Is love truly “blind?”
This seemingly silly question is investigated and put to the test time and time again in Netflix’s reality TV show Love is Blind. Annually, viewers are introduced to a new group of men and women who essentially date one another through a wall. Yes, you heard me right—a wall.
In doing so, they form “meaningful connections” without ever seeing one another in the flesh.
Past seasons have led to a number of seemingly genuine connections, but I’ll be the first to admit that season seven was an absolute shitshow.
While messy isn’t inherently bad for a reality show, this season was plagued by immaturity, toxicity, and gaslighting—the worst trifecta, if I do say so myself.
From early on in this season, there was a lot of hostility between the women and men of the pod squad. Multiple women had been interested in the same man who constantly flaunted his Rolex. Similarly, numerous contestants discussed their physical appearances, which felt very unauthentic, considering the whole scope of the show is about falling for someone based on their personality.
Things took a turn for the worst when the newly engaged couples met in person and saw who they were marrying.
Immediately, contestant Hannah Jiles vocalized her feelings regarding her new partner, Nick, by saying he “didn’t meet her expectations for what he would look like.” Their relationship continued to spiral out, with Hannah gaslighting Nick for the most mundane, simple things. She was constantly nitpicking Nick and even went as far as to say that she would treat him like an equal when he started “contributing like an equal.” It was heartbreaking to watch and made me question her morals as the season went on.
Spoiler alert: they didn’t get married, but what happened after their breakup was arguably even worse than their rollercoaster of a relationship.
Just barely 20 minutes into the reunion, hosts Vanessa and Nick Lachey questioned Hannah on her behavior throughout the season. They wondered whether or not she was too critical of her then fiancĂ©, Nick. Immediately, her tone became insanely defensive, and rather than owning up to her actions, she blamed everything on her “just being a bitch.”
I gave her the slight benefit of the doubt, but as the reunion progressed, I felt massive disappointment that her ex-fiancé Nick was unable to receive a genuine apology.
Rather than owning up to her actions throughout the season, Hannah continued to gaslight and belittle Nick; she even recruited some of her friends to do the same. It was like watching a bully in action, yet nobody did anything to stop it.
Unfortunately, I’ve deemed this season the worst in Love is Blind history, but I can’t help but feel bad for the men and women who were directly under the spotlight! Regardless of the turmoil they endured, I think that we can all take something away from this season. Whether that be just how toxic Hannah is or that love is or is not blind, I’d say that this season is definitely a memorable one!
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