Never say, never.
I swore to myself (and Raemona) that I was done with reality TV. After living for Married At First Sight during the dark depths of Covid times, I remember feeling empty and numb when a brand new series aired a year later. To be honest, I was disappointed. I wanted to crave the next episode and develop a love/hate relationship for all the self-obsessed characters. But the formula felt tired. The flashbacks and ‘coming next’ montages with dramatic music became boring. I wanted to spend my evenings indulging in damn good dramas or wittily-written comedies. I even had wild ideas about watching a classic movie once a week, such as The Godfather (which I still, embarrassingly enough, haven’t seen).
But the latest Netflix offering about finding lurve got me hooked.
For those of you oblivious to what Love Is Blind is all about, it’s a reality TV show about finding love by dating in a “pod”. You can only hear the person you’re dating, but you cannot see them or describe anything about your appearance. You sit on one side of a wall, and your date is sat on the other. You talk. That’s it. Participants spend 10 days going from pod to pod with a notebook, desperate to find a deep connection with somebody based solely on their personality, not looks. If sparks fly (aka if chemistry is miraculously felt through the wall) there’s a proposal and the couple finally meet face-to-face as fiancées. Cameras then follow the couples from first kiss to wedding day, with a honeymoon, living together and meet-the-parents thrown into the middle. All of this takes place over a grand total of… four weeks. Could there be anything more addictive?
The show is hosted by celebrity couple Emma and Matt Willis of Big Brother and Busted fame respectively. Emma Willis said of the show's premise, “It’s bonkers, let's just put it out there - it's not your ordinary dating show.” But Matt added, “We’ve watched it happen, we've watched them fall in love. You think two weeks isn't very long, but they're sometimes in those pods for eight hours a day.” So why would people do this? It sounds tiring, restricting and very exposing, right? Emma told the BBC recently, “People were just kind of over [dating apps] – you just go in really on what somebody looks like. And I like that this flips that on its head, and you have to make a connection with somebody before you even see them.”
And yet, the first episode felt like a rush job. The conversations in the pods were so two-dimensional that I questioned the editing because, really, how could people be so dull? One very pretty young man had a confession to make; he went to the gym…twice a day. His very pretty date almost burst into tears when she heard this, blubbering, “Me too!” Well. If that wasn’t a match made in heaven… In the pod next door, there was an intense conversation about grandparents names; “Your nan is called Mary, too?” And another couple got right into a deep and meaningful about gratitude journaling, amazed that they BOTH did this every morning.
If I’m not selling this show to you, don’t knock it ’til you try it. The contestants were all beautiful, some in a conventional modern way with lip-fillers, lash extensions and gym bods, but also some who oozed natural, real beauty, which was refreshing to see. Eye candy aside, maybe it was the interior design of the pods, all pastel shades and rounded sofas, that made it pleasing to watch. The pods were - surprisingly - located in Stockholm, Sweden, and designed to be comfortable, conducive to conversation, and free of distractions. They featured a couch, a rug, a glass roof, a shimmering blue wall that's shared with another pod and a fully opaque wall with shimmer. Each pod was fully stocked with drinks, but with no bathroom, so a date might have had to be cut short if nature called! When I zoned out of conversations, I was enticed by the show’s decor. So when the first bloke got down on one knee, hand pressed against one side of the shimmer wall, and his date screamed, YES, from the other side, tearing streaming and convinced she’d found her soulmate, I couldn’t wait to watch the next episode.
I had a big question on this, though. Why did the men have to propose? Wouldn’t it have been an interesting, unconventional twist to see a woman making the decision to ask the man to marry her? Surely we’ve progressed, haven’t we? It bothers me to think of the backlash that might have blown up on social media if that had happened…
But back to the actual show. It did suck me in regardless. Everybody loves a love story. Even when we know its far-fetched or just for telly, it’s a great feeling to root for somebody or watch somebody’s true colours come to light. We’re reminded of our own journey, our past experiences and we can’t help but compare. We’re witnessing two humans connect, or struggle to connect, and it’s interesting to watch that dynamic unfold. Love Is Blind wants to prove that love can be blind, and that an emotional bond based on shared values can be more important than looks, race, and age. But as you watch the episodes unfold, you can see how couples didn’t work out because they didn’t have physical chemistry. It’s an age-old debate and this show highlights that in abundance. Plus, remember that this is the British version. Unlike the US version, the Brits are full of self-deprecating humour and endless banter.
Also, who doesn’t love a wedding? Even if the whole shebang is not your thing (I eloped to Vegas for my own wedding…) it’s always fun to see how weddings play out with all the characters involved. The dress, the suit, the in-laws, the tears, it’s all a TV winner because there’s an end point we’re all fully focused on; will they walk down the aisle and say, I do?
So, did they?
I wouldn’t wanna spoil it for you.
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