Tonight is the series premiere of FYI’s Arranged, which — similar to it’s predecessor Married at First Sight — features to-be-wed couples who don’t really know each other. But, in this case, the pairs were set up by their parents rather than a panel of experts.
“In Arranged, three couples from different cultural backgrounds have one thing in common – the belief in arranged marriages… These brides and grooms don’t just marry each other, their unions include their entire family,” FYI says of the show. “Even though the marriages stemmed from the heart of their culture, the marital stakes are heightened as the couples do not have the level of intimacy common in most modern marriages.”
Ragini Bahl and Veeral Gajjar
Like many modern Americans, 34-year-olds Ragini and Veeral met on a dating website… The difference is, their profiles were both set up by their parents. Before their meeting, Ragini’s parents were so desperate for her to wed a nice Indian man that they placed an ad in the paper and Veeral’s parents took him to India for a failed wife-finding trip.
After Ragini and Veeral finally bent to their parents’ wishes to go on a date, they quickly became inseparable — and even lived together before their wedding. According to an Indo American News profile, they tied the knot last November with a ceremony or “sangeet” at the San Diego Air & Space Museum and a reception at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. They had an additional reception for 400 of Ragini’s friends and family in Texas in January.
The couple lives in California where Ragini works as an executive marketing director for Nielsen and Veeral is a physician at Cedars-Sinai Hospital.
Maria and Christian Miller
Christian, 18, and Maria, 17, both come from Romani families in Queens, New York. His mom, Nina, was the one who first noticed Maria and church three years ago and “asked for” her. After that, Christian tried to learn as much about his intended as possible, but they were essentially still strangers when they got married in September. After that, the young couple moved into Christian’s parents’ basement.
The couple and their families told The Queens Courier they wanted to participate in the show to change the perceptions people have of gypsies.
“I just want everyone to know that gypsy people are normal people,” Maria said. “We’re all about tradition. We’re all about family. We all love each other. We’re all a happy family.”
Christian added, “We’re not cons; we’re not thieves. We’re nothing like that. We’re normal people. We want to show them we’re a good, clean-cut family and there’s no reason for anyone to be afraid of us. We want to show that we’re not the way people think of us, the way they portray us on other TV shows.”
Christian’s dad, Michael Miller, added the story should be an example that arranged marriages work “if you listen to your father and mother.” He also said Christian and Maria are going strong some six months after their wedding.
Meghan Huggins and Josh Tavernier
Stretching the concept of “arranged marriage” are 24-year-old Meghan and 28-year-old Josh, who were really just set up on a date by her mom and his dad.
“She says that God arranged us and he worked through her,” Meghan joked of her mom’s role in the relationship.
Meghan and Josh appear to have had a pretty normal courtship that led to their February 2013 engagement and December 2014 wedding.
“If we had to tell you one thing about us… it would be that we’re so thankful,” they said on their wedding website. “Thankful that God brought us together. We’re so excited to be getting married and most of all excited to share our lives with one another.”
After their wedding, the pair lived with Josh’s brother in South Carolina. They just learned last month they will have to move near Indiana University for one year and then on to Vanderbilt University for a radiology residency to complete Josh’s medical degree.
Find out more about the couples by tuning into the premiere of FYI’s Arranged tonight at 11:15/10:15c.
