s run and once before she was famous. However, Kim’s most successful and prolific relationship was with Ye (formerly known as Kanye West), which lasted nine years. Since then, she dated Pete Davidson after their SNL appearance back in October 2021 but broke up in August 2022.

However, Kourtney Kardashian-Barker wedded her beau Travis earlier this year, as they tied the knot in Portofino, Italy after being close friends for years. As she has fewer relationships over the course of the show, on average her boyfriends were more likely to ask for her hand in marriage. Kourtney’s relationship with Scott Disick was also one of the longest reality TV relationships.

Which Couples Were Romance Relationships or Showmance Relationships?

It is difficult to tell whether reality TV couples had genuine love for one another, or if it is all for the cameras. However, once the cameras stop rolling, we can get a better idea of which relationships are built to last.

Interestingly, the longest reality TV relationships were formed outside of their respective TV shows. This comprises of strong and stable relationships pre-existing the show, or established reality stars wishing to keep their personal and professional life separate. Stars would date in secret and keep their partner out of the spotlight.

The shortest relationships were couples who met on reality TV. Married at First Sight Australia had some of the shortest relationships, with some relationships only lasting a matter of weeks.

Overall, whilst our research indicates that reality TV can lead to love, it mainly produces short-lived romances rather than fairy-tale endings. However, while it may seem unrealistic for such engineered couplings to work – there are several examples which continue to prove the naysayers wrong. As the latest batch of islanders leave the villa, will any of them go the distance? Only time will tell – but one thing for certain is that reality tv shows provide us with ample supply of entertainment.

Whether you are a reality TV enthusiast or love the thrill of game shows, we can no doubt expect more dramatic couplings and explosive break ups from our favourite TV shows in the future – and we wouldn’t have it any other way.

Methodology

We understand that many of the reality stars will have had relationships with people outside their respective shows. This research focuses on the relationships which have been at least mentioned on each show during its original broadcast. The only exception is Kim Kardashian who previously dated Pete Davidson, which we included in the data for her predicted number of dates.

We researched and analysed reality TV stars and their partners across reality TV shows and dating game shows broadcasted on ITV, Channel 4 and Netflix originally broadcast between 2007 and 2022.

The data was collected and analysed in June 2022. The data used in the study will be accurate as of June 2022.

A total of 288 couples were identified as part of the study. We measured them against the duration of each relationship and counted the number of proposals and weddings associated with each show. The data was entered into a weighted rank and used in our “Love Algorithm”, which scored the best shows for finding the cast love.

The stats were compared against one another to determine which shows generated more successful couples.