If you haven’t already watched Love Is Blind on Netflix, what are you waiting for?!!??
It’s got it all: drama, endless crying, questionable behavior, people being called “shiesty,” the list goes on…
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We also now have a behind-the-scenes look at the show with these 10+ rules the cast had to follow!
1. They can’t see each other:
The show is called Love Is Blind for a reason: they’re not allowed to see each other. This is so that an emotional connection can solely develop.
The singles are only allowed to meet each other face-to-face after getting engaged.
2. They can’t touch each other, either:
In the same vein that they can’t see each other, they can’t touch each other either.
There was a wall separating the female pods from the male pods. The physical connection was tested once the couples were engaged and headed off to vacation in Mexico.
3. They only have 10 days to date each other:
If you thought the couples got engaged super fast, there’s a reason for that.
They only have 10 days to just “date” each other.
That’s because the experiment was broken down into three different sections.
There was dating for 10 days, spending time in paradise to develop their physical connections, and then moving in together to face challenges from the real world.
4. Producers call the shots on the first dates:
When the singles were first introduced to the pods, they did a round of speed dating, consisting of around 8-10 minutes each.
“In the beginning, just from a practical standpoint, we have to give them certain time limits just so we can them through and they have a chance to talk to everyone…where they just got to know each other,” Coelen told E! News .
5. They can stay in the pods as long as they want to:
The longest pod session was four to five hours!
“They were there pretty much 24/7. It’s funny because we would encourage them to take [breaks], ‘You gotta eat! You gotta get some sleep!’ But they didn’t want to, they wanted to stay in those pods,” Coelen told Variety .
6. They didn’t have to get engaged if they didn’t want to:
“[On] a show like we do Married At First Sight, you sign up and you know, you’re getting married to a stranger. Here, nobody had to do anything, creator and producer Chris Coelen told Variety .
“It was if you find someone, if you choose. Which is so scary. They don’t have to go through with the wedding ceremony.”
7. They have to get deep:
If you didn’t, you wouldn’t make it through the experiment.
Thankfully, the other singles were there to help.
“Some took longer than others, but every man there went through this ‘vulnerability express’—this transformation, cast member Mark Cuevas told “Oprah Mag.”
“You had to go through it. There was such a big support when you saw someone fighting the experience. We were like, ‘Listen man, what’s up. Let’s talk about this,'” he said .
8. They have to leave if they didn’t make a connection with anyone:
Believe it or not, the show originally had 40-50 singles.
“It became evident as the process went on, from that big group of people, that there were some people that more people were gravitating towards then others,” Coelen told E! News .
“There was a certain point where we did a whittling down of people just to focus internally on the people who were really connecting, to allow them more time.”
“We ended up having maybe 20-25 people in the pods at that point.”
Two additional engaged couples were even cut from the show since the producers didn’t have enough money in the budget.
9. They have to all live in the same city:
The show was filmed in Atlanta and all the singles had to be from there.
“It’s too difficult if you’re from Tampa and they’re from Portland, that just throws another wrench in. We wanted to give them a real shot at making their love and their marriage work,” Coelen told Variety .
10. The couples have to hide their relationship status after the show:
This meant that when the show wrapped up in 2018, they had to hide their love — or anger — for over a year!
This is similar to other dating reality TV shows, such as The Bachelor , as they keep things under wraps for around six months after filming.
11. They aren’t allowed to have their phones:
This was so they could focus solely on the experiment. This meant that wifi was also a no-go (sorry, no Googling their love interests!).
They were given their devices back when the couples were sent to live with each other and face the real world.
12. They have to sleep in less-than-ideal sleeping conditions:
Dating sure can be grueling. The singles only clocked in around four hours of sleep per night.
“We slept in trailers and they were correctional facility beds. The design was to just strip us down from our comfort level,” Kenny told Refinery29 .
