Photos: Netflix Tudum
Netflix has reached ten seasons of the reality show “Love is Blind,” where single strangers attempt to find love, get engaged sight unseen, meet in person, and then prepare for marriage in four weeks. The premise of the show overall is to see if love is truly blind (spoiler-non-spoiler: it’s not).
The experimental-style show has been a hit since 2020, when people were stuck in their own “pods” at home during the COVID-19 quarantine. Fast-forward to this season of the show, we have less than a dozen couples who are still married, and countless moments for us to remember to love ourselves.
For those who got a chance to watch this season may understand some of the commentary I’ll share below, and I’d love to get your feedback here or on the BLISS IG page!
Brittany and her wedding dress
Brittany and Devonta’s storyline was hard to watch for a few reasons. One reason was Devonta’s confession that he hasn’t dated a “woman of color,” all while being half-Black himself. This revelation let the viewers in on why he hadn’t shown the love and affection he previously professed in the pods now that he’s seen his beautiful–and melanated–fiancée.
Brittany is Black and Latina, but claimed Latina only on the show, and while that’s another conversation for another post, my commentary about these two is more about Brittany’s choice to buy a wedding dress before coming on the show. According to show tradition, the women who make it to engagement have a wedding dress try-on session with their loved ones, and it’s shown as part of the preparation process.
One of the reasons why Devonta had doubts about them getting married in the future was that she bought a wedding dress before coming on a show…about getting married. He said this in his confessional, “Were you gonna get married regardless if it was me?” To me, I didn’t see an issue with that, because that’s the point of being on Love is Blind, and she was moving in faith by buying a dress. Some singles turned brides have had testimonies of showing “crazy faith,” buying a wedding dress as physical preparation, along with the faith they had that God would bless them with marriage. And let’s be clear, that is not necessary for anyone to marry, but it seems to be very respective to some, just like any testimony or blessing.
And I didn’t like the conversations online saying that Brittany was delulu for buying a dress in advance. It didn’t sit right with me because, as Stephanie Comfort of Oh!StephCo points out, that if Brittany actually got married, more people would be celebrating her as a “manifestation queen” instead of critiquing her over the dress move. I totally agree, because there are multiple reasons why someone can buy a wedding dress before meeting someone to marry.
In light of Brittany’s display of faith in Jesus on the show, she bought a wedding dress before she met anyone on Love is Blind. Matter of fact, she told Devonta this in the pods, so it’s odd that he’d weaponize that against her now that they are calling off the wedding.
In their wedding day conversation, it truly felt like the end of their relationship, as Devonta told Brittany, “We’ll be in touch.” To me that was the kiss of death, or a slow death, because Brittany was not taking the hints AT ALL. She mentioned in the reunion this week that the days/weeks after their wedding day convo were quiet as his communication got very sporadic and lacked the intentionality in the beginning of the relationship.
The audience called it, but Brittany was still caught up in the delusion of wanting to be married so much that she was willing to take low-effort communication as a sign the relationship was still going somewhere. Been there, sis. She eventually realized the actions were not adding up, and they broke up. As of the reunion, Devonta is engaged and expecting a baby, and Brittany is single. I pray for Brittany to heal and get what she deserves, a solid man of faith who loves her truly and fully, without a single doubt.
Vic and Christine’s love
Vic and Christine, from the start of this season, were on track to be the ones we knew would get married. If I’m not mistaken, they got engaged on the first episode (not their first day) and we never saw them again, lol. Not quite, but we didn’t get to see much of their story in the pods like the other couples, and they did not go on the couples trip to Mexico. Production swears up and down it was because there were only a budget/crew to capture six couples, but Vic and Christine had their own trip in Malibu.
Fast forward to their wedding episode, where the couple gets about 26 minutes of wedding time; it was all very sweet and touching. What makes their union unique is that they are interracial, with Vic being Caribbean American from Brooklyn and Christine being white from a small town in Ohio. They share that their common backgrounds and faith were the foundation for supporting and loving each other as they do. Vic is probably one of three (possibly) emotionally mature men on this season, so the great things he said about Christine made it easy for us to root for them.
From a Black love perspective, many viewers would have liked to see this dynamic play out with a Black man and woman. Vic choosing Christine when there were several Black women to choose from in the pods was very telling to a number of Black female viewers. In this experiment, it might be easy to discern someone’s race/ethnicity based on name, voice tone, accent, and other tells, so it was clear that Vic and Christine knew who each other were racially. So, to many online, the issue became slightly resentful(?); I’m actually not sure what to call it.
The commentary on Vic being a professor in higher education and choosing a white wife was part of a trend that other Black academics have clocked. Many also questioned why someone as put together as Vic would even go on a show like Love is Blind when the tall, intelligent, and attractive man would fair well in the real world. Skeptics responded with “to find a white woman.” And listen, this low-key tracks for the Black men (not all) who have been on this show in previous seasons. Several of them have prioritized or proposed to non-Black women (Jarrette, Bartise, SK, Marshall, Kwame, Uche, Milton).
Perhaps long-time viewers were a bit disappointed at the root of it as to why they weren’t feeling Vic choosing Christine for a wife. The only all-Black couple we have on this show of 10 seasons is Brett and Tiffany from Season 4 (Seattle), and they are one of my personal faves. Six seasons later, we were hoping to see a successful Black love couple make it with these positive attributes that we see in Vic, but it didn’t happen like that. It was like the shot of the two Black ladies in the audience of the reunion, gazing at Vic and Christine as he gushed about his bride. It’s not from a place of jealousy, really, but from a wistful, “why couldn’t he choose his own?” kind of feeling.
This longing is a microcosm of the dating world for Black women who aspire to have a healthy love, a successful love, and one built on faith with someone from their culture. My heart goes out to y’all, and I pray you go where you are celebrated and loved for who you are. As much as I’d love to see more healthy Black love on shows like this, Love is Blind does not prioritize it at all, so do with that what you will. Prayers up for Vic and Christine, who reign as the only couple to remain married from season 10. The show’s sponsors even gifted them a honeymoon during the reunion.
Doing the work on yourself before love
What keeps me watching this show is the hopeless pursuit of love (and attention) that singles have. While many saw shows like this reflect the dating pool, with a variety of personalities that would benefit more on the altar receiving deliverance and then sitting on a counselor’s couch, this popular thought resonated with many. I’d say this opinion is unpopular because not enough singles are making that effort in real life before getting into dating/relationships.
Shows like this can reveal to us the ugly parts of ourselves to help us keep preparing for marriage or just to become a better person in relationships with others. Each season, I see myself in some of the contestants, so I can’t go too hard on them or their editing representation on TV, because no one is perfect, and they are definitely braver than I am to put my relationship business on international television.
It’s so easy to look at shows like Love is Blind and point out what the cast should or should not do, but if we had a camera on how we engaged with the opposite sex, we may see ourselves totally differently. Self-awareness and humility are key to growth, and seeing these couples love instantly then crash and burn can point out how much we need wise counsel and safe spaces to heal and live in wholeness.
There are a lot of us who need help and resources navigating the root issues that have hindered us in singleness, dating, and relationships, especially if we desire marriage. It takes intention and time, but processes like Love is Blind are pressure-cooked and impatient, often drawing those looking for a quick solution to secure a very serious commitment.
If anything, it all helps me develop better questions to ask the opposite sex, be more patient with myself and the process, and give space for men to show their actions after their words. Much love to the cast members of this season who shared that they’re in therapy. We hope it helps them see themselves in a healthier light as they continue towards purpose and relationships.
Have you watched season 10 of Love is Blind? What were your unpopular thoughts on the show?
