“Love Is Blind” ended this month with a whimper as none of the couples said “I do” for the first time on Netflix’s popular reality dating series. The reunion airs on Wednesday at 9 p.m. ET.
In its ninth installment, two engaged couples made it to the altar and both brides-to-be, Ali and Kalybriah, said no to their partners, Anton and Edmond. The third couple who made it to the finale, Megan and Jordan, ended their engagement just before the wedding. Fans have lambasted the season online.
Chris Coelen, creator of “Love Is Blind,” is not deterred by the backlash to this season.
“That’s exactly how the experiment is supposed to work, so I would say not only is the experiment working, I think it’s working better than ever,” Coelen told Tudum. Season 10 was confirmed by Netflix in January.
This season was marked with a ton of drama: several cast members ghosted the process during the pods, a couple contestants had a lot of angst about their Asian identity, a drunken night on the post-engagement trip almost ended a relationship and yes, one dater had pod sex, essentially, with herself and then pretty much immediately broke off her engagement after meeting her husband-to-be.
HuffPost staffers chat about the five couples who made it through most of the season and explain why this should be the very last season of “Love Is Blind.”
Kalybriah and Edmond L. Harvey in “Love Is Blind.”
Edmond and Kalybriah
Sigh. Honestly, I went into this season really, really rooting for this couple. Yes, Edmond is really eccentric, and Kalybriah is way more straitlaced, so it was definitely turning out to be an opposites-attract situation. But something about them really made me excited to watch “Love Is Blind” again. Then, we got to the post-engagement trip and well, Edmond started trippin’. He was sooo upset that he was the only guy who had not had sex with his partner among the other cast members, and had a full-on meltdown. Throughout the season, we saw them struggle through a bunch of communication breakdowns, where often Edmond would try to end the disagreements by saying “you know I love you” a bunch of times. Jamila Bell on TikTok clocked something in Kalybriah’s vows. KB said “I fell in love with your story,” not “I fell in love with you.” KB is a social worker, so that line sounded like something someone might say if they were trying to fix the person or help them work through certain issues. I’m not sure KB was ready to accept Edmond for the way he is, like Bell says in her video. This just wasn’t a match, and I wanted them both to end this relationship before they got to the altar. — Erin
It really pains me that we only had one Black couple to root for this season, and one that obviously had too many issues to overcome in the short time of this experiment before heading to the altar. Edmond and Kalybriah started off really strong in the pods, but their connection quickly started to fall apart post-engagement. A lot of that had to do with too much miscommunication, but there were also a handful of incidents where the two just clearly weren’t a great fit for each other. Edmond’s big blow-up over Kalybriah’s past and her wanting to wait for sex was red flag No. 1. He also made an offhand comment during one of the cast gatherings where he suggested she never said anything nice about him, which rightfully pissed her off. However, there was one argument where Kalybriah was again expressing her frustrations with Edmond not showing up as the kind of partner she needed at that moment, and she called him out of his name.
The tension between them had reached a point where almost all of their interactions seemed unpleasant. I wasn’t at all surprised that Kalybriah turned Edmond down at the altar, especially with how carefully she chose her words in her vows. I just knew she was trying to find the best way to let him down easy. Looking back on their whole journey, Edmond and Kalybriah seemed to have developed a solid friendship in the pods, but I don’t think that was ever going to be enough to sustain them in a marriage. I wonder if they kept in touch after calling off the wedding because Edmond seemed genuinely hurt and shocked that KB told him no. But honestly, it was for the best. — Njera
Ali Lima in “Love Is Blind.”
Anton and Ali
Wow, were we completely wrong about this couple? Yes. I definitely thought they were a match at first! But then, it became very clear that Ali had a lot of expectations that Anton was just not going to meet. She didn’t like him drinking after work every morning; she didn’t like how much he went out partying with his friends before he got engaged. It didn’t seem like Anton was totally on board to help support her while she went back to school, either. But quite frankly, as the season went on, I just didn’t think they actually had any chemistry. They both were giving absolutely nothing to the audience; I almost fast forwarded through their scenes. I look forward to seeing Ali on other Netflix dating reality shows, like “Perfect Match,” and I hope we actually get to see more of her personality. — Erin
I really shouldn’t be surprised that these two didn’t tie the knot either, considering how off the rails this entire season went. But I thought, out of all the couples, Ali and Anton would have found a way to work through their issues and get married for the sake of the show — they sure wouldn’t be the first. I feel like Anton was going to say yes at the altar, but once Ali picked up on all his red flags — the drinking, his partying — she already made her mind up that she wasn’t ready to commit to him or his lifestyle. The conversation she had with her family and friends in the finale seemed to seal the deal, too, once they started discussing Anton’s line of work.
Ali does seem like the perfect contestant for “Perfect Match,” so I wouldn’t be surprised if we see her on a future season. Maybe she’ll have better luck on that show since a blind dating experiment clearly didn’t work out in her favor. — Njera
Jordan Keltner and Megan Walerius in “Love Is Blind.”
Jordan and Megan
I don’t think I’ll ever understand how or why Megan and Jordan didn’t realize they weren’t right for each other until the season finale. I’m just grateful they had enough sense not to waste their friends and families’ time and split at the altar. Still, it became painfully obvious these two weren’t going to make it after they had that tense argument about Jordan’s lack of conversation and effort when Megan expressed wanting more from him. In the end, Megan felt like they were just too different, and she wasn’t prepared for Jordan’s “rigid” lifestyle as a father. I knew the latter was going to become an issue, considering how much she talked about wanting a partner she could travel with wherever, whenever, which was obviously not going to be Jordan. After their breakup, Megan admitted she was initially excited about Jordan being a single father, but didn’t think through how that would also alter her lifestyle. I felt bad hearing her admit that she didn’t think she was cut out to be a stepmom. But rumor has it that Megan is now a mom (news that she’s expected to reveal at the reunion, according to TikTok speculation). The Sun also recently revealed photos of her out with a mystery man and a newborn baby, so it seems she’s in a totally different headspace now. — Njera
I’m also not sure if this was exaggerated through the editing, but I thought it was really weird that Megan kept saying it was a sign from her dead father that Luca had Type I diabetes just like her dad did. It just turned me off every time she said it. It seemed like that was the only thing she cared about in respect to Luca — other than the fact that she kept saying she could be a good mom to him like he doesn’t have a mom, but I digress.
I do wonder if Megan ended up buying a house in Denver, but I guess we can find out about that at the reunion. I had fun going house shopping with them in one of the earlier episodes, even though it seemed like Jordan was SUPER uncomfortable throughout that whole ordeal. Megan and Jordan’s updates are probably the ones I’m looking forward to the most at the reunion. If she really had a kid, good for her. But also, Netflix needs to be faster about producing and airing these seasons. — Erin
Joe Ferrucci, Madison Maidenberg in “Love Is Blind.”
Joe and Madison
We deserve compensation for having to witness this train wreck of a relationship. From the pods to the breakup, Madison never should have had to endure whatever Joe was going through all season. If anything, Joe should have gone on a show like “Perfect Match,” where there is just overall less pressure. He is NOT ready to be married. Madison deserved better; she seemed truly like a really nice person. — Erin
I need whoever was behind Season 9’s casting to come forward and explain why on Earth Joe was chosen for this show. In no way did he seem ready to be in a serious relationship with anybody, let alone ready for marriage. I feel so bad for Madison because she genuinely seemed like she came on here looking for love, only to walk away with one of the most jarring dating experiences we’ve ever witnessed on this show. I was shocked she got over Joe’s drunk fiasco on the couple’s trip so quickly, only for him to continue to gaslight her over being excited about their impending nuptials. He seemed so terrified at the thought of going through with their wedding, but I don’t understand why he’d even sign up for something like “Love Is Blind” if that was his biggest reservation. Or maybe he just wasn’t in love with Madison like he thought, and couldn’t figure out how to tell her. Either way, Madison truly deserved better. Joe completely wasted her time, and ours. I hope he offers her a better explanation at the reunion because he seemed so unbothered during their breakup. — Njera
Nick Amato and Annie L. in “Love Is Blind.”
Nick and Annie
Oh boy, so much to say about Nick and Annie’s breakup. Something always felt a tad off with these two. It goes back to that first spat they had on the couple’s trip when Annie got upset because she didn’t think Nick was “all in” on their relationship. That issue came up more than once during the season, which Nick seemed a little fed up with at one point. After all of Annie’s mini crashouts, I wasn’t shocked that Nick decided to end things. I guess he saw one too many red flags and just wasn’t willing to ignore them. Nick wasn’t my favorite on the show, but I’m honestly glad he broke up with Annie because I don’t think she was actually in love with him or genuinely wanted to marry him. She seemed more in love with the idea of those things and got upset that he wouldn’t go along with it. Her telling Nick, “It’s not fair of you to give me a no,” was my last straw because she really tried to manipulate him into marriage. That situation seemed like it was only going to get more toxic from there. — Njera
There seemed to be a lot of off-screen drama with Nick that I kind of wish we had actually seen play out on screen. Other cast members including Joe had such a negative perception of him that I wonder what we did not see. That said, Annie seemed pretty impossible to navigate after the engagement. And Nick kept falling into traps while they were getting to know each other outside of the pods. I just kept waiting for this train wreck to crash and burn. I didn’t really see a real connection between them. — Erin
‘Love Is Blind’ Needs To End
I was more excited about Lauren and Cameron’s pregnancy than I was watching this entire season. I truly don’t think any season of this show will ever capture the magic of Season 1. Sure, experiments aren’t always successful. But at some point, an experiment should end after not yielding the kind of success you’re looking for. Season 10 seems to be already in the works, though the location hasn’t been disclosed. I imagine we’ll find out during the reunion episode this week. But hopefully it’s early enough to also announce that it will be the final season of this show. It was fun while it lasted, but I’m exhausted. Watching couples who barely know each other try to decide if they want to get married is like watching a nonsensical horror story unfold. You don’t know why anyone is doing what they’re doing, yet you’re scared for them like you could actually intervene to help. I’m ready for Netflix to find its next wild and crazy TV series because “Love Is Blind” is no longer a good look. — Erin
Listen, we’ve been having the same complaints about “Love Is Blind” for the past few seasons now, but almost nothing has changed since. Casting is still a hot mess, hardly any of the final couples stay committed to the experiment, and, quite frankly, the show itself is becoming less and less entertaining. If viewers aren’t going to have any good love stories to hang on to, we at least need enough interesting drama to still make this a decent reality show. And as of lately, we’ve been getting neither. I agree, if this social experiment is going to keep failing, it’s time to reevaluate whether the show is still a worthwhile cause, because we, the viewers, are tired. — Njera
“Love Is Blind” is streaming on Netflix.
