‘A Sign From God’ Motivated Jasmina To Get ‘Married At First Sight’

Courtney Hizey Photography By Victoria Uwumarogie ·Updated January 13, 2022

If you tuned into Jasmina Outar and Michael Morency‘s wedding in this newest season of Married at First Sight, you witnessed Outar having a full-blown freakout. As the time to head down the aisle and meet her stranger — er, husband, beckoned, she couldn’t hide her anxiety about it. She thought she was going to be sick, struggling to keep herself from losing her lunch, eventually breaking into tears as loved ones tried to give her peace of mind. Despite the understandable meltdown, she dried her tears, pulled herself together and still went through with marrying a man she didn’t know, meeting him at the altar with a smile. Why? Because she was committed to the process, no matter how cold her feet got. Ahead of last night’s episode, we asked Outar what drew her to MAFS, despite the fact that she hadn’t watched an episode until she was ready to apply. We also quizzed her about the work she did to prepare to be someone’s wife and what her hopes are for married life after meeting her Mr. in this way.

ESSENCE: Congratulations on your marriage! First and foremost, what made you want to do MAFS with the ups and downs that have been witnessed over the 13 previous seasons?

Jasmina Outar: Around the time that they were casting for MAFS I was in a place where I was very sad because I felt like I tried everything when it came to dating. It’s so crazy to me what women and some men have to go through just to find their person. One day I’m crying to a friend and asking her “Why is it so hard to find someone who I have things in common with and wants the same thing as me?” and then two days later I hear about being married at first sight. After giving it a lot of thought I just took it as a sign from God because when you ask Him for something you can not control what form He decides to answer you in.

Were you a fan of the show before deciding to throw your hat in the ring for the process?

If I’m being completely honest, I never watched an episode until I decided to apply for the show. I binged one season and did research on how many couples actually stayed together the day before and that’s when I decided to go for it and take a risk.

Courtney Hizey Photography

How has the dating scene in Boston, as Black women, been for you?

I have been living in Boston for the past 11 years and I have had no luck dating here. I am actually part of a group of individuals who throw events around the city of Boston so I come across a lot of men but realize they do not want to settle down. They want to have their fun and enjoy their life then find someone to build with. I am someone that believes that you can have your fun and enjoy your life and still be in a committed relationship. I don’t understand why some think that their life will stop once that happens.

What work did you do to prepare for this experience to be ready for marriage? Any therapy? Unfollowing or cutting off exes?

The work I did to prepare for this experience was really just working on myself as an individual. I didn’t have to unfollow or cut off any ex because I never go into another relationship until I know that I am over the last and I am mentally and emotionally ready to give myself to the next. I made sure that I was in a place where my past wouldn’t affect my present and future and to do that I had to learn myself over again. I took care of my mind and my body by just spending time with myself and doing things that made me happy and feel good. I learned that if you’re not happy by yourself you can’t be happy with anyone else.

What do you hope to get from this process and marriage as a whole?

Well, first and foremost I hope to get someone to spend the rest of my life with [laughs]. I hope that marriage and my husband will teach me more about myself and vice versa. I hope that it will challenge me and push me to be the best version of me. I really want this to be successful and the person who’s choosing to stand beside me to keep taking risks and wake up every morning wanting to put in the work.

Married at First Sight airs at 8 p.m. on Lifetime every Wednesday.

TOPICS: dating marriage Married At First Sight