Love Is Blindis hands down one of the most engagingunscripted serieson Netflix. Introduced by power coupleNick and Vanessa Lachey, single men and women agree to come on a show and speak to the opposite sex through a wall in hopes of connecting emotionally before physical appearance presents a distraction. Hollywood couple Nick and Vanessa Lachey greet the singles separately in a men’s lounge and a women’s lounge before they disappear to allow them to find connection in the pods. The pods can be a scary place with miscommunication, assumptions and projections between the sexes.
Kinetic Content just places a group of single men together opposite a group of women and instructs them to date the same people without developing any jealousy or insecurity. After two weeks without uttering a word about their physical appearance, the singles are challenged to find a life partner with the ability to love and commit to them for life. If you think it’s a tall order for anyone to take on, you would be correct. What’s even more troublesome about the process is there are no experts or therapists around for the singles to discuss any challenges or obstacles with. The women competing for the right man are expected to use their competitors as a sounding board for their interactions, while the men do the same over in the men’s lounge. The hosts offer the singles' inspiration in the beginning, butaside from being a poster couple to aspire to in the future, they offer no guidance throughout the process.The process often becomes mentally and emotionally challenging, which is why it’s surprising the producers haven’t made the decision to bring therapists on the set if not to provide support for the cast, but also to protect themselves.
The Couples Need Help Navigating Tough Conversations
Since the show’s introduction during the pandemic, fans have been fascinated with the romanticized idea of meeting someone through a wall that proves to be your soulmate. The climate of 2020 was ripe for the concept ofLove Is Blindas most people experienced some form of isolation during that year. For those at home, watching reality television was an escape from the confusing and often depressing news of COVID-19. The flagship cast was young and beautiful and full of personality. Audiences immediately became invested in the love stories and chose their villains,heroes and heroines.
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Season one was successful but also displayed signs of needing an in-house therapist when former Atlanta Falcons cheerleaderDiamond Jacklearned that her fiancé,Carlton Morton, had a past that included a bisexual lifestyle. Carlton shared his truth with producers but was encouraged to keep it to himself until after the proposal. After the couple made it to the vacation spot, Carlton shared his truth and Diamond was unable to receive it in a positive way. Diamond’s disappointment offended Carlton and both were left in emotional shambles. The producers dropped a major ball that first season and set the tone for unanswered toxic behavior in the seasons to come. If Kinetic Content assumed they dodged a bullet avoiding prosecution with the mismanging Diamond and Carlton’s story, they were right, but there would be numerous lawsuits and complaints to come in the upcoming seasons.
‘Love Is Blind’ Has Numerous Ethical Issues
In the past five years,Love Is Blindhas been equally popular in civil court as it has been with Netflix streamers. Charges have been filed against the production company, including lawsuits and allegations of labor and contract violations and sexual assault.Cast members have accused producers of neglect on set, claiming they were forced to work beyond the boundaries of the US labor laws and, in some cases, allegations were made that the cast weren’t fed during certain times. According to US Weekly,Jeremy Hartwell, an alum from season 2, started the lawsuit that his cast mateHaseeb Hussainhas bragged was settled out of court for over 1.4 million dollars. Hartwell initially sued Netflix and Kinetic Content, alleging the show producers “intentionally underpaid” cast members and deprived them of food, water and sleep. According to Haseeb,Love Is Blindcontestants from seasons 2, 3 and 5 will receive money from the settlement.
A former Houston contestant,Tran Dang, filed a lawsuit in 2022, alleging another cast member namedThomas Smithsexually assaulted her while on the set of the show. Dang alleged that the incidents were captured on the production’s 24-hour surveillance. According to Dang’s lawsuit, producers were aware that she was uncomfortable being around Smith, but her grievances and complaints were ignored. Dang accused Smith of assaulting her during the night they were filming a segment. She reported the assault to the producers the next morning, only to have them dismiss the attack as a possible “lack of attraction”. In a joint statement, the production companies have denied being responsible for what happened to Dang during filming. “We support and stand with victims of sexual assault, but Ms. Dang’s claims against the producers are meritless. We document the independent choices of adults who volunteer to participate in a social experiment,” their statement reads.
Taylor’s Obsession with Her Instagram Followers Would’ve Been a Great Opportunity for Therapy
Whether Kinetic Content will choose to throw money at these numerous claims remains to be seen. What is clear is that the wildly popular show needs to pay attention to the numerous complaints of its cast members before the popularity of the lawsuits outweighs the show that became wildly popular during a niche time in our world. A possible remedy for the egregious dissatisfaction of the cast could be assigning experts to oversee small groups of cast mates during the process. In the current season,Taylorsuspected her love interest,Daniel, hadseen her Instagram prior to joining the show. She became obsessed with proving that he knew what she looked like and that information motivated him to pursue her in the pods. With no expert on hand to talk through Taylor’s spiral, things got worse and worse.
A production assistant provided Taylor’s phone so that she could verify that Daniel was following her on social media. After looking through her new followers, Taylor was discouraged to see there were too many for her to go through and pinpoint Daniel. At that moment,a therapist was needed on site to help her navigate her feelingsand to understand why she wouldn’t assume that if she had a large social media following there was a possibility of someone she met in the future being a follower on her page. This is just one of many instances in the pods that could benefit tremendously from a therapist or dating coach being on hand for both the men and the women after these dates to help them work through their emotional issues as they attempt to be as vulnerable as possible during their time in the pods. The rawness of the conversation is often filled with painful experiences and trauma.
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Last season,Tim, a web content strategist, connected in the pods withAlexandraaka Alex, a producer. Tim felt comfortable enough in the pods to share losing both his sisters with Alex. Tim was from a close-knit family and losing his sisters was a big motivation for his success. Feeling emotionally vulnerable and close to Ashley in the pods, Tim made the decision to gift Alex with a keepsake ring that belonged to both his sisters. As soon as Tim and Alex exited the pods, everything changed. Instead of feeling safe with Alex, he found her to be abrasive and selfish. It wasn’t long before the engagement was called off and Tim requested his sister’s ring back from Alex. This is another blatant example of the need for an expert or therapist to assist singles in working through their emotions. Grief, rejection and abandonment are not emotions that should be used to entertain audiences without ensuring the cast has a safe place to land after those feelings have been exposed.
The ‘MAFS’ Experts Don’t Always Get It Right, But They Are a Buffer for the Cast
Theexperts onMarried at First Sightdon’t always get the couples right.Very few of the matched couples make it past decision day, so maybe Love is Blind does a better job allowing singles to find their own matches. TheMAFSexperts are, however, available for conversation when things become overwhelming. The numerous lawsuits againstLove Is Blindprove a need for experts/therapists on set to interact with cast members and talk through some of their issues before they end up filing lawsuits when the season is over. The payout Jeremy is responsible for will provide financial restitution for the cast members involved, but hopefully it can be expanded to include therapists or experts on set during the process to alleviate some of the situations where cast members feel endangered or unseen.
Love Is Blind
