With Love Is Blind growing in popularity and reach since its premiere season – with spin-offs now spanning the globe – it has become, for many of its cast members, a one-way ticket to internet fame. This has inevitably resulted in more contestants who are, as Bachelor Nation puts it, “not here for the right reasons.” Now, Love Is Blind Season 8 has the near-impossible task of casting singles who are genuinely interested in finding love and at least somewhat ready for marriage on one of the most popular reality dating shows out there and during a time when reality TV stardom is at an all-time high.
Too Many ‘Love Is Blind’ Season 7 Contestants Joined To Play the Fame Game
Reality TV has long been known to capitalize on drama, and reality dating shows centered on finding love are no exception. Shows like Love Is Blind are often framed around drama, focusing in on all the toxic arguments and emotional breakdowns that occur each season, interspersed with those rare moments in which genuine connections are formed. Season 7, however, was particularly heavy on the drama and toxicity as cast members, most of whom didn’t seem ready or even genuinely interested in the commitment of marriage, leaned into the drama – likely in pursuit of more screen time.
Love Is Blind Season 7 was characterized by contestants who didn’t seem to be taking the experience even remotely seriously, like Stephen Richardson who was caught sexting with another woman before making it anywhere near the altar, and those more blatantly looking for fame, like Nick Dorka whose journal entry about his aspiration of becoming “the most famous person ever” on Love Is Blind was exposed at the reunion. There were also those boasting what seemed like heavily curated TV personalities, like Leo Braudy who, despite claiming that his biggest fear was a woman wanting him only for his money, couldn’t stop talking about how much money he made, and those like Hannah Jiles, whose transformation from the pods to the reunion was more focused on her outer appearance than rectifying her mistreatment of Nick throughout the experiment. The result was an entire season that felt, to viewers, less like watching people fall in love “sight unseen” and more like watching a bunch of people who just really wanted to be on TV.
It’s Unlikely That ‘Love Is Blind’ Season 8 Will Solve This Problem
As the show’s popularity continues to bolster its contestants’ online presence, its seems that, with each season, the task of casting people who are genuinely looking for love grows further out of reach. If Love Is Blind isn’t able to remedy this problem, Season 8 will likely be another messy and disappointing season that feels unrealistic and diminishes both the concept – that love is indeed blind – and the initial charm of the show. Ahead of the Season 8 premiere, here’s hoping that the Love Is Blind casting team learned a thing or two from last season and somehow managed to pull together a cast of singles seeking genuine connection over fame. Love Is Blind is streaming on Netflix in the U.S.
