The Pods
‘Love Is Blind’ Secrets: All the Behind-the-Pods Scoop You Should Know
The pods are about to reopen, but before they do, we’re taking you inside for a behind-the-scenes look at Love Is Blind.
Since its premiere in 2020, Love Is Blind has grown to be one of the biggest reality dating shows in the world. Following a collection of single daters who enter a dating experiment and vow to explore romantic connections without seeing each other face-to-face.
From their first meeting in the pods to their wedding day decision, it’s clear that a lot of off-camera work goes into creating the love stories we see onscreen. Now that the beloved Netflix show is heading into its ninth season, fans have begun to wonder how the dramatic process really works. Peeling back the curtain—or luminescent inter-pod wall, that is—it’s clear that the production secrets are just as interesting as the show itself!
From unconventional wedding planning to a bizarre casting process, scroll to find out all of the juicy behind-the-scenes secrets about Love Is Blind.
Courtesy of Netflix
You’re not always alone in your pod
During an interview with Kaitlyn Bristowe‘s Off The Vine podcast, Madison Errichiello let listeners in on what goes down in the legendary Love Is Blind pods. According to the Love Is Blind Season 8 and Perfect Match Season 3 star, the on-camera dater is not necessarily alone in the pod. Instead, “slider pods” have a population of two!
Discussing the camera situation in the pods, Madison revealed, “There’s a camera [in front of you], and there’s a camera behind you that’s like a robo-cam. But then there’s a man that just like slides back and forth.” She then specified, “It’s not in all pods, so we called them the slider pods,” generally reserved for daters with more screen time. Madison recalled, “I think I had a slider pod most of the time.”
Dates are scheduled through a mutual matching system
Ever wonder how pod squad members move on from Date 1 to Date 2? Netflix disclosed during their behind-the-scenes look at the Season 8 pods that the singles are in charge of their own connections after at least one date with everyone.
“On Day 1, everyone gets the chance to know everyone, but a mutual matching system determines who gets a second date,” Netflix wrote. However, the streamer revealed that producers never tell the daters who is sitting in the pod across from them, as “contestants are only told the pod number and date/time.” This has led to multiple instances of someone mistaking one of their connections for a different person—we’re looking at Shayne Jansen!
Courtesy of Netflix
Pod Squad members have been approached by casting through dating apps
Should we call it cast-fishing? According to multiple alums, the Love Is Blind casting process is a little unorthodox. While there is a thorough online application where potential pod squad members can submit themselves, casting has been known to approach singles on Tinder!
In an interview with Critical Edge, cast member Cameron Hamilton recalled, “I know, for Season 1, at least, they were using Tinder and other dating apps, and they would pretend to be a woman.” According to the Season 1 star, “they would pretend to be looking for a date and they’d be like, ‘Hey, we’re actually casting for this dating show. Are you interested?'”
During an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Cameron’s Season 1 costar Damian Powers also revealed that he was scouted on Tinder. He stated, “They actually found me on Tinder… Started chatting with this girl, hit it off, she’s like, ‘Add me on Instagram.” Had like a pretty good connection. And then she’s like, ‘I’m a casting producer.'” Needless to say, he was shocked!
The wedding planner never meets the couples
As Love Is Blind‘s wedding planner put it, “As I’m designing these weddings, I am also blind.” In an interview with Tudum, art director and celebrity event stylist Slomique Hawrylo broke down her process for putting together every wedding on a given Love Is Blind season. She stated, “My team is designing five weddings, and they’re back-to-back-to-back-to-back.”
With so much to plan in such a short time, each couple is handed a questionnaire about how they envision their special day. Hawrylo told Tudum, “I don’t get to meet my cast at all. What I’m doing is looking at what they write on a piece of paper, and getting the feelings and emotions from that. It’s capturing their style, what they want, a certain color.”
When it comes to paying for the wedding, she made it clear that production covers the cost, within reason. “Couples will only take on costs if there are particular things they really want that [production] wouldn’t know how to get [given the timeframe],” Netflix has said. As for guests, the budget allows for each couple to have 80 to 100 people in attendance. And yes, the marriages are all legally binding.
Courtesy of Netflix
It’s not technically cheating to talk about physical attributes
Many a Love Is Blind cast member has let details slip about what they look like while they are still in the pods. While the entire point of the show is to get engaged “sight unseen,” Love Is Blind creator Chris Coelen confirmed during a Season 1 interview with Bustle that discussing their looks is not against the rules, it’s just discouraged.
According to the creator, “No one is told what to say or what not to say — it’s completely up to them.” When it comes down to it, “Ultimately, some people did talk about physical appearance, while others chose not to — because the whole point was to try and find someone to fall in love with for who they are on the inside.”
Love Is Blind, Season 9, October 1, Netflix
