Written By: Kaitlyn Lavery
Edited using: Crello.com
The days are getting longer as the quarantine progresses throughout our world. My life has been starting to feel like a loop. Interacting with the same people and completing the same tasks. I know for myself, sometimes I just need to escape from the same old setting that has become my current reality. Sitting down on my couch and scrolling through the channels wondering what my roommates and I should watch together has become well- a nuisance. The news? Rerun episodes? Another Hallmark movie? Yawn.
Life under quarantine is already too monotonous. You need something to watch to keep you intrigued. Head to Netflix and click on Love Is Blind. The newest dating show brought to you by Netflix is taking over everyone’s screens and for good reason. The reality show is made up of 30 singles who want to find a forever person. They do that by each sitting in a pod where everyone can chat. The catch is that they can’t see the other person. When they feel ready, they can get engaged and finally meet for the first time in person. The show then follows the successful couple’s journeys all the way up until their wedding date.
The women’s lounge is an area to hangout in between pod sessions.
Why you should be watching it:
Now more than ever you can really connect on a more personal level with the contestants of Love is Blind. You can relate to them because you are stuck in your house like they were isolated to the pods. There is a level of physical absence that a normal relationship experiences which forces these individuals to connect on a deeper level. I’m sure at home whether you are quarantined with family, a significant other, or friends, that the dynamic in some way has changed. I know for myself, my parents aren’t used to spending the entire day with each other. For the past 25 years they go to their 9-5 jobs and reunite during the evening. Due to the quarantine they are with each other and communicating more. They are actually seeing a different side of each other because they now get to experience one another’s work persona’s. For my parents, this is the most time they have spent together in years which allows for more open communication.
The contestants in the pod are similar to our current situation in quarantine since they spent 16 hours a day their solely relying on conversation to get through it. The potential couples are then more inclined to get more personal about themselves and their past since they have so much time to fill. It’s also important for them to share as much about themselves as possible since these conversations are what determine a proposal. These couples need to match up with their own lives and lifestyles, not just their personalities. The quarantine, similar to the pods, creates an isolated environment that we all have to adapt to. Watching these couples chat may influence you to reflect on your own communication skills with your loved ones.
Most of the contestants are seeking out that partner that can fill the void they have been missing. In the world we live in today, a lot of people choose to download popular dating apps like Tinder and Hinge which rely almost completely on looks. The show’s purpose is to really portray human connection without anything like physical appearance getting in the way. Vanessa Lachey, the host, even says in the first episode, “everyone wants to be loved for who they are.” The experiment shows the infatuation created through their words but then follows through to see if their physical connection can be just as strong.
Once the couples actually met in person, the show shifts its focus to the couples working on their relationship in person while vacationing. However, they were still in a very isolated setting besides being able to interact with one another. No phones were allowed and no other outside influences were able to come in the way. This gave them a chance, very similar to our current situation in quarantine, to really know that person to the fullest. Once they resumed into regular life they had to deal with the sudden pressures of family, friends, and social media. This was definitely a test to many of the couple’s relationships. Now, they are back in a state of isolation facing quarantine with not just the rest of the cast but the world. One of the contestant’s, Cameron, who is now married to Lauren Instagrammed a shot of them. He captioned his pic with positive ways you can keep busy during this time and wrote in, “we are no strangers to social distancing..” There is a sense of connection that can be felt with the cast due to the present circumstances we are dealing with.
How the show effects you:
This show can teach us a thing or two about ourselves as we sit around in our houses. The importance of communication is one of the most important. A lot of these couple’s lack this in a sense. For example, one of the men on the show, Carlton, decides not to share that he is bi-sexual until after he proposes to a woman named Diamond with a fear of rejection. This presents a trust issue between the couple, and eventually leads them to calling off the wedding. Another example would be when Lauren teeters about the idea of finally settling down for good. Her independence is important to her, but she fails to fully communicate that to her partner, Cameron, which leaves him shaken and resentful. What we can take away from the show is that communicating your feelings will help both people in the relationship better understand where there is a problem, and how to go about fixing it.
Because the couples are all vacationing at the same resort together, remaining in isolation from any outside connections, each of the couples start to develop their relationships that are influenced by one another. A lot of couples and people in particular on the show continuously compared themselves to the other pairs. Jessica and Mark are an example of this as he feels they their progressing as a couple after seeing the other guys from the show and hearing about their experiences. He doesn’t feel that Jessica isn’t giving her all in the relationship. Another couple, Kelly and Kenny face this as well. He feels that the romantic aspect to their relationship is lacking, but Kelly has trouble admitting she isn’t physically attracted to him. Kenny finds himself throughout the show wondering why their relationship has hit a roadblock while others continue to advance. In reality though, almost all of the couples were facing their own troubles that they just didn’t vocalize. I think the media and cultural influence play a role in this. Everyone has their own idea of a picture-perfect relationship they want to strive for. However, people only see what others put on the internet, or what they choose to vocalize.
Love is Blind may be a reality TV show with some hidden meanings to it but at the end of the day it is plain entertainment. There is some joy we feel knowing that someone else is taking big risks in their lives, and we can sit back and just watch it play out leaving us untouched. So while you’re quarantined, make some time each night with your significant other to watch an episode or hop on Netflix Party with a group of friends and enjoy.
