The new season of “Married at First Sight” rolls across the screen from 5 February, where six couples will get married – without having met each other beforehand. One of the participants, and undoubtedly the most colourful, is Cathrin Prana (32).
Cathrin is a trained film actress, and is currently studying at the sports college to become a personal trainer. She will combine that with social media and TV jobs.
– I feel so at home in the television industry! I feel that I can be myself, and you get a unique sense of togetherness. It’s very cozy, she smiles.
– Women underestimate how much more attraction they can get
Difficult to date
After Cathrin became a public figure, dating has become much more difficult, she believes.
– It has meant that I have not dated for years. People have made up their minds about me before I even open my mouth. Some people think it’s easier to date when you’re in public, but they have no idea how lonely it can be. Everyone thinks they know everything about you already.
Cathrin believes that we have a “use and throw away mentality” in our society.
– I just think it’s sad. One thing I have never understood is why so many people play a game by pretending they are less interested in order to get the other person more interested. It has nothing to do with love. I can’t get too much love – what some would call clingy, I see as normal. But I am an eternal romantic. I believe that everyone, deep down, wants to find true love, she says.
– Many asked about the marriage
Favorite program
The 32-year-old says that “Married at First Sight” is her favorite programme, and that she had no doubts when she was encouraged to apply.
– I have great faith that specialists can find a man for me through personality analyses, and I was confident that they had the right skills. I felt this was right for me and I believe that everything has a meaning. After all, I have dreamed of finding the prince of my dreams all my life, without actually succeeding. I’m a different person, so I honestly have a lot more trouble finding someone with whom I can develop romantic chemistry.
Cathrin’s problem is that she finds that many people do not understand her personality.
– I am a person who lives a somewhat isolated life. I never go to parties and the like, and I may not feel completely at home in this world. Dating apps are also not for me, because you can’t see the personality of people through photos. So I felt that “Married at First Sight” was my only hope! And I’m a love fairy, and since this is a love show, it suited me very well.
– It was so painful
The first impression
When Cathrin and Remi Georges Alashkar (34) meet at the altar, you can see that both light up.
– What was the first thing you thought when you saw Remi?
– From the first second our eyes met, I saw love and security. His eyes just radiated goodness! I immediately looked forward to getting to know the soul behind these good eyes. It felt like a dream. It was difficult to understand, she says cheerfully, and continues:
– When we talked afterwards, everything was so real and beautiful. Already on our wedding day, we talked about how wonderful it would be to tell our children about how mom and dad met for the first time. And it felt completely natural – as if we had been married for many years already. I have never experienced anything like it!
GOOD MATCH: Cathrin and Remi immediately found the tone. Photo: Discovery Show more
The more they talked together, the more goosebumps Cathrin got, because she realized why she had been matched with this man, and she understood what the experts were thinking.
– He is a deep person, with lots of emotions. It turned out that he likes to write poems, like me. These little details kept popping up – we had so much in common. I realized very quickly that there was actually something between us.
– I am very happy that we got through it
Waiting for the intimacy
– What is the most important thing you look for in a partner?
– The most important thing is that he has good values, and can love me with real and pure love.
When Cathrin has dated in the past, she has experienced not having chemistry with anyone.
– I experienced that the men I met reacted a little to the way I am – for example, that I didn’t want to give a hug on the first date, but a handshake instead. There will be no intimacy from my side until a good while has passed, she laughs.
For Cathrin, it is important that love is built up, before the intimate takes place. And there probably aren’t that many men who have the patience for that.
– Before I took part in “Married at First Sight”, I had not been on a date or kissed a person for many years. I began to lose faith that I was going to find any love in this world.
When teenager Benjamin told his mother that he liked boys, he got a response that left a mark
Extremely nervous
– Why are you so reserved?
– For me, it’s completely natural. I have to be attracted to a person in order to kiss that person, and I don’t get attracted until we have developed strong love for each other. Kissing feels very intimate.
Cathrin says that she was extremely nervous ahead of the wedding, as the bride and groom are expected to kiss.
– You have no idea how much I thought about it! I knew it wasn’t going to happen, but I was so afraid of how the other person would react. I’ve watched the previous seasons, and no one says no to kissing. I was afraid that the groom would misinterpret it.
Fortunately, this moment went beyond all expectations – Cathrin describes Remi as very respectful.
– I can’t kiss someone I’ve just met, no matter who it is. It will be completely wrong – the thought makes me sick. For me it takes time, and in my mind it’s completely logical.
And Remi took this in stride. When the wedding photographer asked him to hold Cathrin’s waist, he asked her first.
– Even though he received an instruction from the photographer, he looked at me and wanted to make sure it was okay. All the little things he did made me understand that he really has a lot of respect for me, and women in general. It made me very confident and I felt like I could be myself.
FIRST BATTLE: Participants react after a controversial first champion election on “Farmen kendis”. Video: TV 2 / Red Runner. view more
Experienced a lot of bullying
Over the years, Cathrin has been exposed to a lot of bullying and harassment – simply because she is who she is. She has been called a bastard, and told that she deserves to die. She has been beaten, spat on and had stones thrown at her.
– I have experienced so much bullying and harassment at a high level, which has led to me isolating myself a little more, and thinking that I might not fit in completely. Before joining “Married at First Sight”, I thought that maybe I’m meant to be alone, and that I might just have to give up on the love I long for. But then I haven’t quite managed to give up that little hope.
Cathrin has been told several times that she is ill – and she says that she finally began to believe it herself. But now it has given her a kind of peace.
– I’ve concluded that yes, maybe I’m sick, but that’s okay. Because as long as I’m happy, and make the people around me happy, without hurting anyone, it’s not that important if I’m sick or healthy, she smiles.