The popular reality franchise returns to television with a completely revamped format, an expanded roster of participants, and a new title: Gift vid första ögonkastet XL. The season premieres on August 23, with broadcasts on SVT1 and CAFE, where the first two episodes will be released on opening day according to Nyheter24.se.
A New Format and Expanded Cast for the Return of Gift vid första ögonkastet XL
The upcoming season features 12 singles—more than in previous years—making up a total of six newly matched couples who agree to marry complete strangers upon meeting. While the core premise of exploring whether arranged marriages can develop into sustainable relationships remains, the production has incorporated a much larger social experiment focused heavily on group dynamics according to SVT.
Communal Living and Regular Commitment Ceremonies
The most notable structural change in this iteration is the living arrangement. For the first time in the show’s history, all participating couples live under the same roof within a multi-family apartment complex situated in Hammarby Sjöstad, Stockholm.
Executive producer Hans Abrahamsson notes that housing all participants together allows viewers to follow the couples much more closely through both daily routines and celebrations, while shared dinner parties foster both new friendships and conflicts. Furthermore, the season introduces a brand-new mandatory element: regular commitment ceremonies held in front of the other couples. During these gatherings, participants must repeatedly take a stand on whether they wish to remain married or part ways, putting pressure on every relationship throughout the experiment according to Expressen.
To accommodate the expanded content and larger cast, the series has been extended from its traditional 10 episodes to a total of 16 episodes, each running for 49 minutes.
New Expert Panel and Participant Lineup
The entire expert panel has been replaced for the XL season. The new guiding team consists of:
- Anna Bennich: Psychologist, licensed psychotherapist, and author
- Tobias Sahlin: Licensed psychotherapist
- Leigh Norén: Sexologist and social worker
Anna Bennich joins the show after leaving TV4’s Nyhetsmorgon, noting that the unique bubble format allows participants to easily share relationship advice, mirror one another’s experiences, and maintain a more egalitarian dynamic than moving into an established home of just one partner.
The 12 participants taking part in the social experiment include:
- Olivia, 28: Team Sales Manager from Bromma (matched with Urban Nyman)
- Urban, 36: Entrepreneur and leader from Solna
- Yasmin, 36: Breathwork facilitator and coach from Saltsjö-Boo
- Felix, 35: Student and personal assistant from Gothenburg
- Belinda, 26: Pilot from Halmstad
- Max, 31: Business consultant and podcaster from Handen
- Sara “Songbird” Linderholm, 32: Influencer from Bromma
- Gabriel, 28: Train conductor from Malmö
- Helena, 37: Social media manager from Mölndal
- Sasan Momeni, 32: Solution specialist from Uppsala
- Julia, 29: Hotel coordinator from Örebro
- Edin, 28: Chef from Uppsala
Addressing Viewer Confusion Over the XL Title
The addition of “XL” to the program title generated minor confusion and humorous commentary across social media platforms upon announcement, with some viewers initially questioning whether the title referred to body sizes or weight requirements.
Participant Sara SongbirdLinderholm acknowledged that people might associateXL with clothing sizes at first glance, though she noted that was not the original intention. Executive producer Hans Abrahamsson clarified that the title simply signifies an extra-large format—representing a bigger production with more participants, extra avsnitt, heightened passion, more arguments, and a larger overall scope.
