In various seasons, a number of contestants have spoken about their political beliefs. There was the coyly conservative: “I’m a huge patriot,” season six’s Sarah Ann Bick said by way of sharing her exact views. And the reformed Trump voter: During the seventh season, set in Washington, DC, Stephen Richardson shared that he voted for Trump in 2016 because he “didn’t like Hillary [Clinton],” before voting for Joe Biden in 2020. “I will happily admit that my first vote wasn’t the most educated vote,” he said. Floyd’s murder is mentioned numerous times during the Minneapolis-set eighth season, with contestant Sara Carton opting not to say “I do” because she wanted to be with someone who has thought more about their views on “equality, religion, [and] the vaccine.” Far-right commentators were predictably incensed by Carton’s decision to call things off with the more politically ambivalent Ben Mezzenga. After the episode dropped, Fox News host Laura Ingraham wrote on X, “Let’s find him a nice, conservative 20-something girl.” Conservative commentator Tomi Lahren replied: “He dodged a bullet.”

Love Is Blind may feed our desire to dive into all of the polite dinner conversation taboos: sex, religion, politics, and even a probing debate over US military service from a safe distance. And although Coelen intended to make a dating show stripped from the distractions of modern-day technology, the isolated pod format actually mimics some of the realities of current dating-app culture: one in which people meet at a distance, largely getting to know each other through messaging on various platforms, Googling one another, and inspecting the other’s Instagram feed before finally meeting face-to-face.

When Love Is Blind is successful—remarkably enough, two of those season one couples are still together—we happily tuck into another season, soothing ourselves with the idea that looks don’t matter and political differences can be overcome. When it doesn’t, we do, in fact, turn a blind eye—much like sitting through that botched reunion livestream, refreshing Netflix with hopes of an actual connection. Of the 14 marriages that have occurred from 30-plus engagements on Love Is Blind over the past nine seasons, six have ended in divorce. So, no, love is not blind, but our belief that it could be endures—perhaps because, under the guise of mindless escapism, it reflects so much of our current moment back to us.