Who Pays for the Experiences on 'Marriage or Mortgage'? The Hosts Answer (EXCLUSIVE)

Netflix's newest reality show Marriage or Mortgage pits experienced wedding planner Sarah Miller against seasoned real estate agent Nichole Holmes as the duo help newly engaged couples make the most millennial decision ever — to have a wedding or buy a house?

With constantly tight budgets and an ongoing pandemic making money harder to come by for many, more and more couples are having to pick between having the wedding of their dreams or buying a starter home.

Marriage or Mortgage follows the hosts as they help these couples navigate this decision, but are the couples actually the ones paying for everything? And if not, who pays on Marriage or Mortgage? Nichole and Sarah exclusively gave Distractify the details.

When it comes to reality television, things aren't always as real as they seem — and when dealing with lavish weddings or expensive starter homes, sometimes viewers question whether the budgets outlined on screen are as cushiony as they are in real life.

But when it comes to Marriage or Mortgage, what you see is what you get — which means that all of the expenses for either a wedding or a home come from the pockets of the couples.

"That's what's so cool about the show, what drew me to it, because again, this is all real life," Sarah said. "It's what we can do with their budget to stretch it and maximize and show them what they can afford or create these dreams that maybe they never thought they could have."

Just because Sarah and Nichole are often working with restricted budgets doesn't mean they don't know how to pull some strings to make dreams come true.

"Don't underestimate our powers," Nichole said. "We aren't above roping in parents to help and kick in a couple more grand here and there."

"Or our relationship with vendors or builders or anybody in the industry," Sarah added. "That's why we are who we are in our professions. We know, and we can make those calls and have fun with it."

At the end of the day, Sarah and Nichole both emphasized that what really drew them into the show was how real they felt it was. They said they were often caught off guard by the couples' final decisions, and sometimes even cried with their clients as they shared their stories. 

"Some of them turn a different direction than what both of us thought they would," Nichole said. "I don't ever feel like I'm an overly emotional person ... but I was caught off guard by several couples when I caught myself tearing up and crying."

With a diverse range of clients with a variety of heartfelt stories, Sarah and Nichole promise Marriage or Mortgage will be, at the very least, honest.

"[These couples] didn't sugarcoat anything, they didn't try to hide anything," Nichole said. "There's some really amazing stories."

Marriage or Mortgage is now streaming on Netflix.