None of the couples who met during the ninth season of “Love Is Blind” had a fairy tale ending, a shocking conclusion that has some fans wondering if the dating show is worth it.
When the series debuted on Netflix in February 2020, viewers gravitated to its refreshing premise: Can people fall in love without seeing each other? The idea especially resonated with people who were beginning to feel isolated as the Covid-19 pandemic began to take hold.
From their isolated “groups,” the contestants speed-date each other, engaging in raw, hours-long conversations that can sometimes lead to proposals within days of their “meeting.” Then, Netflix has the lovebirds test whether they actually interact in person. The journey eventually takes some of the couples to the altar, where they are tasked with saying yes or no to their partners after just a few weeks of knowing each other.
But the absence of a genuine romance this season, along with several controversies in recent years, has fueled disdain for the series from some fans who say the show has become unwatchable.
“I think the series has lost its spark, the reason it was created,” said Kadidjha Traore, who was among the many fans who posted their disappointment on TikTok. He cited the success of season one fan favorites Lauren Speed-Hamilton and Cameron Hamilton, whom he described as “the poster child for loving being blind.”
However, as the seasons have gone on,” Traore said, the show “has deteriorated a bit.”
Dating shows continue to compete for viewers in an oversaturated market for this type of programming. Ratings for the long-running “Bachelor” franchise and its numerous spinoffs have declined amid criticism that they are too stale. Even wildly popular shows like “Love Is Blind” (both the US and UK versions) have faced intense scrutiny from fans over how they have handled cyberbullying of contestants and their mental health.
“Love Is Blind” has not experienced a drop in viewership during its five years on the air. Each season, which has taken place in a different American city, has continued to maintain a place in the most watched ranking on Netflix after its fall. This year’s season eight premiere generated 1.07 billion minutes of viewing in the United States during the week of February 10-16, according to Nielsen. (Viewing numbers for the final season are not yet available.)
However, many viewers online have complained that the show no longer lives up to the premise that captivated them. On the Reddit page dedicated to the show, fans analyzed the trajectory of the ninth season through hundreds of comments on more than a dozen threads. TikTok users have also discussed the couples in their videos, some of which have racked up millions of views and thousands of likes.
A Netflix representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Keeping viewers interested is part of the challenge of reality TV, according to Claire Fallon and Emma Gray, co-hosts of the “Love To See It” podcast, which covers other pop culture topics.
“The thing about a reality TV show is that while the producers can step in and do a lot to shape that narrative, at the end of the day you’re still dealing with real people,” Gray said. “And you will get what you can and you will have to settle for what you felt.”
Fallon said, “There’s something very simple about doing a reality dating show, right? You don’t have to write scripts or, you know, dress people up, and it’s low-budget and it’s a pretty simple formula.”
“Understandably, a lot of fans want a season that has some good drama, a couple of villains, and then at least one love story that’s kind of uplifting that makes them feel inspired and that they can experience the romantic happiness of the people in that relationship,” Fallon added. “And if you don’t have all those components firing on all cylinders, especially when people have such high expectations of a show, people are going to start to feel disappointed in the product.”
But that is a production feat that is “difficult to achieve in practice,” he said.
“Love Is Blind” has received criticism in past seasons, with viewers taking issue with the show’s technical challenges, short-lived marriages and secret relationships. The candidates’ political beliefs have also at times sparked broader discourse about whether ideological differences can still be a deciding factor when it comes to love.
This season, which took place in Denver, fans seemed especially frustrated by the casting choices. Several online questioned the motivation and maturity of those selected for this season, as well as whether their backgrounds (and dating histories) were truly vetted.
As with other reality shows, many “Love Is Blind” contestants have become influencers and podcasters following their appearances after gaining notoriety and viewership on social media.
“People can use the program to launch other projects and their careers, and that’s not something you can really avoid, because that’s kind of the attention economy that we live in,” Gray said.
One storyline that generated a lot of backlash involved contestant Patrick Suzuki, who was rejected by his rival, Kacie McIntosh. She ended their engagement shortly after meeting in person. McIntosh told Suzuki it was because he couldn’t do the show anymore, but on camera he said it was because he didn’t think her “attraction to him” would “grow.” (Suzuki is Asian-American and McIntosh said she had never dated someone of her ethnicity before.)
Contestants Nick Lancaster and Annie Lancaster also sparked backlash after their group discussion about what they would do if their future children were gay. Amato said she feels like being part of the LGBTQ community is a “fad” (she has since apologized on her Instagram account), and Lancaster said she wouldn’t be thrilled.
“I watch these reality shows to escape,” Traore said. “I like all those shows just to not think about what’s going on right now. But this season of ‘Love Is Blind’ really brought you back to that.”
Rikkii Wise, who has amassed around 200,000 followers on TikTok, where he posts “tea” (or gossip) related to reality shows, said he actually enjoyed that there was “disorder and drama” instead of romance. But she understands fans’ complaints: of the five couples featured, three broke up. before the altar, so only two weddings were shown on the screen.
“Obviously you can’t force people to go to the altar, but I think maybe they should bring that clause back, because if we didn’t have couples going to the altar, the audience would be riotous,” said Wise, who goes by storytimewithrikkii on social media.
The season nine reunion airs at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT). Wise, who has posted speculation about what will happen in the episode, said he doesn’t believe love is blind, even after having watched all the seasons.
“People have found love on the show,” he said. “People are still married; people have babies. And I don’t think it’s about love being blind. I think it’s about, okay, these people really wanted to get married, and they found each other and they’re attracted to each other, you know?”
The creator of “Love Is Blind” maintains that the experiment worked as planned.
“In season 9, at least one member of each couple felt their love wasn’t strong enough to overcome the challenges of the real world and decided not to get married,” Chris Coelen told Netflix publication “Tudum.” “That’s exactly how the experiment is supposed to work, so I would say that not only is it working, but I think it’s working better than ever.”
