[Warning: Potentially Triggering Content]
Love Is Blind producers aren’t happy after several of their cast members just put them on blast for alleged mistreatment!
We already know fans have been upset with certain aspects of the show for a while, but lately, plenty of contestants have been coming out of the woodwork, too. On Tuesday, Business Insider released a scathing new report in which several participants of the Netflix show called out the producers.
Season 1 contestant Briana Holmes told the outlet she went on the reality show hoping she “might find my husband,” but she “had no idea it was going to be a lot of emotional warfare.” Damn. Quite a strong phrase!
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Season 2 star Danielle Ruhl even chimed in. As you’ll recall, she married Nick Thompson on the show, but they split last year. While on the show, her struggles with mental health were evident, and she claims things got so bad, she hid in the closet during a panic attack. The reality star reportedly told producers she wasn’t mentally stable enough to continue on the show. The associate marketing director was even surprised she passed the show’s psychological screening in the first place since she disclosed a past suicide attempt. When she was at her lowest during the show, she begged to leave, saying:
“I kept telling them, ‘I don’t trust myself. I’ve tried committing suicide before. I’m having suicidal thoughts. I don’t think I continue in this.'”
Whoa. It’s unclear what producers did or didn’t do to help her at this time, but she remained on the show for its entire run.
Related: Cole Barnett Reveals He’s In ‘Much-Needed Therapy’ Following Love Is Blind
Elsewhere in the report, season 1 contestant Danielle Drouin said sleep deprivation “was real” and that producers “do it on purpose because they’re trying to break you. They want you on your edge.”
Season 2 contestant Jeremy Hartwell was the first to slam the series’ producers when he filed a lawsuit against Netflix and the production company Kinetic Content in July 2022. He claimed there wasn’t enough access to food and water, among other things.
In response to the Business Insider report, Kinetic Content hit back with:
“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.”
As for the lawsuit, they said in a statement:
“Mr. Hartwell’s involvement in season 2 of Love Is Blind lasted less than one week. Unfortunately, for Mr. Hartwell, his journey ended early after he failed to develop a significant connection with any other participant. While we will not speculate as to his motives for filing the lawsuit, there is absolutely no merit to Mr. Hartwell’s allegations, and we will vigorously defend against his claims.”
Hmm. No matter who’s right in this case, does that sound a bit like gaslighting to y’all, Perezcious readers?
Now we’re curious if the producers will react to the backlash about their show’s hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey! As Perezcious readers know, fans have set up a Change.org petition requesting the hosts be replaced. Over 24,000 people have signed the petition, which states the couple “seem to be much more concerned with directing as much attention at themselves and their personal lives rather than focusing on the contestants that are actually participating in the experiment.”
Meanwhile, Paul Peden, who appeared in season 4, also complained about Vanessa’s hosting after the reunion. He was pressed several times about why he split from Micah Lussier after saying he couldn’t picture her as a mother. He told ET:
“I was like, ‘F**k, man.’ They kept drilling, drilling it down on me. I think I said my piece. I think Vanessa might have had a little bit of personal bias in that scenario or at least I kind of detected that. I don’t know. But that’s just my assumption based on how she continued to drill into it after I gave my full rationale for why I felt the way that I did.”
We’d be really interested in a response to this host debacle, but judging from the production company’s aforementioned statements, they’d probably just blame it all on the reality of reality TV. Thoughts?!
If you or someone you know is contemplating suicide, help is available. Consider contacting the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, by calling, texting, or chatting, or go to 988lifeline.org.
[Image via Netflix]
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