Can We Still Call ‘Love Is Blind’ an Experiment?
“Love is Blind” season 3 is over. But instead of love, it was all about chasing clout.
(Paras Griffin via Getty Images)
San Francisco, CA — Season 3 of the Netflix reality dating show, “Love Is Blind” just wrapped. I must admit, reality TV has definitely always been my guilty pleasure. But when I first heard about the "Love is Blind's" premise, the show felt different from others I had watched before. It was framed as a “social experiment” to see if people could fall in love without ever meeting face-to-face. That twist drew me into watching.
The show centers around 15 men and 15 women, who are trying to find love. They each go on dates with one another through pods where they can talk to each other, but never see each other. Over the course of 10 days, they build connections. And if their relationship is strong enough with a person, then they might get engaged — all while their partner’s physical appearance is a complete mystery.
The first season was successful — two couples actually ended up tying the knot and are still married today.
But after watching season 2 and season 3 unfold, a lot of fans on social media — including me — question whether the show can actually be considered a “social experiment” anymore.
You see, in the first season none of the participants knew what to expect. People went into the show — at least somewhat genuinely — to see if they could find love. But once it got to the second season, all the contestants already knew what to expect because the event sequence on the show has remained the same throughout all three seasons.
- If you “fall in love,” you get engaged.
- You go on vacation with your fiance, where you both also have a chance to meet the other couples formed from the pods.
- You live together in a nice apartment, plan a wedding and meet each other's family.
- And then, you actually have a wedding. Or more so, you see if you can actually go through with a wedding.
It’s not really an experiment anymore if the participants already know what is going to happen to them. Not to mention, the participants get screen time on a popular reality TV program. So there's an ulterior motive to get engaged to stay on the show. While the predictable show sequence can make for a great watching experience, it also ruins the original premise.
“Love is Blind” became almost all about clout-chasing. And while I'm all for watching trash television, I want the show to retain some of its “experimental” roots. So here are my ideas on how to make Love Is Blind actually an experiment again.
Why do the engaged couples meet the rest of the cast so soon?
I want to preface this suggestion with a disclaimer. A lot of viewers love the drama that comes from the cast being able to finally meet each other face-to-face. The engaged couples often seem happy and excited to marry each other … until they meet the rest of the cast that they dated in the pods. Once appearances are involved, physical attraction takes over. And this is when many of the couples start to waiver. And from a viewer’s perspective, that’s when things really get interesting.
But I think the couples should have more time to get to know each other face-to-face before getting the rest of the cast involved. A better test to see if love is truly blind would be to wait right up until the weddings to meet the other couples. Because if a slight bit of physical attraction to another person can change your mind right before your wedding day, then love definitely is not blind. And the drama would still be so good.
Why aren’t the engaged couples living together in each other’s real living situation?
After the couples return from vacation, they live together and become a part of each other’s everyday lives. But the show puts them all in an apartment that’s set up specifically for the show.
If the couples really want to immerse themselves into each other’s lives and really see what it’s like to live together, they should live in their actual homes.
Why does the wedding have to be so soon?!
Again, I know a big part of the drama. And yes, the show is about finding love and whatever. But does it have to end in immediate marriage? Why can’t love be blind without marriage?
The engaged couples are always asked the same question: Will you marry this person you fell in love with sight unseen, or will you walk away forever?
I think one of the biggest issues of why the couples break up on the show is because of the pressure of marriage in such a short amount of time. I think some couples probably would have continued dating after the show if they didn't have to get married by the end of filming.
Spoiler alert: This is exactly what happened with Raven Ross and SK Alagbada from this season. The couple did not end up getting married after Alagbada said no at the altar. But during the reunion episode, the couple announced that they are still happily dating each other.