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The Love Is Blind Season 4 reunion wasn't just a live stream fail. It opened up a big ol' can of worms about how mental health and wellness are addressed on the Netflix series.
The conversation seemed to begin across social media following the technical difficulty-ridden live event, with people commenting on the insensitive nature of Vanessa Lachey's repeated questions about having kids.
People noted how invasive it is to ask a woman about her reproductive choices on live TV. To do so multiple times was just cringy and uncomfortable to watch.
#LoveIsBlind the reunion is always nauseating to watch because of Vanessa Lachey. She picks sides, cuts people off, bullies the male cast, pushes motherhood onto women, and generally tries way too hard to be cool. Netflix please just let Nik do this solo😭
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Days later, Insider came out with an explosive piece featuring a few former contestants speaking up about their treatment during filming. Here's what they had to say:
1. Briana Holmes, a mental health professional who was a contestant on Season 1 before choosing to leave the show early, alleged she experienced 20-hour filming days, one of which culminated in her having a panic attack.
"They literally chased me off of the set to the trailers, cameras in my face," Holmes told Insider. "I'm like, this is too much. I don't want this. I don't want to be here. I don't want to do this."
2. The article also points to Season 2 contestant Jeremy Hartwell, who sued Love Is Blind's production company, Kinetic Content, alleging several labor-law violations and subjecting the cast to "inhumane working conditions" while paying below LA's minimum wage, per Variety.
3. Also discussed were Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson, the Season 2 couple who got married (and later divorced), who said the show left them in a "dark place" once it was through.
"You thrust us into this situation without any support, and everything's amplified," Nick told Insider of the situation. "It literally ruins lives."
His experience inspired him to start a nonprofit, the UCAN Foundation, which aims to "provide mental health and legal support to past, current, and future reality TV contestants."
4. Ruhl told the outlet she was surprised she passed the show's mental health screening ahead of filming because she disclosed a past suicide attempt.
She was also heartbroken that confiding in a producer about her struggles with her body image turned the subject into a central part of her story on the show.
In another incident, she fainted while drinking champagne after going hours without eating, sleeping, or drinking sufficient water. She was tested for COVID-19. When it came back negative, producers put her right back into filming.
An even scarier moment came when Ruhl began having suicidal ideations during a panic attack. "I kept telling them, 'I don't trust myself,'" she said. "'I've tried committing suicide before. I'm having suicidal thoughts. I don't think I can continue in this.'"
5. Since the Insider piece, Amber Pike (who married Matt Barnett in Season 1) has admitted that she and her husband "are together IN SPITE of that show not because of it."
Amber went so far as to tell fans that she told producers "to stay away from us."
6. Recently, Season 4's Jackelina Bonds shared her experience with The Wrap, revealing she was told she wouldn't be going to the Season 4 reunion out of concerns for her mental health.
"They had me talk to a psychologist, and the psychologist was the one that told us that we weren’t gonna go. That was how it went down," Bonds told the outlet. "They called on a three-way [conference call], and they were kind of, 'Oh, due to your mental health, we think it’s best for you to… not come to the reunion.' It was like a two-day turnaround. They told us the day before [the reunion]."
7. Shayne Jansen has previously spoken out against the notion he was on drugs on the show, though he did say his ADHD and anxiety were exacerbated by sleeplessness from participating in the show.
"My wedding day where I looked like I was coked out of my mind, I didn't sleep for two days straight because I had no idea what she was going to say at the altar, no idea," the Season 2 contestant said on The Viall Files. "My mom was in town, my whole family was in town. I was so embarrassed, my anxiety was going crazy."
Kinetic Content issued a statement to PEOPLE statement following the Insider piece, noting, "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."
You can stream Seasons 1–4 of Love Is Blind on Netflix. The show has been renewed for Season 5, so we'll get to see at least one more group of singles hit the pods — perhaps in a healthier way.
What do you think of all the controversy? Who should be held accountable? Discuss in the comments.
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. Other international suicide helplines can be found at befrienders.org. The Trevor Project, which provides help and suicide-prevention resources for LGBTQ youth, is 1-866-488-7386.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline is 1-888-950-6264 (NAMI) and provides information and referral services; GoodTherapy.org is an association of mental health professionals from more than 25 countries who support efforts to reduce harm in therapy.
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