Love is Blind might be a feel-good, heartwarming, find-your-true-love show, but the truth is, it’s still a show. Not only that, but it’s perhaps less reality than viewers might expect, too. During Season 1, viewers fell hard for Lauren Speed and Cameron Hamilton as the two fell for each other, and the love triangle between Amber Pike, Matt Barnett, and Jessica Batten had everyone on the edge of their seats.
Yet after the season concluded, and in every season since, the drama only escalated. It turned out that much of the reality TV footage was manipulated and spliced, making the drama more dramatic. The thing is, the cast of Love is Blind signed up for all of that and more from the moment they accepted Netflix’s offer. Here, we’ll discuss the rumored $50,000 fine for contestants who drop out early, the non-disclosure clauses that apply to all cast members, and the rules Love is Blind has that keep contestants isolated to the point that they report developing mental health issues.
Love Is Blind Contracts Have Specific Clauses That Cost Contestants $50,000
Early on, fans suspected that Love is Blind’s cast members were on the hook with their contracts, but they mostly suspected edit-at-will clauses to really heighten the drama in those possibly fake love triangles. In reality, things were apparently much worse for contestants.
It’s been widely reported that Love is Blind contestants are on the hook for $50K if they drop out of filming before Netflix wraps. After a former contestant’s lawsuit was made public, Netflix’s production company, Kinetic Content, got its CEO to publicly respond.
Chris Coelen maintained that cast members such as Danielle Ruhl were free to leave at any time, despite their claims that they were threatened with a fine. As for the $50,000 fine, Coelen confirmed that in the “early seasons” of the show, a $50,000 penalty applied for dropouts.
However, he also noted, “We never have enforced it. We’ve never threatened to enforce it,” before confirming that in “recent seasons,” the clause was removed from the contracts.
A Non-Disclosure Agreement Is Part Of The Love Is Blind Contract
While only a copy of a Love is Blind contract could confirm it for sure, the legal agreements are also rumored to include a non-disclosure clause. One anecdotal piece of evidence in favor of airtight NDAs for all the cast members is the fact that none of the cast can reveal their personal relationships post-filming until the finale airs.
Despite Netflix (and its production company) being a bit behind with airing each season, the cast members clearly can’t confirm or deny an engagement or marriage on their social media accounts. After all, that would ruin the show’s appeal and possibly tank viewership. Once the last episode of the season airs, the cast seems to ease up a bit and post on social media more normally.
However, there are still details that don’t come out until after the After the Altar special — a three-episode wrap-up that comes after the reunion episode — airs. Couples can’t reveal their breakups until after the three-part series airs, which means months of keeping quiet while they wait for Netflix to drop content. Despite criticisms that Love is Blind is dragged out too long, Netflix seems happy with its model — and the cooperation of its cast.
Of course, Season 3’s Andrew bungled it for the production crew when footage of him applying eye drops before filming an ’emotional’ scene was included in the season’s regular footage. Andrew never explained himself (though did he really need to?). Instead, Andrew stated he could not discuss his fake tears due to his contract, which seemed to confirm the existence of NDAs on set.
Love Is Blind Cast Members Agreed To A Life Of Isolation (For A Few Weeks)
Many Love is Blind cast members reported similar experiences on the set, ranging from not being allowed to leave when they asked (Danielle Ruhl stated she was not permitted to leave, for example) to only being given alcohol and energy drinks (Season 2’s lawsuit filer, Jeremy Hartwell) while water was ‘rationed.’
Various cast members have said that sleep deprivation was real on set, with work days up to 20 hours. A key point in the contracts Love is Blind cast members signed, however, is that they were not “employees” of Netflix or Kinetic Content and therefore were not paid by the hour. In the end, cast members reportedly made less than minimum wage while working 20 hour days every day of the week.
While Kinetic Content’s CEO denied most of the allegations by former cast members, he also pointed out that everything that happened to the cast members was something they had previously agreed to. For example, Love is Blind contestants committed to not using their phones or having access to the internet during their time in the pods.
Some former cast members labeled this isolation, and others criticized Netflix for creating an environment that they felt was harmful to their mental health (early on, Season 1’s Kelly Chase wrote that she was surprised there was no mental health support behind the scenes).
Multiple cast members have also discussed the free-flowing alcohol on set, something that viewers picked up on with the show’s trademark (and ubiquitous) gold cups. While the cups became something of a joke, what wasn’t funny was the cast members apparently being denied water.
Jeremy Hartwell has repeatedly made claims — in his lawsuit and in interviews — that Netflix plied the cast with alcohol and didn’t freely give them water, a claim that didn’t seem to have anything to do with the cast’s contracts. Plus, Chris Coelen defended himself and his production company by saying that he even told contestants not to drink too much since the point was to be real and honest with prospective partners (versus being sloshed).
Despite Coelen’s other claims, including that cast members could take a shuttle to their hotel to nap anytime and that water (bottled and tap) was available at all times, the backlash from cast members hasn’t stopped.
It seems that although they agreed to the contract, Love is Blind cast members still felt blindsided going into the experiment.