Seven Love Is Blind contestants speak their truths of what being on the show is really like

Over the years, plenty of Love Is Blind cast members have spoken out about what being on the show is actually like. Obviously, the dating experiment isn’t like any other, so it’s difficult to imagine what putting yourself in a situation like that must do to you.

Since the show first started, there have been lawsuits from cast members, and people who have been on the show saying taking part ruined their lives. Despite how fun dating in the pods might be, the experiment has taken its toll on many who took part.

Here is a collection of seven previous cast members of Love Is Blind, all sharing their truths of what filming for, and the experience of, being on the show was like.

‘It hurt so much, it took me nine months to really get over’

Gigi went through a lot in season one. She and Damian were up and down after agreeing to marry in the pods, argued a lot, and then had a pretty tragic wedding. Damian said no, and Gigi stormed out the venue, falling over in her dress.

Speaking with The Guardian, Gigi said how difficult the day of her wedding truly was, and reflected on how long it took to get over the whole experience. “It hurt so much. It took me nine months to really get over [what happened at the wedding],” she said. “We had to talk a lot and process everything with our friends and family.”

She added: “I just wish more of the conversations were shown between us, because there was a lot of anger and rejection, but there was also respect and understanding, too.”

‘Stay away from us’

Despite finding love on Love Is Blind and still being with her husband Matt Barnett from it, Amber has made many not-so-subtle digs at the show since her appearance. In a Q&A on her Instagram, she said she and Matt don’t like the show so don’t watch it, and added they “are together IN SPITE of that show not because of it.”

When another person asked her if she and Matt had ever “argued” with the show’s creators at any point, Amber replied: “I told them to stay away from us.”

‘I never should have agreed to go on a reality show’

Love Is Blind season two cast member Danielle Ruhl has spoken about her regrets taking part in the experiment, amid a report which exposes the “traumatising” filming experience had by other people on the show.

Danielle Ruhl, who got married to Nick Thompson during the experiment, but the couple divorced a year later, said she was surprised she passed the psychological screening to get into the cast, since she’d allegedly disclosed a past suicide attempt.

She said she tried to leave the show after having a panic attack, and claims she told producers she didn’t feel mentally stable enough to continue filming. “I kept telling them, ‘I don’t trust myself,” she recalled. “I’ve tried committing suicide before. I’m having suicidal thoughts. I don’t think I can continue in this.’” Producers are said to have convinced Danielle to stay.

Kinetic Content responded to the report, telling Variety in a statement, “The wellbeing of our participants is of paramount importance to Kinetic. We have rigorous protocols in place to care for each person before, during, and after filming.”

Posting on Instagram, Danielle added that in hindsight, she shouldn’t have put herself through being on a reality show. She said: “Looking back, I never should have agreed to go on a reality show.” She said she regrets not knowing more about what filming a reality TV show is like, but thought Love Is Blind would be different. “I will always admit it was a giant mistake to participate,” Danielle added.

‘I’m going to be homeless’

Season two’s Nick Thompson, who married Danielle Ruhl, has spoken about the show and life afterwards, saying he can’t find a job because he’s known as a Love Is Blind cast member.

He has claimed going on the show ruined his life, and speaking to MailOnline, Nick claimed he was paid just “$7.14 an hour” to be on the show, which he compared to being “treated like a prisoner”. Nick told the publication he was only paid $10,000 for 10 weeks of filming and claimed there has been zero discussion about residual pay, despite the ongoing success of Love Is Blind.

He claimed being on the show felt like being under “24-hour control” by producers. He claimed filming goes on for between 18 to 20 hours a day, and after that cast members are “locked” in a hotel room.

He said being a part of Love Is Blind has “ruined [his] life completely,” and said he wishes he “could just go back to having a nice life that I had built for myself, instead of wondering whether my mortgage is gonna get paid.”

“I’m going to be homeless,” he said. “I lost my job last November. I’m having an incredibly hard time finding [a new] one.”

‘They’re trying to break you’

Danielle Drouin took part in season one of the show, and got engaged but her story was not shown. She reflected on her time on the show speaking in a report, and claimed cast members were not viewed as human beings, and production aimed to keep cast members on edge whilst filming.

She said: “I feel like they [production] do it on purpose because they’re trying to break you. They want you on your edge.”

‘It’s inhumane’

In 2022, Jeremy Hartwell, who was only on the show for a week, sued Netflix over “inhumane working conditions”. Hartwell alleged the cast were made to wait hours for food and water during their first 24 hours of filming and were encouraged to drink on an empty stomach.

In the lawsuit he said: “The combination of sleep deprivation, isolation, lack of food, and an excess of alcohol all either required, enabled or encouraged by defendants contributed to inhumane working conditions and altered mental state for the cast.

“At times, defendants left members of the cast alone for hours at a time with no access to a phone, food, or any other type of contact with the outside world until they were required to return to working on the production.”

At the time, Kinetic released a statement which said: “Mr Hartwell’s involvement in season two of Love Is Blind lasted less than one week. Unfortunately, for Mr Hartwell, his journey ended early after he failed to develop a significant connection with any other participant. While we will not speculate as to his motives for filing the lawsuit, there is absolutely no merit to Mr Hartwell’s allegations, and we will vigorously defend against his claims.”

‘I did feel Love Is Blind is kind of an exploitative show’

Shake was definitely a villain during season two. He really wasn’t there for the experiment, proving he was quite superficial, actually does just care for looks, and I won’t forgive him for telling everyone except Deepti that he doesn’t fancy her.

Now, speaking to Insider, he called the show “exploitative” and said he’s left the group chat with his fellow cast members. “I don’t want to get into it too much, but I did feel Love Is Blind is kind of an exploitative show, and that’s kind of what that show does to the participants on there to make good TV, which is fine, whatever,” Shake said. “It ended up being very entertaining. So it is what it is.”

He added: “I left that Love Is Blind group chat. The second the reunion was filmed, I’m like, ‘These people that I thought were my friends, they were just waiting till the reunion to put me on blast.'”

Love Is Blind is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• The 12 strict rules Love Is Blind cast members have to follow during the experiment

• A look inside the intense casting questionnaire and application process for Love Is Blind

• There were three more engagements in Love Is Blind season five that didn’t make the show