Marissa’s George’s mother, Vanessa, is hands down the meanest parent ever introduced in the Love is Blind franchise. When introduced to her daughter’s pod love interest Ramses Prashad, a program associate at a Justice reform non-profit, Vanessa sneered at his clothes and hair before deducing he wasn’t good enough for her daughter. After questioning the reality star about his employment, college history and financial portfolio, Marissa’s mother saw the Venezuelan transplant as a threat to her daughter’s future. She accused Ramses of trying to live off of her daughter’s upcoming financial stability and demanded Marissa call off the wedding if he wouldn’t sign a prenuptial agreement.
Marissa immediately apologized for her mother’s behavior, but audiences were shocked at their polarizing personalities, especially because she emphasized how close she was to her mother. Marissa’s bubbly personality and optimistic, hopeless romantic demeanor was a stark contrast to her mother’s cynicism and pessimistic perspective on love and relationships, but in Episode 12 we learn why Vanessa was so protective of her daughter’s heart.
Ramses and Marissa have several conversations alerting fans of possible impending doom, but at the end of episode 11, Ramses can’t fight his internal conflict and makes the difficult decision to break things off with Marissa. She is completely blindsided and heartbroken, so much that the scene which picks up in episode 12 is difficult to watch. Marissa’s tear-soaked sobs reveal her deep love for a man that doesn’t feel the same about her. After leaving Ramses, Marissa goes back to her apartment and calls her mother. As soon as she picks up the phone, Vanessa can sense something is wrong. “What’s wrong? What happened?” she asks. Hearing Marissa’s sobs would bring out the mother bear.
Marissa’s Mom Predicted Her and Ramses’ Demise
Out of all the ladies in the pods, Marissa’s heart was possibly the purest. She approached the other women and her time in the pods with the potential suitors with an open heart and cheerful perspective. In the women’s quarters, Marissa was known for making the other women smile and laugh, and spreading positivity in every conversation captured on camera. The energy spent attempting to stand up against her mother’s impending doom-filled outlook on love and marriage created an optimistic childlike perspective in Marissa that is both beautiful and fragile at the same time. She revealed the effects her relationship has had on her mother in a recent interview with Glamour Magazine. “First off, she needs therapy, as I said on camera. I think my mom and I have a very interesting relationship, because she was 17 or 18 when she had me. I know from therapy that a lot of my people pleasing tendencies come from my mom trying to mold me to not fall on the same path as her,” Marissa explained.
Like most mothers, Vanessa realized her daughter’s strengths and weaknesses. She cheered Marissa on with her military career and in her pursuit of a law degree, but she was extremely protective when Marissa’s focus shifted to romantic relationships. Vanessa knew her daughter’s heart was fragile and also recognized Ramses would not be able to protect her daughter’s heart. Ramses didn’t have a problem with signing a prenuptial agreement, but after all was said and done, Marissa believes her mother was able to see something in Ramses that she didn’t see herself.
“She felt that he was very different from who I’d dated before, and she felt like ultimately, he would never be able to keep up with my lifestyle because he didn’t have a degree. She puts a lot of emphasis…I mean, that’s that generation, right? Go to school, get a degree. And she said that she felt like he had a superiority complex. She tried to give him a chance,” Marissa shared. Vanessa was also unmoved by Ramses explanation of his previous marriage and why it didn’t work. “My mom was like, “Don’t explain marriage or divorce to me.” That came across harsh. She’s just trying to say he was talking down to her. And she’s saying, I’m done with this conversation, you’re trying make yourself sound like a saint. So she kind of saw through that, and she also saw that I would have to carry him in the relationship. She was like, “You’re gonna have to carry that man emotionally. You’re gonna have to take care of him.” And I saw that.
Marissa and Ramses’ Breakup Was Heartbreaking to Watch
Even after her mother shared her strong dislike for Ramses, Marissa was still convinced they were meant to be. In their break-up scene, Marissa asks Ramses twice if he is sure about the decision to break things off. He remains unmoved by her visual heartbreak and insists he would rather end things now than hurt her five years down the line. Her Glamour interview reveals that she even attempted to reconcile with him six months after their breakup, proving her love and commitment to Ramses was real and extended beyond the pod experience.
Marissa says both her mother and Ramses would benefit from therapy because it would help them appreciate themselves. Hopefully, she’ll remain in therapy herself and her upcoming sessions will help her balance her mother’s influence. After nearly a year away from Ramses, she came to understand that he wasn’t the great love of her life that she was led to believe in the pods. Ramses proved Vanessa right, but he’ll probably also live to regret the way he broke up with Marissa.
