Married At First Sight season 13 brought a Houston-based cast to the forefront of the experiment, and some of the couples were better than others. While they were generally all good candidates for MAFS, which requires its participants to marry their partner sight unseen, none of them wound up making it in the long term. This is a common issue for Married At First Sight, which typically has a low success rate for successful relationships. Seeing the journeys of the MAFS season 13 cast was fascinating and helped in understanding their relationships. With none of the couples having worked out, looking at them in terms of strengths and weaknesses matters.

For Michaela Clark and Zack Freeman, Rachel Gordillo and Jose San Miguel, Bao Huong Hoang and Johnny Lam, Myrla Feria and Gil Cuero, and Brett Layton and Ryan Ignasiak, MAFS presented a challenge they ultimately chose not to take on for the rest of their lives. Entering into a relationship with someone without allowing the proper amount of time for partners to get to know each other can be tricky, and entering into a marriage without it is even harder. With the couples deciding to give the experiment a try, they worked hard to try and keep their relationships grounded and afloat. For some, it was easier than others.

Related: Why We Can’t Forget These Married At First Sight Season 13 Heroes & Villains

Rachel Gordillo & Jose San Miguel

Rachel and Jose seemed like one of the MAFS season 13 couples who might make it through the series and wind up together. The pair seemed to be a good match on paper, both having some organizational and perfectionist traits that matched up. While Rachel and Jose seemed like a good match, they often fought during Married At First Sight season 13. From small fights about minor instances to larger fights about issues in their relationship, their anger issues cropped up during their relationship. Still, Jose and Rachel fought to keep their relationship together, as they genuinely cared for one another, and neither wanted to get divorced.

On Decision Day, Rachel and Jose agreed to stay married and seemed happy about their choice. The couple was shown during the reunion, months after the show had wrapped, as doing well. Unfortunately, after eight months together Rachel and Jose decided to file for divorce. They claimed that they tried to salvage their relationship off-screen and eventually found that it was too difficult and chose to end it. While the couple still holds each other in incredibly high regard, their romantic relationship just wasn’t it for one another. Seeing them fight for their relationship during MAFS season 13 makes them one of the best couples.

Myrla Feria & Gil Cuero

Myrla and Gil seemed cautious on their wedding day, and their connection was one that felt fraught on MAFS season 13. For Myrla, she entered into her marriage with Gil anticipating that things wouldn’t work out in the long run. Going into a relationship with that mindset puts an immediate strain on the relationship and changes the dynamic between the partners. For Gil, he understood why Myrla felt so unsettled but was hoping she would give their marriage a chance. Eventually, it became clear that Myrla’s convictions surrounding the relationship were right, but not for a lack of trying on Gil’s part.

The couple disagreed about nearly everything and fought at a near-constant rate. Myrla didn’t always understand that sharing her opinion wasn’t necessary at every turn, and Gil had a hard time getting his points across when Myrla was coming at him. It was shocking when the pair decided to stay married on Decision Day because the majority of their marriage was spent fighting with each other. During the reunion, Myrla and Gil revealed that they were getting divorced. The fact that they tried to stay together initially was a valiant effort, ranking them as one of the better couples of the season.

Brett Layton & Ryan Ignasiak

Brett and Ryan initially seemed like they would be a Married At First Sight success story. It was clear that they were both interested in a long-term relationship and that marriage was something they were hoping for. Their wedding was tearful and sweet even though they were complete strangers to one another. As the couple started to get to know each other, they seemed like they could genuinely prove to be a good match. Brett was a fan of MAFS before appearing in the series and hoped that the process was something that could work for her.

Ryan, who seemed to be wholly committed to the process, said he was happy in his new relationship. Things changed quickly when Brett found out that Ryan was still on dating apps. When he matched with a mutual friend, Brett was informed about the betrayal and confronted Ryan about it. It was clear that he’d stepped out on their relationship. While he hadn’t been actively cheating, he’d broken Brett’s trust. Brett and Ryan chose not to stay married on Decision Day, and ultimately the choice seemed to work out for them. Though their marriage failed, they were one of the better couples on MAFS season 13 for a time.

Michaela Clark & Zack Freeman

Michaela and Zack seemed like they would be a good fit when MAFS season 13 began. Both felt that they were wasting time in life and wanted to jump-start the process of catching up on what they’d been missing out on, starting with marriage. Things got tricky for the couple when just a few short days into their honeymoon, Zack contracted COVID-19 and had to be separated from his new wife for weeks. Though they seemed happy to see one another when Zack was able to stop isolating from Michaela, things only went downhill from there.

Zack started to notice behaviors he didn’t like and felt that Michaela’s red flags were becoming clear as time went on. Michaela would pick fights about things Zack felt were unimportant and dismissed a lot of his feelings. When Michaela’s father passed away, she shut down emotionally and was unable open up to Zack. Though he said he would be there to support her, things became too difficult between the pair. They started sleeping in separate beds and said “no” on Decision Day. Though they fought for their relationship at the start, the shift in attitude for Michaela and Zack made them hard to root for by the end.

Bao Huong Hoang & Johnny Lam

Bao and Johnny were easily the most controversial couple of Married At First Sight season 13, providing a huge first for the series. Though the premise of the show is centered around participants not knowing each other, Johnny and Bao had met in the past. The two had interacted in college and used this past relationship as leverage to get to know each other. Unfortunately, Bao and Johnny’s past connection was one of the main factors of their downfall. While Johnny has become a popular figure for the MAFS fandom, he wasn’t well-liked within the franchise when he first appeared.

Throughout Johnny and Bao’s relationship, he seemed incredibly harsh on his wife. Bao felt Johnny was overly critical of her actions and behaviors and didn’t appreciate the way he spoke to her. Johnny didn’t seem to understand that the way he was treating her wasn’t par for the course, as he seemed shocked to hear that it bothered her. As the couple went on with the experiment, it was clear to everyone but Johnny that he and Bao wouldn’t last after MAFS. He was shocked when she didn’t reciprocate his desire to stay married, but it seems Johnny has tried to work on himself after Married At First Sight.