Things That Happen In Every Season Of Love Is Blind

Netflix's "Love is Blind" was an instant success for the streaming service, and it's easy to see why. Contestants take part in an experiment, which seeks to find out if love is truly blind, and if it's possible to fall in love with someone you've never seen. The first part of the competition takes place in a series of "pods," custom-made rooms in which contestants speak to each other through a wall, without knowing what the other person actually looks like. The aim of these pod dates is to allow contestants to connect on an emotional level, and only after getting engaged do they finally get to meet in person. After that, they're thrown into the real world, and must speedily prepare for their weddings, which also take place on screen.

Understandably, "Love is Blind" features a lot of drama, especially because of the heightened nature of the show, which asks contestants to declare their love for another person in a very short space of time. Obviously, there are certain things that happen in every season of "Love is Blind," some good and some bad. Here, we explore what viewers can expect to see in each season of "Love is Blind."

Someone gets left at the altar

While several "Love is Blind" couples usually make it to the altar each season, not all of them tie the knot. In fact, some couples get to their wedding day, only to announce that they can't go through with the marriage, after all. For instance, during the Season 4 finale, Micah Lussier (pictured) was seen leaving her wedding in tears after her fiancé, Paul Peden, revealed that he couldn't marry her. "I love you, but I don't think that we can choose each other right now," Paul told Micah in front of their family, friends, and a plethora of TV cameras. 

It's pretty much a given that someone is getting left at the altar in every season of "Love is Blind." The show's creator, Chris Coelen, spoke to Entertainment Weekly about why some couples call it quits on the big day. "The truth is when you have gotten engaged and you set a wedding date and one person is ready to say I do and the other person is like, 'Yeah, I'm not sure, maybe we just date,' that's probably going to be the end of your relationship, regardless," Coelen explained. "No matter what you say or how you want to play it off, it's over." 

Sadly, some of the relationships forged in the "Love is Blind" pods simply don't survive in the real world.

There's always a villain on Love is Blind

All reality TV shows have a villain, and Netflix's "Love is Blind" is no exception. In Season 4, Irina Solomonova quickly took on the villain role and was often seen conspiring with fellow contestant Micah Lussier. While Micah and Irina were accused of being "Mean Girls" on the show, they later defended their actions, which saw them laughing at crying women and plotting breakups on screen. "Me and Micah's coping mechanism was laughing about it," Irina later told Entertainment Weekly. "And I honestly will say on the record, 100 percent, I did not intentionally ever want to hurt anyone. [Hearing] that I hurt people's feelings genuinely breaks my heart."

Meanwhile, Season 2's villain turned out to be Abhishek "Shake" Chatterjee, who immediately angered viewers when he continually fixated on fiancée Deepti Vempati's looks. In fact, following their engagement, Shake pretty much told anyone he could that he wasn't attracted to Deepti, causing some pretty public embarrassment for, well, everyone involved. Instead of embracing the "Love is Blind" experiment, Shake seemingly had his own agenda, though he later claimed that he'd received a bad edit by the Netflix show's producers, per Variety. Creator Chris Coelen responded to Shake's allegations, telling Variety, "Every other member of the cast seems to think that he got a pretty good edit." 

Basically, every season of "Love is Blind" features a villain, who seemingly can't help but show their true colors on international television.

Love triangles cause drama

"Love is Blind" throws a group of men and women together and gives them the chance to date multiple people in the show's special pods. As a result, some contestants forge more than one connection during the dating process, which can lead to some pretty complicated love triangles. After coupling up in the pods and getting engaged, contestants often come face to face with their former love interests once they're back in the real world. 

Understandably, the "Love is Blind" process can lead some people to regret their choices, while others attempt to interfere with the happy relationships of other contestants. Case in point, Season 2's Shaina Hurley couldn't seem to get over Shayne Jansen, despite his engagement to Natalie Lee. After getting engaged to Kyle Abrams in the pods, Shaina subsequently told Shayne she had feelings for him, only for him to tell her it was too late. Later in the season, Shaina pulled Shayne aside at a beach bonfire and insinuated that his relationship with Natalie wasn't good, seemingly trying to shoot her shot with him.

Meanwhile, Season 4 saw Micah Lussier, Kwame Appiah, and Chelsea Griffin get stuck in a similar love triangle. While Chelsea and Kwame went on to get married, Kwame most definitely had a soft spot for Micah in the pods. "Everything I want in a woman is there, is in Micah," he said in a confessional.

Some Love is Blind contestants are overly fixated on looks

The "Love is Blind" experiment is based upon the idea that two people can fall in love with each other based upon their personalities alone, meaning that physical attraction doesn't play into it. However, not every contestant abides by this rule. From the moment he stepped into the pods, Season 2's Abhishek "Shake" Chatterjee revealed that looks were incredibly important to him, which led to him asking some prying questions during dates, as previously mentioned. For instance, Shake actually asked one of his dates if he'd be able to lift her up on his shoulders at a music festival, apparently trying to ascertain how much she weighed. When another date revealed that she didn't love hitting the gym, he responded by saying, "I prefer individuals who work out." Basically, Shake appeared to show his cards in the pods and not-so surreptitiously made the other person's physicality more important than their personality.

In Season 3, Bartise Bowden seemed to objectify the show's women, and he didn't hold back when it came to his physical preferences. While speaking with his fiancée, Nancy Rodriguez, Bartise even started discussing Raven Ross, another contestant he'd had a connection with in the pods. Having just met Raven in person for the first time, Bartise said, "She came down and she was wearing those tight clothes and I was like, 'She's a f***ing smoke show, she's s**t hot.'" 

It seems as though some people probably shouldn't have signed up for a show called "Love is Blind."

Things get NSFW on Love is Blind

"Love is Blind" is not the first reality show to feature some pretty NSFW moments, but it ensures that viewers get a behind-the-scenes look at its contestants after they've met in real life for the first time. Having already forged an emotional connection in the pods, couples are often eager to spend time together, which can involve some steamy PDA. For instance, Amber Pike, who married Matt Barnett on Season 1, revealed during an appearance on "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" that they couldn't wait to have sex after their wedding and ended up doing the deed at the venue.

Meanwhile, Season 3's Alexa Alfia got a little too candid about fiancé Brennon Lemieux's performance in the bedroom. While speaking to some fellow contestants during the show, she revealed that their initial attempts at a physical relationship had lasted approximately two minutes. Season 3 also saw Andrew Liu get a little bit explicit with Nancy Rodriguez during their pod dates. "The best sex that I've ever had has been transcendental," Andrew told a blushing Nancy. "You sort of sync up with the other person. I can feel the pleasure that you're feeling as I bring you pleasure, and vice versa."

Nick Lachey does something embarrassing

Nick and Vanessa Lachey have hosted "Love is Blind" since Season 1, but the former boy band star perhaps feels a little too comfortable in front of the cameras. During the show's pilot episode, Vanessa introduced herself by saying, "I'm Vanessa Lachey." Nick followed this up by saying, "I'm obviously Nick Lachey, her husband." He likely regrets saying that he's obviously Nick Lachey at this point, because he's been relentlessly trolled about it ever since. "Saturday Night Live" even took aim at Nick's slick introduction, with celebs like Miley Cyrus and Chrissy Teigen pitching in to joke about the 98 Degrees star's choice of words on Instagram

Basically, viewers are always waiting for Nick to do something embarrassing, whatever it may be — whether it's the unintentional self-roast or receiving backlash for appearing to shade ex-wife Jessica Simpson. Proving that he can very much take a joke, however, Nick addressed this particular hilarious comment on social media. In March 2020, he shared a post on Twitter, which said, "OBVIOUSLY you guys are loving #LoveIsBlind, so OBVIOUSLY we had to do a reunion special. You can watch it on @netflix this Thursday." He completed the already brilliant tweet by writing, "BTW........I'm OBVIOUSLY Nick Lachey." Well played, Nick. Well played.

Nick and Vanessa Lachey gush about their marriage

Nick and Vanessa Lachey tied the knot on July 15, 2011, on a private island in the British Virgin Islands owned by Richard Branson. Since then, they've welcomed three children together and have proven that some celebrity marriages really can stand the test of time. It makes sense that they were chosen to host a reality TV series about finding true love, and the pair regularly opens up about their own romance on "Love is Blind."

Proving that they're a strong unit, Nick defended his wife during the Season 2 reunion episode after contestant Abhishek "Shake" Chatterjee declared, "Unfortunately, the only woman I'm attracted to is Vanessa." Shake tried to justify his words by adding, "It's nature, baby, we're animals." Nick quickly responded, "You're digging the biggest hole for yourself, dude. I like a vet as much as the next guy, but I don't like people who treat human beings like you do." Basically, Nick seems to have Vanessa's back in every awkward or inappropriate situation. 

During the Season 4 reunion episode, Nick reacted to a contestant discussing sleeping on the couch and shared a little insight into his own marriage in the process. "Take it from me — even in married life, we have to sleep on the couch from time to time," Nick quipped. "Still happens, still happens." Nick and Vanessa are only human, but their honesty about their relationship is most definitely refreshing.

Love is Blind contestants get engaged off screen

Each season of "Love is Blind" follows several couples on their journey from engagement to marriage. However, what viewers might not know is that we're not always shown all of the couples that get engaged. In April 2023, Netflix's Tudum shared details about some of the other couples that had found love on the show, but who mysteriously had their stories cut from the series. 

In Season 4, Jimmy Forde actually matched with Wendi Kong and decided to propose to her in the pods. "It gave me a chance to really be real and verbalize to somebody what I've always been looking for and tell them, 'You're the person that fits this mold for me,'" he told Tudum of their connection in the pods. However, Jimmy and Wendi weren't chosen to go to Mexico with the other couples, and they instead went back to Seattle, where they dated for a further three months. While their romance didn't ultimately work out, it's sad that we never got to see their love develop on screen. Josh "JP" Schultz and Ava Van Jenson also got engaged during Season 4, but viewers were completely unaware.

Tudum also reported that additional couples got engaged off screen in Seasons 1 and 2, but not Season 3. While none of those unseen romances led to marriage, it's still strange to know that "Love is Blind" is extremely selective in deciding whose journeys get shown on screen.

Fan favorite couples split up after Love is Blind

While fans of "Love is Blind" revel in seeing couples make it to the altar every season, not every marriage is guaranteed to work out. Unfortunately, each season's "After the Altar" episodes, which catch up with contestants several months after the finale, often reveal that at least some of the couplings have failed. For instance, Season 3's SK Alagbada and Raven Ross (pictured) went their separate ways at the altar, only to reunite after the wedding. However, cheating allegations interfered with the couple's romance, and despite a second engagement taking place on "After the Altar," SK and Raven's relationship didn't make it.

Another couple that fans hoped would work out was Season 2's Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson, who tied the knot on screen. Sadly, TMZ revealed in August 2022 that Danielle had filed for divorce and that the marriage was over. Another Season 2 couple, Iyanna McNeely and Jarrette Jones, also announced their divorce in August 2022. Iyanna wrote in part on Instagram, "After much thought, we're saddened to share that we have separated and will begin the process of divorcing. While we have love for each other, our lives are going in different directions, and that's okay." 

Basically, love doesn't always work out following "Love is Blind," regardless of how romantic a couple's reality TV journey may be.

Parents aren't impressed with the Love is Blind experiment

"Love is Blind" romances move at the speed of light, so it's not surprising that not everyone is on board with the quick engagements and marriages we see on screen. Understandably, the contestants' parents are often the most critical of the reality TV unions, and who can blame them for being skeptical when their child is about to marry a stranger? On Season 4, Bliss Poureetezadi's father seemed particularly suspicious of his daughter's fiancé, Zack Goytowski. In fact, Bliss' dad even told the couple, "20 days is just insanity. I know you're happy, but don't fool yourself."

Some parents disagree with the experiment so strongly that they refuse to meet their child's new partner altogether. Zanab Jaffrey and Cole Barnett got engaged during Season 3, but Cole's parents were seemingly unhappy with the arrangement. Zanab revealed on the show, "I'm still really bothered because Cole's family still doesn't want to meet me. They don't care to meet me." She continued, "They want nothing to do with me unless I marry him." 

While it makes sense that some parents might be opposed to such a fast engagement, it's got to be crushing to be met with such a critical reaction from your potential in-laws.

Love is Blind contestants spend a lot of time in the pods

One of the main things that separates "Love is Blind" from other reality TV shows is the use of custom-made pods, which allow contestants to communicate privately with one another as they search for a romantic connection. While viewers only see the pods during the first few episodes of each season, contestants actually have to spend hours upon hours in the specially made structures, as they try to find a romantic connection. 

In 2020, creator Chris Coelen opened up about the pods and just how much time contestants would spend in them. As he claimed to Variety, "They were there pretty much 24-7. It's funny because we would encourage them to take [breaks], 'You gotta eat! You gotta get some sleep!' But they didn't want to, they wanted to stay in those pods." Coelen also noted that viewers only get a glimpse of what happened in the pods, saying, "These dates are obviously cut down but they were hours and hours and hours long." Coelen revealed that the longest date between two people in the pods was approximately four or five hours long. 

Basically, contestants were allegedly eager to get into the pods so that they could continue to develop romantic connections with people they'd never seen.

Not everyone enjoys the luxury vacation

After contestants get engaged on "Love is Blind," they finally meet their partner in the flesh, and they're whisked away on a romantic vacation together. However, not everyone enjoys the trip, and as couples navigate their new relationships, they often end up arguing or disagreeing with one another. For instance, in Season 4, Irina Solomonova and Zack Goytowski had an incredibly awkward vacation in Mexico, with Irina seemingly showing an instant dislike to her new fiancé. They ultimately split on the last night of their vacation, and Irina even revealed that she was attracted to a different contestant more than Zack.

Season 1 also featured an extremely awkward vacation for contestants Carlton Morton and Diamond Jack. Their relationship completely changed during the trip when Carlton shared with Diamond that he's bisexual. Diamond was surprised by the revelation and questioned why Carlton hadn't told her during their pod dates. From there, the relationship swiftly broke down, descending into a dramatic and angry fight by a swimming pool. Carlton even threw the engagement ring into the pool, and Diamond threw a drink over her former partner. Not exactly the fun honeymoon everyone hoped for.

Friendships continue after Love is Blind

While many of the romantic relationships on "Love is Blind" don't work out, friendships endure and continue long after the season has finished. For instance, in February 2022, Season 2's Danielle Ruhl shared Instagram photos taken with her fellow female cast members, captioning the post, "The bond this group of girls have been able to develop is so heartwarming and I wouldn't have wanted to go through this experience with anyone else." Meanwhile, Season 2 contestants Natalie Lee and Deepti Vempati have started a podcast together called "Out of the Pods," proving that they developed a close-knit friendship during their time on "Love is Blind."

Season 4 featured some stellar male friendships, with Brett Brown and Marshall Glaze supporting each other throughout their journeys on the show. In April 2023, Today suggested that Brett had also developed a bond with Season 1 cast member Cameron Hamilton, after the pair shared a photo together on Instagram

Regardless of whether or not the romances on "Love is Blind" work out, it seems as though the reality show has forged a plethora of friendships, which often thrive after the show has ended.