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'Indian Matchmaking' Season 3: Sima Taparia slammed as 'blissfully ignorant' for her views on divorce

'Indian Matchmaking' Season 3 viewers slammed 'passive aggressive' Sima Taparia for saying divorce is a disadvantage

LONDON, ENGLAND: Sima Taparia from Mumbai has returned to our screens for a third season of the hit reality show 'Indian Matchmaking', and she's landed in London this time. Even though the contentious matchmaker has left her hometown, she appears to be carrying all of her old orthodox self, who still believes in "arrange first, love later," dismisses the concept of "love at first sight," and was recently called out for labeling being a divorcee a disadvantage.

The third season of 'Indian Matchmaking', which premiered on April 21, follows the beautifully coiffed, highlighted, and bejeweled Sima as she pummels through the lives of unhappily single Indian men and women largely residing in America. She pledges to find them the marriages of their dreams, as long as they don't have unrealistic expectations. The cast is diverse, but the majority appear to be well-off young adults who operate their own businesses and attend boutique exercise classes. Priya Ashra, this season's highlight, and her collaboration with Sima Aunty using her traditional matching methods have become a hot topic among fans.

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Sima Taparia calls divorce a 'disadvantage'

Netflix is unconcerned with scandals. They milk it for all it's worth whenever one of their shows generates public controversy and penetrates home rooms as party chatter. 'Indian Matchmaking', which has returned for its third season, is no exception. This time, the show's content does not startle as much as it used to. Sima Aunty is Sima Aunty, we now know. She is as focused as ever, whether she is in a posh New York City living room or the Mumbai home of a Gujarati business scion. And caste-class relations persist, much to the displeasure of a predominantly upper-class public. In this new season of 'Indian Matchmaking', Sima has a new pit stop in the United Kingdom, another hotbed for disgruntled diaspora members.

While we saw Priya, a London-based divorcee, in the dying moments of Season 2, it wasn't until the newest episode that we truly got to know her personal experiences. She'd previously been in a single relationship, but it ended with her calling it quits after nearly two years of marriage (11 years together) because he'd deceived her in more ways than one. She'd therefore resolved to take some time for herself before returning to the realm of dating with a clear image of what she required in the long run, prompting her to seek marital matchmaking.

In the show, she gives Sima her requirements list, which includes attributes like kindness, optimism, trustworthiness, emotional maturity, and effective communicator — however, she did have an aesthetic request as well: her suitor should not be balding.

Priya, 35, is a divorcee hoping to rediscover happiness after a failed 'love' marriage. "You have to be flexible, you have to compromise," Sima Aunty reminds her, employing the mantras that have helped her become the internet's favorite meme. To top it all off, she implies that Priya is at a disadvantage since she is divorced, therefore she should be kind with her demands.

'This divorce stigma makes zero sense'

Slamming the matchmaker for her comments, viewers took to social media to call her out. A Twitter user posted, "Sima: she has a disadvantage, she's divorced. A divorce is not a disadvantage, you senseless woman." One advised, "Seema aunty also needs to upgrade herself. Divorce is not a disadvantage!" Another expressed their anger as they write, "Indian Matchmaking has gone from funny to making me angry. Divorce is not a disadvantage. The fact that Sima Aunty is making tea in London for her husband shows exactly the mindset people had wrt marriage 40 years ago." One person even questioned Sima Aunty, "divorce is not a disadvantage Sima!!! Would you rather a woman who's been loyal to one husband and then it didn't work out, or a girl who's been sleeping around with many guys or had many boyfriends???? This divorce stigma makes zero sense #simaaunty #sima."

One Redditor commented, "I hate divorce shaming. this comment irk." Another person observed, "Seema Auntie is extra savage and pushy this season!" Reminding the viewers that this scene shouldn't have come as a shock as they write, "This is actually nothing new. She said something similar in the first season about another client who was also divorced and is a single mom." Another person wrote, "One of the more ridiculous things she’s said!" One person called her, "Sima is just blissfully ignorant and passive aggressive."

'Indian Matchmaking' Season 3 is available for streaming only on Netflix.

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