SEATTLE — The big day for the reality television aficionados that have fallen in love with the cult show known as "Love Is Blind" is here.
The newest season released Friday and will feature Seattle-based singles hoping to find their lifelong partner.
Netflix' flagship dating reality show first aired in February 2020, right before the COVID-19 pandemic began in the United States.
The show has only grown since, with millions of devoted fans obsessed with the bizarre premise behind the show.
Now if you are feeling blind here, we have a guide to help you navigate the murky Love Is Blind waters and come out on the other side.
Don't worry. Breathe. We'll get through this together.
Shall we?
I'm lost. Let's start from the top again. What is Love Is Blind?
Love Is Blind is Netflix' dating reality show that features 15 men and 15 women vying to prove if "love truly is blind."
Who is on this season's cast?
Swipe through the gallery below of the 30 Seattle singles cast on Season 4 of Love is Blind.
Meet the Seattle-based cast of Love is Blind's Season 4
How many seasons of Love is Blind are there?
There have been three complete seasons of Love Is Blind, with the fourth season set to be released. The newest season is set in Seattle with men and women from the surrounding areas.
Where were the other seasons located?
The show films each season in different cities across the country. Season 1 was in Atlanta, Georgia. Season 2 was in Chicago, Illinois. Season 3 was set in Dallas, Texas.
So is Love Is Blind like The Bachelor?
Kind of, but really no. It is a dating reality show and the goal is for people to get married like The Bachelor, but the process is widely different. While The Bachelor gives one person sole autonomy to choose a partner, Love Is Blind gives that choice to every single person on the show.
Wait, is the show actually "blind?"
Yes, it really is! The show has 20 "pods" (10 for men, 10 for women) set up for the castmates to mingle with each other. The catch, of course, is that there are walls separating the pods, isolating the people from each other. They never see each other while talking in the pods.
The goal of the show is for the couples to foster deep emotional connections without ever seeing each other. Then they get to test the theory that binds the show together: Is love really blind? (Insert dramatic Nick Lachey pause here).
How does the "blind" part work?
Right, so at the beginning of each season, the men and women will interchangeably move to and from different pods in order to have conversations. These conversations can range from serious to light-hearted to everything in between.
Once the show goes on, the castmates will keep moving across the pods, narrowing down their choices until they find the person they want to meet outside of "the experiment."
In reality, it will look something like this when two people chat in the pods.
How long are the men and women in the pods?
10 days.
Here's a look inside one of the pods.
OK, what happens after they like someone in the pods?
At any point, the cast can leave the show entirely if they don't feel like they've found a person they can connect with on a deeper level.
But if they are among the lucky few -- typically there are about five or six couples that form through the pods -- the two agree on a proposal and finally meet in person.
Got it. Then what happens after the proposals?
After the couples propose and meet, the show whisks them off on a vacation getaway, allowing the couples to build a physical connection on top of the emotional foundations. All of the couples from the season are at the same resort too, leading to potentially dramatic/awkward/funny situations with people they consider to be an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend. It's truly a situation you'll never see in the real world. (But is anything on this show really "normal" anyway?)
The vacation does not last forever, however, and the couples will have to make their relationship work in the real world by moving in together. All told, the couples will have known each other for less than a month at this point.
Do the couples get married in the show?
They can. Once the couples return home from their vacation, the tough work really begins. With the physical barrier collapsed, and a theoretically strong emotional bond between the pair, the couple now faces external factors from their home. What kind of partner did I really choose? Are they clean? Are they dirty? Do they party all night or are they more of a bookworm? What are their families like? Does my life mesh well with theirs? These are all questions that will be answered while the couples share an apartment together. Oh yeah, the other couples will have other apartments in the same complex too (for maximum drama, obviously).
This is the messiest part of the show by far. The couples will either persist through these challenges that real-world couples face every day or crumble under the pressure. There is really no telling what may happen during this time.
Now we HAVE to talk about the weddings.
Then we come to the most dramatic part of the season. The altar. That's when the show has each couple get ready for their actual real-life wedding that is absolutely real and not fake and stay with me here.
The couple invites their close friends and family for an intimate wedding ceremony, while we eagerly await the big moment. Once the couple reaches the altar, the pair gets to decide whether they say "I do," get married and continue their commitment to each other. Each person can also say "I don't" and break off the proposal at the altar in front of the officiant, family, friends and loved ones.
The finale episode will feature each couple at the altar, making one of the biggest decisions of their life.
How many couples have gotten married on the show? Are they still together?
If you haven't seen the first three seasons of Love Is Blind, avert your eyes because we are in full spoiler territory.
Let's break this down by season.
Season 1
- Lauren Speed and Cameron Hamilton (married)
- Amber Pike and Matthew Barnett (married)
- Giannina Gibelli and Damian Powers (not together)
- Jessica Batten and Mark Cuevas (not together)
- Kelly Chase and Kenny Barnes (not together)
- Diamond Jack and Carlton Morton (not together)
Season 2
- Iyanna McNeely and Jarrett Jones (married, but now divorced)
- Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson (married, but now divorced)
- Natalie Lee and Shayne Jansen (not together)
- Deepti Vempati and Abhishek "Shake" Chatterjee (not together)
- Mallory Zapata and Salvador Perez (not together)
- Shaina Hurley and Kyle Abrama (not together)
Season 3
- Alexa Alfia and Brennon Lemieux (married)
- Colleed Reed and Matt Bolton (married)
- Zanab Jaffrey and Cole Barnett (not together)
- Raven Ross and Sikiru "SK" Alagbada (not together)
- Nancy Rodriguez and Bartise Bowden (not together)
If you are counting at home, four of the 17 couples (24%) are still married to this day. Another two couples ended up getting married but divorced after the season aired. The other 11 couples (65%) made it to the altar but broke off the engagement.
Interview with a Season 4 cast member
Ava Van Jenson sat down with New Day Northwest to talk about the upcoming season of Love Is Blind.
Why did you sign up for the show?
Van Jenson: "I was previously married. This was when I was separated from my ex-husband. I was sitting in my room, folding my laundry and the show came in. And I was like, ‘What is Love Is Blind?’ I watched Season 1 and fell in love with Cameron and Lauren. They are so sweet. I love the love that they have for each other. It’s just so pure and beautiful and magical. I just remember sitting and there crying to myself thinking like, ‘Wow, how sad to live a life and never know what that love feels like?’”
What is the Seattle dating scene like?
Van Jenson: “I don’t even know where to begin. In a nutshell, it’s horrible. I remember going on a date with a man who told me ‘I’m dating you and five other men all at once.’”
Tell us about the casting process for the show.
Van Jenson: “The process is actually super rigorous. I think that’s because Netflix was trying to get real people looking for real love and being actually ready to get married.
"This is my second chance getting into this and a second chance at love in this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I think that adds more pressure. As a divorcee, I’m going into this again. I need to follow my heart and how I feel and really focus on a deep emotional connection.”
Describe the experience of being in "the pods."
Van Jenson: “It’s a wild experience, such a roller coaster but so fun and exciting. It’s like speed dating. There’s a wall in between (each pod). You really have to focus on the emotional connection, the communication, a lot of things that you don’t get in modern dating. At first, it was really weird and awkward. You’re talking and you’re like, ‘Who is this?’ Overall, it was a really fun and cool experience. I loved meeting the other women.”
Do you believe love is blind?
Van Jenson: "Absolutely. I truly believe if you go in with the right heart and right mind you can meet your soulmate.”