Dr. Logan Levkoff, Dr. Joseph Cilona Talk A&E's 'Married At First Sight' Season 2 & Relationship Advice! [MStars Exclusive]

MStars News: Tell me how you became involved in the project?

Logan Levkoff: I'm Logan Levkoff. I got a call in, when production was just discussing this wild idea, Married at First Sight, and I was asked to arrange blind marriages on TV, and I said no. I heard about blind arranged marriages and I said no way. To make a long story short, I realized how wrong I was, that this was not the typical exploitative reality television. It had so much heart and the title really showed how much love was behind it, and I am now proud to say, I'm delighted to be a part of it.

Joseph Cilona: I'm Dr. Joseph Cilona, also one of the experts on Married at First Sight. I actually had a very similar experience to Logan. When I was first approached for this project, I literally think I audibly groaned and rolled my eyes. The people that approached me really were pushing and they actually sent me links to the original Danish series, which ours is based on. I eventually watched it and I just became enthralled. Logan and I have chatted about this. We both watched the whole series within a day or two and found it to be very poignant, substantive, really well executed and respectful. It really convinced us immediately. And the rest is kind of history and here we are today, very happy to be involved.

Check out this Sneak Peek of Season 2 here:

MS: What do you think audiences are in store for this second season?

LL: Well, without giving anything away of course, no spoilers here! I think that one of the amazing things about this season is that, in the first season, each couple had their own story to tell and all of those stories were different, and the same thing is true for this season. Every issue, every challenge, every opportunity that each of the couples has is different. There are going to be things that our viewers watch and it's going to resonate with them. Ideally we do this because we'll all grow through this process watching our couples, basically using it as a mirror into our own lives, making changes, and acting in our own lives.

JC: I agree with that. I think that one of the main reasons why Married at First Sight resonates so deeply with so many viewers is that it's authentic, it's real and it mirrors, as Logan was saying, the real nuances of relationships. Not what's depicted in a lot of what you see on television, this is what's real.

LL: No fantasy suites. They're going back to apartments in the boroughs.

JC: Exactly! So I think that there are so many facets to our romantic relationships, that the viewers will see a lot of different facets in the journeys of these couples on season 2.

Check out Analyzing the Experts here:

MS: Being setup by a matchmaker, is that something similar to how your relationships began?

LL: It's funny because I have been with my partner for 20 years, which sounds like a huge time frame, and yes I mean it is, but I was never privy to a world where I had to date online. I never had to use technology to date, we met in a bar. It was different. So there's a part of me that really believes that I would take a huge leap of faith to find love. That being said, I'm not sure if I'm the type of risk taker that would do it as it was televised. And by the way, I so respect people who can do it. I think that my risk taking has boundaries, but not everyone's does.

JC: If I were able to do all the data analysis myself, I'm on board. If I could get to know the assembler team of experts and really trust them. We really do respect and appreciate the trust that's put in us, for me that's a big leap of faith. Especially, you know a lot of these participants; they don't really know us that well. They know now one season of the show, so we really take that trust very seriously. But for me, anything's possible, but I might have to do the data analysis myself.

MS: What do you think is a big challenge when beginning a new relationship?

LL: I think that Joseph and I may answer this the same way and it's very possible because we sort of share a brain at this point, we are very much a family. I think that we have a problem in general with authenticity, not that we deliberately are inauthentic, but that we're just so afraid to speak up for what it is that we want and what it is we need. Sometimes we just don't give ourselves the freedom to think about who we really are in this process and what we need in order to find emotional and physical satisfaction. So I think our biggest challenge is authenticity.

JC: To put it a little bit more simply, I think that if you want success and love and a fulfilling, satisfying relationship, be honest, be authentic, be real. Communicate your needs, communicate your feelings, and do not play games. I think that's one of the things that plagues many people in our world today. Wait 3 days before you answer a text message, all of this stuff is just nonsense and it may get you some kind of immediate gain, but in the long run, for a real, fulfilling relationship with depth and satisfaction, just be honest, straightforward, and clearly communicate how you feel and what you need.

Check out the scene, Preparing for a Proposal, from first season here:

MS: With the success of 50 Shades of Grey, do you feel like people are more open about what they want sexually in the relationship?

LL: I don't think it's necessarily based on 50 Shades of Grey per say, but I think that when you give people the freedom to talk about what it is they really want, they really run with it. And we're starting to understand that that word, "vanilla," doesn't really apply to everyone and vanilla means a lot of different things to different people. I've always believed that consenting adults are entitled to make whatever decision they want to as it relates to sex and however people derive pleasure; they should be entitled to that. So when you give people permission to do that and to voice what they want, it's really an empowering thing for them.

JC: I can't speak directly, I haven't read or seen 50 Shades of Grey, but if it's opening up a dialogue about these kinds of things and making people feel safer, more comfortable, and more able to be honest and frank about their needs and their preferences, I think that's a great thing.

Check out It's A Big Day here:

JS: What other projects are you working on now?

LL: Oh my god! Who has time for other projects with Married at First Sight? Well my day-to-day life is spent, beyond Married at First Sight, I teach, I design, and implement sex-ed programs all across the country for different age groups. I write and I lecture. I feel very fulfilled and very lucky that I have the opportunity to make transformative television and ideally that will continue.

JC: I have a full-time private practice as a psychologist. I think outside of our primary professional activities, Married at First Sight, is somewhat all consuming. It's a very intense for us as the experts so most of our excess professional time and personal time is really spent on the show.

LL: One of the things you don't really get a chance to see is that we do not take this job lightly. The four of us are up at night; it keeps us up at night. Joseph and I have been known to FaceTime in the middle of the night, in our pajamas, with retainers and pets and all things around us, because it is all-consuming. If we didn't give this process our hearts and our souls, then it's not worth it for anyone. So we are very much all in.

JC: Absolutely. I mean we literally, I think, especially in the early phases when we're really looking at trying to distill down all of the potential participants to our final potential matches, I think we're all dreaming of these people, literally on a daily basis. So it does become quite all-consuming, but in the end, especially looking back at our results from season one and these beautiful, really lovely, poignant love stories that have evolved in our two couples that have endured, I think it makes it all worth it.

Married at First Sight premieres Tuesday, March 17, at 9pm on A&E.