Are Heather and Derek Still Together?

Married At First Sight stars Heather Seidel and Derek Schwartz first appeared on the Lifetime show during season 4 in July 2016. Their romance quickly took a turn for the worse and became one of the worst marriages to play out on the show. Keep scrolling to see if Heather and Derek are still together today. 

Are Heather and Derek Still Together After Married At First Sight?

At the time of their reality TV debuts, Heather, a 32-year-old flight attendant, was matched with Derek, a 35-year-old account executive. The two initially clicked on their wedding day, but their relationship plummeted shortly after. 

The couple started to encounter major conflicts during their honeymoon, with their first point of disagreement stemming from Derek’s smoking habit. Heather could not tolerate being around smokers, while Derek smoked regularly. 

“He asked her for permission to smoke and she said it was fine, but then she freaked out because she thought he did it too often during their honeymoon,” an insider told In Touch exclusively at the time. 

Their romance was further stifled when Derek continuously criticized Heather for being nit-picky. At one point, he even told her to leave. 

In a shocking turn of events that had never before occurred on the reality dating series, Heather and Derek gave up on their marriage after only 10 days as husband and wife.

Where is Heather Now?

Following Heather’s time on the show, the flight attendant sought out a more private life. Despite keeping a low profile, she has acquired an impressive 19,7000 follower count on Instagram. In September 2020, Heather shared the news to social media that she had given birth to her son, Leo James. She later told her followers that she faced difficulties in her pregnancy and had to be induced into labor at 39 weeks. The former reality TV personality explained that although she had planned for a vaginal birth, her doctors decided that a C-section was the safer bet for her and her baby.

Maintaining her err of privacy, Heather chose not to disclose the name of her child’s father or their relationship status. However, she did reveal that Leo’s father was present when Heather gave birth. 

Heather gave another life update to her followers in 2020, sharing that she had been furloughed from her long-standing job as a flight attendant amid the coronavirus pandemic. It seems that she hasn’t completely pulled the plug on her career as a flight attendant, though, as her Instagram bio still reads “Flight Attendant – Avid Reader – Mama to Leo.”

Where is Derek Now?

For his part, Derek reflected on his experience on the show after the fact in an interview with The New York Post, revealing that prior to their last meeting with Pastor Cal, Heather was arguing with the show’s producers. Derek claimed Heather “basically threatened to leave the show.” He explained that he was genuinely upset about Heather’s decision to end their relationship and said he did not continue to have any communication with Heather after their brief honeymoon. 

According to the interview, when Derek attempted to reach out to Heather before the season premiere via Twitter and Facebook, he never received a response from his ex-wife. Despite his ill-fated first go at marriage, Derek said he hasn’t totally given up on love. “I definitely look forward to it one day,” he said.