Of all the cringe-worthy, dramatic and hilarious moments from Netflix’s latest Love Is Blind reunion episode, Shaina Hurley’s near-constant squinting was the most meme-able.
Hurley, 31, appeared on the reunion episode on Friday 4 March to speak about her experience on the second season of the reality dating show, but fans focused on her narrowing her eyes whenever other people were speaking.
The facial expression was so prevalent that Hurley’s squinting has been used as a meme on Twitter countless times and even by the official Love Is Blind Instagram account.
In the days following the episode, Hurley took to Instagram to explain why she had been squinting throughout the sit-down talk with hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey and the rest of the cast.
In a series of Instagram Stories, which have now expired, Hurley said: “I wear contacts, OK? I’ve been squinting ever since I can remember.
“I’m always getting yelled at, like: ‘Stop squinting! You’re going to get wrinkles.’ That’s why I probably have wrinkles.”
She continued: “Every time I go to the eye doctor, they tell methat I don’t have astigmatism, and I’m like: ‘I think I have astigmatism, or my eyes are getting worse.’ And my contacts have been the same. I’m like a -5.25.
“I am blind basically, but, love is blind.”
Astigmatism is a treatable condition that occurs when the eyeball isn’t completely round, resulting in blurred vision at all distances. People with astigmatism may experience eye strain, difficulty with night vision and squinting.
Hurley became engaged to Kyle Abrams while on the Netflix series, but broke off the engagement soon afterwards due to differences in their beliefs.
She told Entertainment Tonight that she “completely regretted” accepting Abrams’ proposal, adding: “I could have avoided a lot of further messiness and drama. I’m working on it.
“It goes back to my people-pleasing and I didn’t want to hurt him. And at the end of the day, he ended up getting hurt.”
