The epic TV wedding show Australia missed this week.

Dramas, tears and wedding bells – Married at First Sight’s first episode was packed full of them. But if you switched off your TV after watching, you just missed out on an equally compelling wedding show.

I didn’t set out to watch Channel Seven’s Bride and Prejudice on Monday night (in fact, if I’d seen any of the promos I probably would have avoided it) but I was so glad I did.

I found myself engrossed in the real lives of three people, all want to get married, and all have parents who, as the title suggests, are prejudiced against their fianceés.

Related: Read The Twins recap of Married at First Sight – Episode 1.

There’s a youthful couple, whose parents think they’re too young to get engaged, a white woman who is marrying the love of her life, who happens to be of Indian background and then there’s Chris who just proposed to his boyfriend Grant.

It is Chris and Grant’s love story that just about moved me to tears. This was the unexpected emotional reward I got for tuning into Bride and Prejudice.

Missed Married At First Sight or want more? Listen to The Recap discuss the first episode.

While Grant’s parents are over-the-moon to learn of their son’s impending nuptials, Chris’ are not so supportive, to say the least.

The 39-year-old tells viewers how he grew up in a Christian household, and despite knowing he was gay at about five years old, didn’t say anything because he knew his Jehovah’s Witness mother wouldn’t accept him.

“Deep down is this… you just want your parents to say they are proud of you. My parents haven’t,” Chris says wiping away a tear.

At this point, tears were threatening to form in my eyes too.

The premise of the show is that engaged couples share the news with half of the pair's prejudiced parents and hope, that by the time their wedding day rolls around, they are convinced to attend.

So far, it seems all three couples could spend their big day disappointed.

As well as Donny and Marina, Courtney and Brad, and Grant and Chris, viewers will be introduced to two more duos next episode: a lesbian couple and a man and woman with a large age gap.

While it's fascinating to watch the future bride and grooms confront their parents on their views, it's also a great eye-opener about prejudices that still exist in our modern society and a thought-provoking look at whether they can be overcome.

We don't just hear from the children, who are fearful of what their parents will think - although this is a huge part of the reality series - we also see interviews with the parents and gain an insight into where their prejudices came from.

Take Chris' mother Yvonne, whose religion views homosexuality as a sin.

"I still love him. I’ll always love him," she says, before explaining that she felt like her son had died when he came out to her.

Will Yvonne overcome her prejudice and join in on what should be the happiest day of Chris' life?

I'll be tuning in each week to find out. And you won't be disappointed if you do too.

Listen to Laura Brodnik and Tiffany Dunk discuss the biggest moments of TV on The Binge

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Bride and Prejudice airs on Channel Seven, Mondays at 9pm or you can catch up on Plus7.