What Love Is Blind Contestants Are Forbidden From Doing

As the dating scene appears to be growing more superficial by the year, the creators of the Netflix original series "Love Is Blind" have sought to test how impactful physical attraction really is when cultivating meaningful romantic relationships. To maintain the integrity of this social experiment, contestants of "Love Is Blind" are required to comply with strict guidelines set by the production team to ensure that the results of their efforts to prove the "blindness" of love are as authentic as possible. These guidelines include restrictions on communication between male and female contestants, eligibility, communication with the outside world, and confidentiality about their experience with the show, as well as the results of the experiment.

Though some forbidden behaviors may seem self-explanatory, others appear a bit more odd. All of the requirements and regulations imposed on the contestants are manifestations of the show's creators, production team, and Netflix's efforts to keep viewers on their toes to see if love truly is as blind as one might think.

Over the course of several "Love is Blind" seasons, contestants and creators of the show have come forward to express their thoughts, justifications, or ire regarding its rules and restrictions.

The fact that the men and women of the show are forbidden from seeing one another isn't news to anyone. The show is called "Love Is Blind" because it aims to test if physical appearance is critical to forming romantic relationships or if strong bonds can be formed without actually seeing one's potential partner. To maintain the integrity of the show's premise, male and female contestants are forbidden from seeing each other until they choose to become engaged.

In an interview with E! News, "Love Is Blind" creator Chris Coelen was very open about the intent behind the creation of the show and why it's important for contestants to be on board with the experiment. "The goal is try to find someone that is there for the same reason, they want to be loved for who they are," Coelen stated. "If you do, the idea is that over the course of the time you are there, if you genuinely fall in love, it might be the person you ask to spend the rest of your life with. And they knew that, and they knew that if they found someone they would get engaged sight unseen, that was part of the deal."

The pace at which engagements occur is up to the contestants; they can pop the question before the end of the initial 10-day dating phase, on the 10th day as the initial part of the experiment concludes, or not at all, at which point, they would leave the show.

Aside from the social experiment aspect, the truth about "Love Is Blind" is that its other main purpose is to connect singles looking for love in monogamous relationships, so it may be evident that one must actually be single to participate. However, this requirement does limit the eligibility of polyamorous individuals.

Since the first season of "Love Is Blind" was filmed in Atlanta and featured residents of that area, local news outlets have taken an interest in the show's progression as the series continues to renew and produce more seasons. In August 2024, The Augusta Chronicle published an article that detailed the casting requirements for those interested in participating in "Love Is Blind." Included in the list of eligibility criteria was one section dedicated to relationship status: "Must be single, not currently involved in any committed, intimate, or monogamous relationship. Can't be married or in the process of obtaining a divorce or annulment of a marriage."

When asked about casting requirements in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, the show's creator, Chris Coelen, stated the importance of commitment in those wanting to participate in the show. "We have a great casting department and they reached out to people who they felt would be genuinely interested in this kind of commitment," Coelen said. "I think that's really key ... We wanted to be really dealing with people who were genuinely interested in it." The vetting process for potential contestants is intense and includes in-depth interviews, psych evaluations, and background checks.

Those who haven't watched an episode of "Love Is Blind" might ask themselves how love is supposed to spring up between contestants if they aren't allowed to be visible to one another. The simple answer? Pods.

The pods are expertly crafted, soundproof compartments where contestants go to date their potential spouses. The pod experience is very confined and private (despite the cameras and microphones). Other contestants cannot hear what is happening in another couple's pod, and according to Chris Coelen, the producers have no involvement in the conversations that happen between contestants that are inside. The pods maintain the integrity of the experiment by ensuring that contestants cannot see each other but allow for connections to be made through intimate conversation. Coelen described the purpose of the pods in an interview with Variety, saying, "They'd talk to each other through a wall in a really intimate, comfortable setting where they know [the person they're talking to] is right there on the other side of this wall. They can't touch each other, they can't see each other, but it's almost as if they can feel one another's presence."

Communication between contestants of the opposite sex outside of the pods is strictly forbidden due to the nature of the experiment and the desire of the production team to capture any meaningful conversations. Being that communication is confined to the pods, contestants can access them at almost any time and for nearly as long as they want, so they aren't missing out on many opportunities to converse.

The right to decide who dates who on "Love Is Blind" is reserved for the production team. In the interest of time (and good TV), production organizes quick, eight to 10-minute "speed dating" rounds to kick off the show so that contestants can get a taste of each participant of the opposite sex. Afterward, production is responsible for deciding who dates who, though they do take the contestants' feelings into account. 

Creator Chris Coelen explained production's role in facilitating dates in an interview with E! News, stating, "In the beginning, just from a practical standpoint, we have to give them certain time limits just so we can them through and they have a chance to talk to everyone ... where they just got to know each other."

In an interview with Variety, Coelen explained that producer intervention is needed to make sure that only contestants who felt a mutual connection were paired together for dates. "We would set it up so they had the opportunity to talk to everybody," Coelen explained. "Then from that point [it was monitored]. Let's say somebody really wanted to talk to you and you're like, 'Yeah, I have no interest in that person.' You're not going to talk to them. It doesn't matter. We're not going to arrange people to speak to one another where somebody's like, 'Yeah, I don't want to talk to that person.' We just wouldn't do that."

Since the pod-dating phase of the show is only 10 days, it's essential that "Love Is Blind" contestants fully commit to the experiment without distractions. To ensure that time in the pod isn't wasted on screens, phones are not allowed inside at all, and there is absolutely no internet access inside the pods either. 

The dating timeline in the pods is admittedly much shorter than what the contestants would experience while dating on the outside; however, the amount of actual quality time spent together in the pods is comparable to weeks of traditional dating if done correctly. Without the distraction of screens, "Love Is Blind" contestants can spend hours having unscripted conversations to know the deepest parts of one another without interruptions from the outside world.

Contestants are encouraged to enjoy activities together that do not include scrolling or mindlessly watching movies or TV, and the production team plays an integral role in organizing fun and engaging date activities for the contestants to participate in. Creator Chris Coelen explained to Oprah Daily how the production team helped to create almost true-to-life dates for contestants that were meaningful and screen-free, saying, "They'd say, 'I'd love to have a dinner of lasagna with this person. So, we'd get them some lasagna! ... They could do whatever they wanted, other than to touch each other or see each other." 

Aside from not being able to see members of the opposite sex during filming, "Love Is Blind" contestants aren't even allowed to be in the same living space during the experiment.

During the first season of the show, men and women slept in gender-specific trailers on the studio grounds. Kenny Barnes, a contestant from that season, told Refinery29, "We slept in trailers and they were correctional facility beds. The design was to just strip us down from our comfort level." However, due to the uncomfortable nature of that arrangement, the contestants were moved to hotels in subsequent seasons. According to Netflix, any time contestants left their hotel rooms, they were led by a member of the production team to make sure they didn't accidentally run into or see any contestants of the opposite sex.

In the aforementioned interview with Refinery29, other members of the first seasons' cast offered insight into the friendships built in the men's and women's lounge areas between pod sessions. Lauren Speed said, "The girls were with the rest of the girls and the guys would be with the other guys. We did everything. We baked, we had a twerk class. We would just have conversations, talk to each other about our experience, play pool. It was literally a sorority." Barnes explained that much the same happened on the guys' side, recalling, "There were so many different things: plank challenges to get some testosterone and stress out. I baked a cake for the guys because I love cooking and stuff like that."

Though "Love Is Blind" participants must be engaged before seeing their future spouse for the first time, putting a ring on it doesn't mean they're in the clear to share the good news with their friends and family. The conclusion of the pod-dating phase and the engagement is only the first step in the "Love Is Blind" journey. Sure, engaged contestants can finally see the person they've been bearing their souls to for nearly two weeks. However, there is still another requirement between them and sharing their new relationship status with their loved ones: the post-pod vacation.

The purpose of this romantic getaway is to build a physical connection to match the emotional bond that has already been formed throughout the previous stage of the experiment. To test the couples' physical compatibility, the "Love Is Blind" production team sends the newly engaged couple on a tropical getaway.

To minimize the chance of potential spoilers (and false hope of a wedding if the engaged couple decides to split on the trip), production attempts to limit the amount of information that goes out during filming. If the couple returns home with their relationship intact, they are then allowed to inform their friends and family of their engagement.

After the pod dating, romantic getaway, and the couple's return to "real life," it's finally time for the "Love Is Blind" contestants to plan their wedding (within the perfectly reasonable timeframe of two weeks). Because the production team gives contestants a budget to plan their special day, there are guidelines for the planning process to keep costs reasonable. Included in those wedding guidelines is a guest limit of about 80 to 100 people.

The "Love Is Blind" production team partners with a wedding planner who handles all of the season's weddings at once. According to Netflix, couples are given a wedding planning questionnaire to complete while they enjoy their romantic vacation. Slomique Hawrylo, the celebrity wedding planner who has coordinated the "Love Is Blind" weddings since 2020, gets most of the information about the couple from those questionnaires without meeting them. Contestants are welcome to share their desires for their special day with Hawrylo's team, but it is up to her to make it all happen within the budget provided by the production team.

Despite the fact that "Love Is Blind" contestants might date, find love, get engaged, and get married over the 38-day course of the show, they are still asked by the production team not to announce their relationship to the public until the show airs, which could be a year after filming. There aren't any legal repercussions for sharing hints about the season's results before it airs, but it is highly discouraged. This suggestion doesn't apply to informing family and close friends of one's change in marital status (they were probably at the wedding anyway).

"There are no requirements," Creator Chris Coelen told the Los Angeles Times in 2022. "But there's a strong suggestion that we would love to have people enjoy watching them go through this experience. I know we're in a culture where we broadcast everything to the world and do whatever; part of this experiment is about not doing that. People are going to do what they're going to do. But I think generally people buy into the idea that this is something that they do not want to spoil for the audience."

Season 4 couple Brett Brown and Tiffany Pennywell gleefully shared a heartwarming Instagram post about their year of marriage after their season aired. Brown captioned his video compilation of moments shared with his wife, "Keeping a whole marriage a secret for a year isn't easy but that didn't stop us from living our lives! Here's a sneak peek into what we've been up over the past year. More to come!"

The same confidentiality courtesy rule regarding the status of "Love Is Blind" relationships also applies to those whose pairings don't work out. Whether contestants break up during the course of filming or after they tie the knot, it is equally vital in the eyes of the show's creators to maintain some mystique around the season before it airs. In order to keep suspicions about the show's trajectory at bay, contestants who find themselves single during that lull after filming are asked to date privately until the show is available for viewing.

Unfortunately for the show's premise, the low success rate of "Love Is Blind" couples who get engaged on the show seems to prove season after season that love probably isn't as blind as one would like to believe. Though there are a few successful marriages to come from the series, most of the hopeful "Love Is Blind" couples decide they can't actually envision spending the rest of their lives with the person they met in the pods just one month prior.

Compliance with the courtesy rule to keep these relationship flops is worth all the effort as contestants have the perfect opportunity to reveal all of the ins and outs of their relationship mishaps during the live reunion episodes that aires soon after the release of the entire season on Netflix.