Exclusive Interview
‘Love Is Blind’: Inside Emma Betsinger’s Emotional Split With Steven Sunday
What To Know
- Emma Betsinger is a current cast member on Love Is Blind Season 10.
- Emma had an early connection with Steven Sunday, but broke things off in the pods.
- She revealed to Swooon the real reason why she broke up with Steven.
[Warning: The following contains spoilers for Love Is Blind Season 10, Episodes 1-6.]
Oftentimes, Love Is Blind cast members will tell you that their person made them feel seen in the pods, even though they were dating through a wall. While Season 10 standout Emma Betsinger ultimately found love in the pods, she was also at the heart of the first major breakup of the season, feeling anything but seen by her early connection, Steven Sunday.
Following the first six-episode drop of Love Is Blind Season 10 (Ohio), Emma sat down with Swooon to break down why she joined the show, why dating sight unseen was important to her, and, of course, why she finally pulled the plug on her relationship with Steven.
According to Emma, the beginning of her Love Is Blind journey was literal kismet. She was actively watching Love Is Blind when she first received a message from production about applying to the show. “It’s so funny,” she explained, “because I was watching Love Is Blind when I got the Instagram DM, and I was like, ‘Is this a joke?'”
Netflix
Of course, Emma ultimately decided to take the leap and join the Ohio season of the dating experiment. There, she told the rest of the ladies why she was thrilled to date sight unseen. “I’m adopted into a White family from China,” she explained. “I also had over 10 surgeries to get rid of a birthmark that would have caused melanoma. So, my whole life has been thinking about the physical aspect.”
“I think dating site unseen is kind of a two-prong thing,” she revealed to Swooon. “Physically, I think it’s someone accepting all of you without knowing what you look like. But I also think it’s meeting someone and connecting on an emotional level when you don’t have any background information. You’re really meeting a stranger and connecting on this deep level. In this experiment, you are dating to hopefully get married to that person, and I think having that in the back of your head makes it so incredible.”
On a personal level, Emma explained, “For me, I was like, I don’t want them to run away. I want them to know everything, and see me for who I am, and then when they see me, we get to have fun. We get to go on dates. We get to, like, do physical [things], but all these emotional things are there, and we have that to ground us.”
Netflix
When it came to dating Steven, Emma was drawn to his personality. She explained, “Steven was very fun. I loved how bubbly, hyper, and just always positive he was. Our connection was very fun. It was casual and cool, and we got to talk a lot about our friends, family, things we like to do, and that just felt very comfortable.”
However, things took a turn when Emma opened up to Steven about her childhood. After answering questions about her first kiss and how she lost her virginity, Steven told her, “I thought I was a late bloomer, too. God, you’re beating me.” Shutting down the conversation, Emma told him, “I don’t like this. I don’t like the comment of late bloomer. I think everyone is on their own journey.”
Looking back at the conversation, which ultimately led to their Episode 1 breakup, Emma told Swooon, “In the end, I just didn’t see Steven with me, so I knew that I wanted to call it off. This particular date, it started fun and casual, but this was the date I was like, I think it’s time. We’re down to three people. We need to whittle it down to two. You’re not the one.”
Knowing they might not be the right fit ahead of their conversation, Emma recalled, “When I told my story, and the response that he gave me when I told him about my adoption, and my medical history, I didn’t feel seen by him, and I think that was also a part where I was like, ‘Okay, this validates my decision.'”
Netflix
That being said, the breakup didn’t happen right away. “It turned into, let’s ask questions about virginity. Let’s ask questions about first dates,” she explained. “I think the late bloomer call out was just very hard for me, because I was not with my friends who had sex when they were in high school, or where they were at this time.”
Emma took a powerful stance on the subject, stating, “For me, there’s no such thing as a late bloomer. Everyone’s on their own path. And I think if he said it to me, or if he said it to someone else, I just feel like that’s not the right thing to say to someone, especially in the context of self-esteem.”
Love Is Blind, Season 10, Episodes 1-6, Streaming Now, Netflix
Love Is Blind, Season 10, Episodes 7-9, February 18, Netflix
Love Is Blind, Season 10, Episodes 10-11, February 25, Netflix
Love Is Blind, Season 10, Episode 12, March 4, Netflix
