The Love Is Blind Season 7 reunion came and went, and I’m not sure that any of us are better for it. Between Hannah Jiles apologizing to Nick Dorka for treating him cruelly throughout the season before immediately throwing him back under the bus, Nick’s journal entry about his aspiration of becoming “the most famous person ever” on Love Is Blind being exposed, Alex Byrd and Tim Godbee disagreeing on nearly every aspect of their past relationship, and Stephen Richardson somehow getting out of it all relatively unscathed, the reunion episode was every bit as messy as I expected.
While messy is not necessarily bad for a reality dating show, the reunion lacked any convincing growth or change coming from the cast in the time since filming. Following a season characterized by far more drama and toxicity than actual love, I had been hoping (against my better judgment) for some kind of redemption – something that made me feel the way Clay Gravesande’sapproach to last season’s reunion did. Instead, the reunion episode felt like the sour cherry on top of a truly ick-worthy season and left me feeling even more eager than before to forget Season 7 of Love Is Blind altogether.
‘Love Is Blind’ Season 7 Was Missing the Love
From early on in the season, Love Is Blind was marked by uncomfortable dynamics between more than one of the Season 7 couples. Hannah’s disappointment with Nick as her partner was made apparent from the moment they met outside the pods when she told the camera that she felt he had been dishonest with her regarding his appearance, as he didn’t meet her expectations of what he would look like. Hannah’s subsequent mistreatment of Nick only worsened from there, at times becoming difficult to watch, like when she told Nick she would treat him as an equal when he starts “contributing like an equal” in Episode 10.
Alongside Hannah’s harsh delivery were Stephen’s unnecessary and somewhat alarming lewd comments, which started during his time with Monica Davis in Mexico and came to an end after he was caught sexting with another woman. Even the couples that seemed promising at first, like Alex and Tim and Marissa George and Ramses Prashed ended up going their separate ways, and, judging from the reunion, it seems not-so-amicably. While it was… nice to watch Taylor Krause and Garrett Josemans’s love blossom from the pods to the altar, it felt as if their romance was shrouded by all the negativity and general grossness of the rest of Season 7.
The buzz outside the show has taken on a similar tone, with cast members receiving an overwhelming amount of hate online and Ashley Adionser and Tyler Francis’s love story being diminished by all the speculation surrounding Tyler’s sperm donor controversy. All of this has left the primary concept of the show, love, hinging on a single couple and a bitter taste in my mouth. Still, as I am a glass-half-full kind of person, I found myself desperately searching the reunion episode for some positive light to cast on the seventh season of Love Is Blind.
The ‘Love Is Blind’ Reunion Could Have Redeemed Season 7
As we saw from Clay in Season 6, the Love Is Blind reunion episode presents the ultimate opportunity for redemption – for cast members to demonstrate some personal growth, take accountability for their actions throughout the season, and even show a little empathy toward their fellow castmates. Despite the messiness and seemingly lack of true remorse from the cast during the Season 7 reunion, there were some moments of vulnerability – even coming from those who struggled to show it. Despite her tough exterior, Hannah was on the verge of tears for at least a brief moment after being asked how she felt about the “Hannah who sits here today.” Can we call that progress? Unfortunately, the Season 7 reunion still left me feeling dissatisfied (and like I needed a moment to take some conscious breaths or a loofa to my brain) in that it seemed like not much had changed between the cast in the time since filming and that cast members like Nick and Monica didn’t get the apologies they deserved.
In the absence of any closure whatsoever, I’ve decided to chalk this season up to being made up of flawed — some perhaps more deeply than others — individuals and show some empathy where the cast members didn’t or couldn’t. After all, they are in a situation most of us can’t relate to, on top of having lived entire lives before being on the show that we haven’t seen. While this doesn’t excuse some of the behaviors we’ve witnessed from the cast this season, I’ve decided it’s reason enough for me to move on from all the toxic chaos of Love Is Blind Season 7 without taking any of its negativity with me.
