Love Is Blind has once again gripped the nation. The unconventional dating show that chronicles participants dating and later marrying their partner (without initially seeing them) continues to deliver. There have been a lot of controversial moments - and discussion of some of the show's toxic men - that have kept social media talking. Now, one of the creators of Love Is Blind - Kinetic Content’s chief executive Chris Coelen - has lifted the lid on the thoughts of the creators and shared some interesting behind the scenes moments.
One of the most talked about scenes came from Andrew Liu. Andrew was building a romantic bond with Nancy Rodriguez in the pods and later decided to propose to her. However, Nancy turned down his proposal in favour of Bartise Bowden. Thinking the camera's weren't rolling, Andrew applied eyes drops to make out that he was crying on camera. After putting them in he started hysterically 'crying' and acting like he was heartbroken. Fans of the show instantly called him out for his deception.
Chris Coelen explained that he thought the tears were put on and subsequently it was important to keep that footage in. While he didn’t explicitly express his opinion, he told Variety it was his ‘impression’ that it was all for show. He revealed he was in the the control room watching Andrew live during that moment: 'After his rejected proposal, Andrew went back to the interview room and I happened to look over and that’s what was happening. And watching it live, I just could not believe that that was what was happening. It was jaw dropping. I cannot believe he’s doing that. I mean, that’s insane.'
When questioned about the decision to break the fourth wall completely, Chris said pulling the curtain back allowed for authenticity. 'Andrew obviously was a crucial character in Nancy’s story and we wanted to show the essence of who he is, he said.' Adding,' But I think it was very revealing in in the moment as to maybe his motivations in that particular moment.'
But even after the deception why bring Andrew back? He told the publication, 'His interaction with Nancy and his story’s intersection with Nancy’s story really felt relevant. She obviously, at the time that that was filmed, had no idea [about the eyedrops] and we certainly wouldn’t have told her what he did when he went into his interview after. So she had no idea of that. He continued, 'For her, it was like, “Oh, this is Andrew, a guy I spent a lot of time with, who proposed to me.” It felt very real and I think for him too. I think it was a really interesting moment for him really to reveal himself and be in that moment.'
Another controversial moment came from Bartise and Nancy's discussion and opposing views on abortion. While many viewers sided with Nancy's view over Bartise's - Chris explained why they decided to showcase a difference of opinion. He said, 'We try to show the authenticity of their conversations. It’s a testament to both of them and the depth of their feelings for one another and, honestly, the way that they had grown to communicate through their experience with one another in the pods and after that.'
He added, 'They really had developed a love and the depths of communication where they were really adept at being vulnerable and opening up and sharing. This was obviously an issue that was really important to both of them and I think they handled it in a way that was really respectful. I watched all the raw footage of their conversations and what you see on the show is reflective of exactly what they talked about and how they talked about it.'
Well, there you have it!
READ MORE: We Need To Talk About The Toxic Men On Love Is Blind