When Netflix dropped the first season of Love Is Blind in February 2020, it offered a reprieve from the washboard abs that normally seem like a casting requirement for reality TV shows.
The premise—that couples get engaged “sight unseen” after talking to each other through pods, then, following a big reveal, decide if they want to get married—featured just the right amount of mess. Who can forget Jessica allowing her dog to sip wine or an insulted Carlton throwing his fiancee's engagement ring into a pool? Meanwhile Lauren and Cameron's unvarnished conversations highlighted the awkwardness that sometimes accompanies interracial dating.
It was a reality show, but it seemed like a format that could actually allow people to fall in love without getting bogged down in superficial distractions and expectations. Maybe.
Now in its 10th season, Love Is Blind is a cornerstone of Netflix’s reality TV cinematic universe. But while each cycle brings us standout women who earnestly buy into the show’s original conceit, it’s getting tougher to find any men to root for.
With the latest US season featuring Chris Fusco, who voluntarily compares himself to Andrew Tate and derides a fellow male cast member for being “submissive,” and Alex Henderson, a Trump-loving crypto bro with an ever-shifting backstory, increasingly the men of Love Is Blind seem to have been plucked straight from the manosphere.
Season after season, the women on the show (and viewers at home) are subjected to men who make shallow, body-shaming comments, struggle with anger and emotional regulation, and sometimes appear uncomfortable with their partner’s success.
While race still comes up, it’s often in a superficial and offensive way. Contestants either find themselves struggling with the fact that their match is a person of color, or dealing with unaddressed internalized racism that downplays their own worth while prioritizing whiteness in a partner—a worthwhile topic that deserves far more nuance or a therapist’s involvement.
Broadly, Love Is Blind seems to be pushing conservative ideals—trad wives, divorce shaming, and big families even when contestants clearly aren’t enthusiastic about the idea of having kids.
Kinetic Content, which produces Love Is Blind, did not respond to a request for comment.
When 28-year-old Emma Betsinger of the current Ohio season discusses the scars on her arms—a result of surgeries due to her birthmarks—with podmate Steven Sunday, a 32-year-old who works in finance, he grills her about how she lost her virginity instead of asking thoughtful questions. Betsinger’s health issues have made her hesitant to have children, but instead of taking her at her word, the men she dates stress that she would make a great mother.
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