*This article contains spoilers for Love is Blind up until episode 9*
Since Valentine’s Day, I’ve been getting my reality TV fix with Netflix’s Love is Blind. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the show, I’ll outline the format and concept of the show:
- A bunch of guys and girls are separated and go on dates with each other in “pods” – rooms separated by a wall – where they can’t see each other.
- Both parties get to know each other and narrow down their final choices with the intention to get married when the “experiment” draws to a close.
- Eventually, people start to couple off and propose, still sight unseen.
- After accepting the proposal, they meet face to face in a dramatic unveiling.
- Couples go on a “pre-wedding honeymoon” at some resort where they reunite with other couples.
- After the honeymoon, they head back to the real-world where the producers put them up in a temporary apartment for a few weeks.
- They spend a few weeks before the wedding meeting each other’s friends and families, visiting each other’s homes and planning wedding details.
- On the wedding day, each individual in the couple finally decides if they want to say yes at the altar, ultimately determining if love is actually blind.
Not that anyone asked, but I feel the need to talk about my thoughts and opinions about the first 9 episodes of season 6 of the show. I’ll outline my thoughts on each couple and then my general thoughts on the season. I really want to stress that this piece is purely my opinion and my take on what we have been shown so far. I recognize that these are all real people, and my intention is not to offend anyone, this is just a collection of my thoughts after watching the drama of the season unfold.
Clay and AD
I really like AD, I think she’s kind-hearted and seems super genuine, but she definitely looks for and is attracted to “fixer-upper” men. First with Matthew in the pods, she was so excited that he was opening up to her and no one else. She loved being able to bring him out of his shell. Then with Clay, who admitted in the show that he was not a perfect person and had work to do on himself, seemed to be the thing AD liked the most. After they first saw each other, it seemed like Clay was relieved that they found each other attractive, which was a huge concern for him. It was quite ironic that he was so adamant on knowing what she looked like during the time in the pods on a show called “Love is Blind”. Clay definitely got lost in the plot there. I also think that they don’t handle conflict the best, and their conversations often end in arguing. I don’t predict that they’ll remain together until the reunion, although I can see them saying yes at the altar.
Amy and Johnny
I think this couple is the only one that I am confident will say yes at the altar. They seem very compatible, fun, and mesh well with each other. They haven’t really had any drama from the beginning. When they first saw each other face-to-face, Amy did comment that he wasn’t the typical type she would look for in the real world. However, they both seemed totally open and ready for the process together. They also had a little plot about birth control. Amy didn’t want to go on birth control, and they discussed alternatives because they also didn’t want children right away. It felt like producers pushed this plot just to create some drama between them, but it seemed like they were able to sort it out because it hasn’t really come up again. If I had to put my bets on one couple this season, it would be these guys.
Chelsea and Jimmy
This couple is something else. There is so much going on with them, I don’t even know where to start. I think first, they both should have just picked the other people they were considering in the pods. Picking each other was their first mistake. I don’t feel like they’re compatible and they also don’t communicate well with each other. I feel like Chelsea is insecure about the relationship and it gets projected onto Jimmy who doesn’t provide the kind of reassurance she needs or wants from a partner. It seems like words of affirmation are her relationship style, and while he does try to do that, it does not come across as sincere enough for her. Her insecurities also become heightened by the fact that he has girl friends and the whole Jess situation, which Jimmy doesn’t seem to do much to reassure her about. Their arguments are frustrating to watch because Chelsea selectively hears what she wants to hear to confirm her bias against him, while he doesn’t think about what he says before he speaks, like calling her “clingy”. I definitely don’t see them working out, because their issues are so deeply ingrained in their relationship. They fundamentally don’t serve each other in the relationship and there doesn’t seem to be a way they could make it work.
Lauren and Jeramy
All I’m going to say is at the end of episode 9, Lauren COOKED. Her delivery…phenomenal. I can’t believe I actually thought they were a decent couple coming out of the pods. I definitely misread. The first red flag was Jeramy’s response to the DM that Sarah Ann sent. She DMed him and asked to meet in case things don’t work out with Lauren, and he didn’t respond “no” to shut it down. He liked the message, sending mixed signals, and then even followed her. He then goes out to the club with other guys from the pods and meets Sarah there. While he thinks he did a good thing by sharing his location and telling Lauren everything about it, it doesn’t excuse the fact that it is inappropriate for him to stay out until 5am with Sarah, alone, talking about their relationship. That alone is inappropriate for an engaged man to be doing. Then Lauren goes on to reveal that she did check his location and it showed him being in the part of town that Sarah lives in. Jaw dropped. I saw a theory on TikTok saying that Jeramy parked his car in the alley (because the club barely even has a parking lot) and left his phone there knowing he shared his location. But his Apple watch picked up his location when he went to her house. Now, whether anything happened or not, idk, but it feels super sus right now. Overall, again, not a couple I see getting married at all.
Kenneth and Brittany
This one was sad because I actually liked the two of them. They seemed to hit it off and both seemed so wholesome. There was a full 180 from Kenneth after leaving the honeymoon and getting his phone back. I’m not sure why he pulled back so much, and he felt so disconnected from Brittany while she was still trying to engage. His phone seemed to take too much of his attention and that caused them to fall out within a couple days. It also seemed like they lacked the connection they expected to have coming back into real life. The part that was crazy was when Kenneth came home from work late at night and Brittany had to be up at 5am, he decided that the right way to show affection at that time was to wake her up and kiss her goodnight?? That would be so frustrating if I was in her shoes, I’m not sure how he felt that was the considerate thing to do. Regardless, I thought their breakup was the friendliest, kindest, and most mature. I barely realized it was happening until it was over. They were both considerate and recognized the issues that weren’t solvable and left it amicably. While I wish they worked out, I’m glad they were both mature enough to walk away when they felt they were drifting.
Overall, this season has not disappointed. The drama is great, there’s enough controversy, and it still has some love-able people and couples. I want to emphasize that all of the things I mentioned are purely my opinion on what I have seen so far of the couples on the show. We have to recognize that it’s reality TV and it is so heavily edited, we often don’t know the whole truth and it is entirely unfair to judge people based on the manipulated versions of their lives that we see. If the Love is Blind opaque cups are not reason enough to not trust the producers and their editing, I don’t know what is. (For those who don’t know, they use opaque cups so they can stitch clips together to frame conversations to fit the narrative the producers are trying to push). I don’t believe there is any bad person on the show, the way the editing makes it seem, but what fun would reality TV be if we couldn’t critically analyze and criticize people we have never met sitting in the comfort of our own homes.
Stay tuned for a follow up article after the wedding episodes drop!