Cik īsta ir mīlestība ir akla? Aiz pākstīm, labojumiem un drāmām

This article contains some spoilers for the second series of Love is Blind UK

When it comes to love, most of us would like to think that personality and values ​​are our top priorities. But if looks were completely taken out of the equation, would we still fall in love with the same people?

That’s the question at the center of Love Is Blind, Netflix’s hit reality dating experiment.

The show sees singles date each other in “pods,” talking through a wall without seeing what the other person looks like. Only after getting engaged can couples meet face-to-face, then navigate the pressures of a honeymoon, moving in together, and meeting families—all in the whirlwind of a legally binding wedding.

The second season of the British show saw 30 hopefuls enter the pods – five couples got engaged and three said yes at the altar. And yet, a year later, only one couple remains together.

One couple still standing is Megan and Kieran, and when I sat down with them, they couldn’t have looked happier. Megan says life since the pods has been a “hoot” and the couple are having “the best time ever.”

“It’s seamlessly fit into each other’s lives and now we live together,” says Kieran. “We’ve had a really good, fun, silly time. I’m grateful to have been out of the public eye for a year after the experiment.”

Unlike some of the other couples on the show, they insist they haven’t had to overcome any major obstacles. “People will stare at us,” says Kieran, “but it’s been really easy.”

There was some drama between the couple during the show, as Kieran was accused of being disrespectful of Meghan’s gift while he was still dating fellow contestant Sofia.

The couple insist the situation was exaggerated in the editing, with Kieran saying the love triangle was “a bit manufactured”.

“You’re seeing a very small part of a very long experience,” he adds. “Everyone gets to know everyone until you propose, and that’s the point of the experiment.”

The BBC has reached out to Netflix for comment.

The other men on the show who got engaged agree with Kieran and say that viewers are only seeing part of the real story.

Javen, who had a rocky time with his partner Katisha, tells me that “what you don’t see is just as powerful as what you do see.”

Watching their love story left him thinking, “I wouldn’t choose myself either,” but he says that’s because the editing didn’t show “the intimate and vulnerable moments we had.”

“They can only show so much, and they’re making an entertainment show, so I just take it on the chin,” he continues.

He laughs and admits, “I might go back into the comments sometimes, but I don’t really look at the negativity.”

Katisha insists that she and Javen had chemistry, but that the show “highlighted the worst parts of their relationship.”

One thing she says was that the producers asked for the producers to repeat conversations she had with Javen off-screen about the cameras.

“It was hard to discuss it again and make it look like a real conversation,” she says.

Megana un Kieran saka, ka viņi arī atrada šo izaicinājumu un ka lielākā daļa viņu dziļāko sarunu notika, kad kameras nebija apkārt.

“Mums būtu mazliet pateikts par to, ka esam pārāk muļķīgi,” man saka Megana. “Producenti lūgs mūs mazliet dziļāk, un mēs vienkārši smieties.”

Viņu mīlas stāsta skatīšanās atpakaļ uz ekrāna bija “visu laiku dīvainākā lieta”, viņa saka, piebilstot, ka tas jutās kā “melnā spoguļa epizodē”.

Papildus rediģēšanas procesa dēļ, kas jūtas nepareizi, dažas no sievietēm dalībniecēm man saka, ka vīrieši, kurus viņi tikās šovā, šķita ļoti atšķirīgi cilvēki “, kad kameras bija ieslēgtas”.

Bardha, kura saderinājās ar Džedu, bet sacīja, ka viņu kāzu dienā nav pie altāra, saka, ka viņas partneris “nebija tas vīrietis [from] pāksti “.

“Viņam tas viss bija par” kad tas iznāk un es nopelnīju naudu “, tas nekad nebija saistīts ar mīlestību vai nākotnes plānošanu, kā mēs apspriedām. Tas viss izgāja pa logu, kad eksperiments beidzās.”

Džeds stingri noliedz, ka kādreiz runātu par naudu vai slavu, kas varētu nākt no tā, ka viņi piedalās šovā. “Es pat nesaprotu iespējas, kas rodas, jo šī nav mana pasaule, es esmu ģimenes cilvēks,” viņš uzstāj.

Pārējie vīrieši, kurus es intervēju, nāk arī viņa aizstāvībā. Kal, kurš apprecējās ar Saroveru, norāda, ka cilvēki dodas šovā “daudzu iemeslu dēļ”.

“Mēs visi zinām, ka tas ir realitātes šovs, neviens šeit nav mans negadījums,” viņš saka un viņa loceklis Bilijs piekrīt. “Jūs būtu muļķīgi ignorēt visu, kas ar to nāk ar to.”

Neskatoties uz to, ka vairums pāru vairs nav kopā, es jautāju, vai viņi ir kaut ko iemācījušies par sevi vai to, ko viņi vēlas partnerī no pieredzes.

Personīgais treneris Bilijs, kurš strādā armijā, saka, ka cilvēki viņu bieži stereotipē, un viņš cer, ka izrāde liks sievietēm nākotnē viņu redzēt atšķirīgi.

“Es arī tagad visiem došu godīgu iespēju, bet, cerams, cilvēki mani netiesās tikai par PT [personal trainer].

Kalam izrāde bija iespēja pārsniegt pazīstamības robežas. Izrādē viņš skaidro, ka viņš ir tikai iepriekš datējis baltās sievietes, jo Vigans ir mazāk daudzveidīgs nekā daudzas citas Lielbritānijas daļas.

Viņš beidza precēties ar Saroveru, kurš ir Lielbritānijas indiānis, un saka, ka ir “patīkami uzzināt vairāk par viņas kultūru un reliģiju”.

Pēc izrādes viņu attiecības sadalījās. Sarovere saka, ka viņu “aizklāja” sabrukums, kas notika “tik pēkšņi”.

“Kal, kuru es datēju pākstīs, nebija Kal pēc tam, kad mēs apprecējāmies,” viņa skaidro.

Cal agrees to some extent and says he’s “a better communicator in the pods because you can open up a little more in that environment,” but it’s a fact that he “gave it 100%.”

Although only one couple is still together, most participants agree that the experiment offered them a rare opportunity to test themselves, explore love in a unique environment, and in some cases, grow through failure.