Red flags, trauma and general unhinged behaviour: no we’re not talking about Nick and Vanessa Lachey’s presenting skills, but we are discussing season five of Netflix dating show Love Is Blind, in which couples agree to marriage ‘sight unseen’.
Viewers’ jaws were on the floor over the weekend as the season’s third episode delivered a serious plot twist: namely, that Lydia Gonzalez and Uche Okoroha had been dating prior to entering the pods (the sterile private booths where couples have their dates behind a shared wall).
The news was broken by Uche during a date with his love interest Aaliyah Cosby, when he told her that he had to confess that he and Lydia were previously involved. A flashback showed that Lydia immediately recognised Uche’s voice on the first day of the experiment, although Uche was slower to pick up on the fact he was talking to his ex. Lydia also suggested they could ‘start from zero’ and get to know one another in the pods again, although Uche correctly pointed out it would defeat the object of Love is Blind because they, you know, have intimate knowledge of how one another look.
What followed was a true masterclass in inappropriate behaviour from Lydia. Granted, there is no textbook to follow when it comes to how to chat to your friend on a Netflix dating show when it emerges that you’ve already banged her soon-to-be-fiancé but Lydia could be the blueprint of how not to handle it.
She sat with an obviously tearful Aaliyah, a kind ICU nurse, and listed off all the things she already knew about Uche, including but not limited to: his car (‘You know he drives a Tesla, right?’), his dog (‘Kobe always pees himself when he sees me!’) his friends and his apartment. Aaliyah, during a confessional, admits she has already heard more than enough and would rather find out for herself. Then, Lydia appears to inform Aaliyah that Uche was the one who suggested they make a go of things when the opposite of that is literally captured on camera. In her defence, however, Lydia makes it clear how vulnerable she is, and repeatedly shares that she just wants to be loved for who she is - and watching her crying after being rejected by Izzy was hard.
Reality television, and Love is Blind specifically, would be nothing without its extreme characters. You need the extroverts, the unaware narcissists and the romantics who are so hopeless they think that getting married and moving in together is the best way to get to know someone. What has happened with Lydia in season five is something which is harder to watch. She appears to be weaponising her failed romance with Uche and using it to stop Aaliyah finding a connection with him. Uche’s own red flags when it comes to handling Aaliyah’s confession she had cheated in a previous relationship are undeniable. Viewers of episode five will know if the pair make it to an engagement, but for now fans of the show are left reeling from the most unhinged behaviour we’ve ever seen on Love is Blind. Which is really saying something when there was a woman who fed her dog red wine in season three…