I’m a sucker for reality television, especially ones centred around dating. There, I said it. I wish I could be one of those people who loves educational and informative shows but alas. There’s nothing more that I love than settling down to an episode of Love Island at 9 pm when the latest series is showing (I’m still bitter that Luke T and Siânnise didn’t win the winter edition).
So, when I saw that Netflix was bringing out a new dating show called Love Is Blind, I knew I’d have to give it a try. The show featured men and women looking to find love through undertaking speed dating, but here’s the catch. They never see each other. Communicating only through speaking aloud in ‘pods,’ the couples are only revealed to each other face-to-face once they are engaged. They then spend the next few weeks getting to know each other in person, and it’s on their wedding day when they decide whether to go through with the marriage or split-up. Yes, it’s as crazy as it sounds.
As you might have guessed, I’ve watched my fair share of reality television, but this might just be the craziest. Netflix
Warning – spoilers ahead!
From the very first episode, like most people, I was rooting for Lauren and Cameron. Lauren, a black woman, had never dated a white man before, and she warned Cameron (who is white) from the beginning that he would face adversity from her family. Proposing to her on the very first episode of the season, they quickly became fan-favourites and I was absolutely overjoyed when I found out they were one of only two couples to go through with their marriage, and are still together to this day.
The only other couple to go through with their Love Is Blind wedding was Amber and Barnett. Barnett was a favourite of many of the women in the pod episodes and found himself in a love-triangle with Amber and another contestant Jessica, who later admitted she was more attracted to him than her own fiancé Mark. Oh, Mark. We all rooted for him. Netflix should have invented a drinking game for this show, take a shot every time Jessica brought up the ten-year age difference between her and Mark. (Don’t do this or you’ll be getting your stomach pumped.)
Unsurprisingly, I could go on about the couples and the respective individuals for days, though a special mention has to be given to Giannina. Melodramatic, conventionally attractive and boasting an enviable Instagram feed, she had reality television star stamped on her forehead the second she walked into Love Is Blind. She left dramatically too, running out of her wedding in her white dress and veil straight into the road. I’ve also never felt second-hand embarrassment quite like it when she told her fiancé Damien that she didn’t think he was ‘the best she’d ever had.’ Awkward. Although their wedding didn’t work out, the couple
I can’t quite decide if I hated Love Is Blind or loved it; although I do believe that that’s the beauty of the show. It’s the marmite of reality television. If you ignored my spoiler warning and still want to watch this compelling chaos, buckle in and
