Your favourite couple on MAFS isn't who you should be rooting for.

Ask anyone their favourite couple on MAFS this year, you'll likely get one answer.

In a sea of dull and problematic couples, one pairing has risen to the top. This is Lucinda Light and Timothy Smith's show — we're just here for the ride.

Somehow Lucinda's optimistic, eccentric personality and Timothy's snarky, cynical outlook have come together in perfect harmony, forming quite the delightful dynamic to watch. 

And everyone is obsessed.

Me watching Lucinda and Timothy bantering ❤️ #MAFS #MAFSAU pic.twitter.com/990ldhPqVk

— 𝓛𝓮𝓪𝓱 (@LeahJayK) March 13, 2024

Timothy and Lucinda being chaotic and this is the most fun we’ve had during this experiment #mafs #mafsau pic.twitter.com/KlWVzxDiNv

— Ira Snave (@BravoBuds01) March 13, 2024

The couple has had a surprising trajectory in the experiment. Timothy was introduced as the grumpy, emotionally repressed 'Tin Man' who the emotionally advanced Lucinda (for better or for worse) would be equipped to help open up and disarm. 

At first, he was resistant to basically everything Lucinda did, said or suggested. 

But slowly, something changed within Timothy. The Tin Man has a heart. "I realised that this whole time I've been wasting time being angry and closed off," Timothy said during a recent dinner party.

"I judge everybody else but I'm probably the most broken out of everyone." 

Typically on MAFS, if a couple doesn't get physical in the early stages, they're probably sending themselves straight to the friend-zone. But Timothy and Lucinda have broken that pattern. As we enter the eighth week of the experiment, the couple have finally found a romantic spark, sharing a kiss at last week's dinner party. 

The couple chose to stay together on Sunday's second last Commitment Ceremony, which means that Final Vows are just around the corner. 

But unfortunately, this is where the troubles might reignite. Because while, yes, Lucindothy is on a good path, and yes, they've had a kiss — are they too far behind to catch up, given there's so little time left until the end?

This also makes me wonder: are we all rooting for the wrong couple?

Timothy and Lucinda on the experts' couch. Image: Nine. 

This isn't the first time we've pinned all our hopes and dreams on a couple who didn't survive. On the 2022 season, viewers adored Jack Millar and Domenica Calarco despite their frequent feuds and vastly different communication styles. The couple split before the reunion even aired. 

Conversely, it's the couples portrayed as the show's most dysfunctional that have often proven to be the most enduring.

In 2021, no couple was portrayed in a worse light than Melissa Rawson and Bryce Ruthven. Despite this, they're one of only six couples created in the experiment to go the distance. 

Another of the experiment's most long-lasting matches, Martha Kalifatidis and Michael Brunelli, were also not displayed in a positive light on their season. Martha was portrayed as high-maintenance, with the two presented as having competing lifestyles. Since the experiment ended, Martha and Michael have gone from strength to strength, and welcomed their first baby together, Lucius, on February 27, 2023.

Whether we like it (or them) or not, this season's most problematic couple, Jack Dunkley and Tori Adams, also look set to be one of this season's few couples to remain together. If the rumours are true, leaked photos suggest their relationship is currently thriving.

I'm not encouraging people to root for a man who calls women dogs and men whales, because yuck. But it's worth considering that the couples getting the most 'likeable' edits this season — Lucinda and Timothy, along with Cassandra Allen and Tristan Black (who left the show on March 17), and Lauren Dunn and Jono McCullough — are the ones who haven't seemed to forge a particularly strong connection beyond friendship.

I LOVE the friendship between Timothy & Lucinda #MAFS #MAFSAU pic.twitter.com/hlnCf3QMFB

— Jen Lee 🇺🇦🇺🇦 (@jenleeren) March 13, 2024

The goofiness/playfulness/closeness/ACTUAL FRIENDSHIP between Lucinda and Timothy…., I’m crying, nobody touch me 😭😭😭👏🏻#MAFSAU pic.twitter.com/uG056Zr80T

— Minnie Eras Sydney Night 4 (@EenieMinnieMo92) March 12, 2024

This isn't Friends at First Sight, folks — though that does sound like a fun show.

As MAFS viewers, we tend to ignore the red flags being shown in a relationship when we actually like the people involved, or when they've been edited to be the 'hero' characters of the season, as Lucinda and Timothy both arguably have this season.

But there are A LOT of red (relationship) flags between the pair.

They share little to no physical intimacy and their relationship journey has been shaped solely around Timothy's personal development, with minimal attention paid to Lucinda's emotional wants and needs.

These aren't just red flags — they're flashing neon banners.

If we could remove the heart-eyes clouding our vision each time this couple comes on screen, then maybe we could truly see them for what they are: great mates.

Feature image: Nine.