The Marketing and Human Nature of Netflix’s “Love is Blind”
Written by: Sofia Armando
(Spoilers for “Love is Blind” ahead!)
I’ll be the first to admit that I am a sucker for watching dating shows. I’ve seen it all, from multiple seasons of “The Bachelor”, to “Too Hot To Handle”, to “Love Island”, and more. However, the show that has made me cringe the most while simultaneously captivating me to return for more drama every season is Netflix’s “Love is Blind”. Yet if there is anything I learned from my time as a reality TV show savant (and in my personal life), it is that love is not blind in the slightest.
For readers who have never seen “Love Is Blind,” the show essentially tests the correlation between emotional connection and physical attraction. Each season starts with 15 men and 15 women who are physically separated for the first part of the experiment, where they date through what the show calls “the pods”. They get to know each other from behind a wall in two separate rooms, the absence of visual and physical contact aiming to hopefully strengthen the emotional connection. The pair only sees each other for the first time after one of them has proposed. This leads to the couples going on honeymoons, living together, getting to know each other's loved ones, and finally, a wedding to determine the ultimate question: is love truly blind?
Seeing as this is a marketing blog first and foremost, I must speak on the different strategies that I feel have been most effective in generating the show’s popularity. "Love Is Blind" utilizes a multifaceted brand marketing strategy that emphasizes storytelling and emotional connection to engage its audience deeply. By focusing on the unique and differentiated concept of forming relationships without seeing each other, the show stands out in the competitive reality TV landscape. The series’ ability to spark discussions and controversy further enhances viewer interest.
The series also leverages social media and the internet to build and maintain viewer engagement and form a community based around the show, potentially utilizing data and audience insights to tailor content and marketing efforts. While not explicitly mentioned, partnerships and collaborations likely also play a role in the show extending its audience reach.
While there have been some couples on the show who have gone on to live happily ever after, the rest of the couples split up during honeymoons and other phases of the show after seeing and getting to know each other in the flesh for the first time. There are usually around six couples out of the 30 singles that make it out of the pods, with only two of them actually saying “I do” at the end. In the most recent season, there was only one married couple to come out of the experiment, and four of the six couples called it quits well before their planned wedding day.
The most memorable and bizarre scenario by far (and my personal favorite) was when Zack and Irina from season four basically admitted to being repulsed by each other during honeymoons after meeting face-to-face. Zack admitted he made a mistake choosing her over another contestant, Bliss, whom he would actually go on to marry. Other couples who didn’t find a physical connection with their partner include Kenneth and Brittany from the most recent season, JP and Taylor from season 5, Deepti and Shake from season 2, Jessica and Mark from season 1, and more.
In exploring the nature of human connection, it is essential to acknowledge the initial role that physical attraction often plays. When we encounter someone for the first time, it's their physical presence that primarily captures our attention. This isn't to diminish the profound depths of personality or the intricate dance of human interaction; rather, it's to recognize that physical appeal often serves as the initial gateway to a deeper connection with someone. It's that spark of aesthetic appreciation — a moment where we meet someone and think, “Hey, this person’s kinda cute and I want to talk to them more" — that opens the door to wanting to understand them fully.
This curiosity about who they are beyond the surface, fueled by initial attraction, encourages us to invest more time and energy into uncovering their personality, values, and life experiences. Sometimes people end up realizing they don’t connect with a person beyond the physical level after getting to know them. Or two people might have a great emotional connection and deeper understanding of each other but conclude that the physical aspect of the relationship isn’t working. And both of these scenarios are ok!
My point is, that while I believe wholeheartedly that a strong emotional bond can strengthen physical connection, that initial spark that I mentioned needs to be in place first for a stronger romantic connection to form and thrive. And I must say that this is not a bad thing! Acknowledging physical attraction as a starting point doesn't simplify relationships into superficial encounters or make us shallow, but rather highlights a living aspect of human nature that leads to profound and meaningful relationships.