Exclusive Interview
‘Love Is Blind’s Patrick Suzuki Opens Up About Anna’s Exit & Feelings for Kacie After Sudden Split
[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers from Love Is Blind Season 9 Episodes 1-6.]
Patrick Suzuki is staying positive despite his Love Is Blind Season 9 journey not working out like he’d hoped. The 31-year-old construction manager made two strong connections in the pods, Anna Yuan and Kacie Anita McIntosh, but Patrick soon had to face unexpected romance twists.
Anna left the experiment without warning. Patrick was stunned, to say the least. He continued to explore his relationship with Kacie and eventually proposed to her. Just hours after their engagement and reveal, a tearful Kacie began having second thoughts. A calm and collected Patrick supported Kacie in not wanting to go to Baja with the other couples and thought they were going to continue their relationship outside the pods. However, unbeknownst to him, Kacie admitted to producers that she wasn’t as attracted to her fiancé as she should be.
Patrick spoke with Swooon about Anna’s shocking departure in the middle of filming, whether he regrets proposing to Kacie, and how he felt hearing Kacie’s comments about him.
Netflix
What was going through your head when you realized Anna had left the experiment?
Patrick Suzuki: I think it was just confusion right off the bat. Just like, what’s happening? Did she really leave? Or is she taking a day off? It was a range of confusion until I realized that she did leave, and then it just hurt. It just kind of sucked because we were really humming, I keep using that word, but we were jiving and had a lot of chemistry, and we’re really enjoying each other’s company. So, it sucked.
Was there a part of you that thought maybe you should leave and go after her?
Patrick: Not really, just because I did not like the abrupt ending. My whole thing was like, I want a really strong woman. I think she’s a strong woman, but this is just a hyper-accelerated pressure cooker situation. I’m going through this experience, and I just kind of want that same person there, so I’m thinking about the person who has that resilience. So, at first, it was kind of a turn-off more than anything, even though I know it’s a high-pressure situation.
When Anna left, did it change your mindset when going back to the pods? Did you feel like you had a bit of romantic vertigo?
Patrick: For sure. That’s a really good way to put it. Wow, romantic vertigo. Anna left in the middle of the experiment, and we still have four or five days left. It was like, I came here for a reason, genuinely trying to find love. I was dating both of them [Anna and Kacie] equal amount of time, right? And it’s like, I still have feelings for [Kacie], too. They’re not as strong right there, but she’s telling me I’m her number one. She’s telling me she cares and loves me. I’m really open to it and really want to give it a chance and and see where the curiosity goes. I tried to move on quickly, open up my heart again, and then see where it was going to go after that.
You did end up proposing to Kacie, and you told her that there was no other girl you could have proposed to. Did you really believe that?
Patrick: The thing is, with Anna leaving, all I’m thinking about is resilience. It’s like, is there a girl here that’s gonna freaking stay, you know? I know how hard it is for the girls. For the girls, it’s way harder than the guys because it takes us 10 minutes [to get ready], and for the girls, they’ve got to do their hair and stuff like that. It’s a lot, you know? There’s parts where [Kacie’s] like, I could just leave, but I actually want to see this out with you. That resilience is something that I really value. That’s one of my top values when it comes to romantic relationships. She’s staying there, and she’s telling me how much she cares about me. And I’m like, damn, I can respect that more than anything. So, like I said, I did mean that because one girl I almost fell in love with bailed, so how could I actually feel that about her if she bailed, versus a girl that’s actually going to stay there at the end.
Netflix
After the reveal, Kacie started second-guessing the engagement and told producers that you deserved someone who is “obsessed” with you. When you got called down to talk with her, what did you think was happening?
Patrick: My intuition was kicking a little bit, yeah. Right away, I’m thinking, is she not wanting to do this? Is she trying to call us off? But the other part of me is like, I gotta hear her out. I gotta hear what she needs to say because I’m really trusting her. Our emotions are super strong right here. We’re basically falling in love-ish. I just wanted to hear her out and see what she had to say and really trusting her and putting my heart on the sleeve there, so I wanted to lean in it more with that intention, rather than a pessimistic mindset because it was like, this is my fiancee. Her word comes first over everyone’s else first until I can figure it out afterwards.
Kacie said she didn’t want to go to Baja and wanted to step away from the experiment. In separate interviews, you believed her doubts didn’t have to do with physical attraction, while she said. “I don’t think my attraction to him is going to grow that much.” Have you since watched that moment and what she said? If so, how did it make you feel?
Patrick: I think, for me, the journey that I went on, I already found closure. I already went on my own healing journey. I think I already had an inclination that that’s what it was, but seeing it doesn’t hurt the healing process, I don’t think.
Do you regret proposing to Kacie?
Patrick: For me, I don’t. I felt like, in that scenario, where I was at in my head, I’m like so badly wanting to be loved for who I am, so curious to see if she actually loves me for who I am. I just wanted to really go through with the journey and see it through. I was hoping that it was going to work out, just kind of jumping in blindly, not really trying to think too much about her flaws or anything like that, just kind of trusting her and trusting the process. Sometimes it doesn’t work out, and I’m not too upset with it.
Love Is Blind, Season 9, Episodes 1-6, Streaming Now, Netflix
Love Is Blind, Season 9, Episodes 7-9, October 8, Netflix
Love Is Blind, Season 9, Episodes 10-11, October 15, Netflix
Love Is Blind, Season 9, Episode 12, October 22, Netflix
