The hit reality dating series Love is Blind has officially been renewed for two more seasons. Netflix announced on Thursday that the social experiment will return for season three, four and five.
Netflix also provided more details for the show’s upcoming third season, which takes place in Dallas, Texas and is set to air in 2022. Love is Blind season two, which debuted on the platform earlier this month, spent five consecutive weeks on Netflix’s global Top 10 list, according to the streamer. Fans of the season two cast will be able to check in on the couples again when a new installment of Love is Blind: After the Altar premieres later this year.
The social experiment involves 30 single folks going on several blind dates in the hopes of finding a lasting love connection, all without seeing each other in person. The couples are tasked with getting engaged not based on appearances, but based on emotional and intellectual connection.
The first season of Love is Blind debuted on Netflix in 2020, and became an instant success. The experiment was even a success for some couples too. Lauren Speed-Hamilton and Cameron Hamilton were a fan favourite couple on season one, and were married in November 2018. Since season one, the two have launched a YouTube channel together and even co-wrote a book together, Leap of Faith. Others weren’t so lucky. For Jessica Batten and Mark Cuevas, the two got engaged in the “pods” without seeing each other, until Batten left Cuevas at the altar.
The reunion special of Love is Blind season two, which dropped on 4 March, proved that time doesn’t heal all wounds for this cast. While the experiment was successful for two of the married couples, the remaining singles still harbored resentment towards their former partners. Since the special aired, the Love is Blind cast has continued making headlines offscreen, from sparking romance rumours to spawning podcast spinoffs.
Spoilers for Love is Blind season two are below
Shayne and Natalie
Natalie Lee is a 29-year-old consulting manager from Chicago, who instantly hit it off with 32-year-old real estate broker Shayne Jansen. The two formed a strong emotional connection in the pods, despite an awkward love triangle between Jansen, Lee, and another contestant, Shaina. Jansen ultimately proposed to Lee and the two left the pods as an engaged couple. However, things didn’t go exactly as planned when they returned home to Chicago.
In the season finale, Lee rejected Jansen after revealing they had a fight the night before their wedding. She said during the reunion special that the fight changed everything for her, and was a wake-up call that the two had big issues to work through as a couple. Lee and Jansen spent some time dating each other after the finale but Lee still couldn’t get past the fight and she walked away from the relationship.
Today, Jansen and Lee are individually focusing on themselves. Last week, the real estate broker shared photos of his body transformation over the last year to Instagram. “It’s amazing when you prioritize yourself and you look as good as you feel,” Jansen captioned the post. “I’ve come a long way in a year and I can finally say I truly love myself.”
Lee, on the other hand, has responded to rumours that she and fellow cast member Salvador Perez are dating. She shut down those romance rumours during an episode of the Tea With Publyssity podcast on 10 March.
“I’m close to Sal,” she revealed on the podcast. “I know that there’s been speculation — ‘Are you and Sal dating?’ — We are not, we’re just really, really close friends.”
When asked if she’s been dating since Love is Blind wrapped, Lee admitted that she’s focusing on herself instead.
“I’m not putting any pressure on myself,” she shared. “If I find someone, I find someone. If I don’t, I don’t.”
Shaina and Kyle
Kyle Abrams proposed to 32-year-old hairstylist Shaina Hurley during season two, but after many bumps in their relationship, they called it quits. Abrams, a 29-year-old construction worker, originally turned Hurley off in the pods when he revealed that he is an atheist. He thought the two could work through their differences, but Hurley — who is a devout Christian — was unable to look past his religious beliefs.
During the reunion special, she apologised to Abrams for leading him on in the pods and accepting his proposal, despite having strong feelings for Shayne Jansen. However, Hurley felt that she was compromising “her relationship with God” by being with someone who is an atheist.
Perhaps the biggest reveal from the reunion was Abrams admitting that he should’ve proposed to Deepti Vempati instead.
“I wish I saw what was right in front of me,” he said about Vempati. “That’s my biggest regret.”
Things seemed to have turned out well for Hurley, however, who is engaged boyfriend Christos Lardakis, according to PEOPLE. The outlet reported that the two have been dating for “almost a year” and he has “stood by her side through all of the Love is Blind drama”.
On 13 March, Hurley shared photos from the couple’s recent trip to Greece.
“My ride or die forever,” she captioned her post.
Nick and Danielle
Nick Thompson and Danielle Ruhl were the first couple to get engaged in the pods on season two. Despite their doubts and fears, Thompson and Ruhl both said “I do” at the altar and were excited to start their lives together as husband and wife. The two revealed in the reunion special that they’re still happily married almost a year later and living together.
Ruhl and Thompson continue to share glimpses into their marriage on Instagram, including dressing up in costumes, red carpet dates, and behind the scenes footage of their first dance as a married couple.
Deepti and Shake
Things started off rocky for 31-year-old data analyst Deepti Vempati and 33-year-old veterinarian Abhishek “Shake” Chatterjee. In the pods, Chatterjee struggled to get past the superficial details, like asking Vempati questions that hinted at her weight and appearance. He ultimately proposed to Vempati, but was soon rejected by her at the altar. In the end, she chose herself.
Chatterjee came in hot during the reunion special, but the rest of the cast of Love is Blind were tired of his antics. Chatterjee doubled down on his sizeist comments and said that having a “big weight discrepancy” in a relationship is “very hard for me to get past that.”
After the reunion aired, Chatterjee publicly apologised to his former fiancée for how he treated her in a video posted to his Instagram page.
“I’m sorry, @lifewithdeeps,” he wrote in the caption. “I’m ready to take accountability for my actions and be better. While I’ve reached out privately, I think it’s also important I apologise publicly for the sake of your family and friends that I’ve upset as well.”
Last week, the veterinarian debuted his new relationship with girlfriend Emily on social media, adding in the caption that “Good things come to those who don’t settle”.
For Vempati, things may be heating up between her and fellow castmate Kyle Abrams, who has posted multiple cryptic videos featuring Vempati on his TikTok account. In an interview with Elite Daily, the data analyst explained that she and Abrams are “figuring it out”.
“Not a lot of people know that we had a really strong connection in the pods,” she said, adding that she is not ruling out the possibility of something between them in the future.
Iyanna and Jarrette
Jarrette Jones proposed to Iyanna McNeely in the pods, but she wasn’t his first choice. Jones, 32, was drawn to McNeely, 27, for her strength despite her challenging upbringing, but the project manager also had a relationship with Mallory Zapata, a 32-year-old communications manager from Chicago. Zapata rejected Jones’s proposal because of her stronger connection with another contestant, Sal Perez. McNeely had reservations after learning she was a second choice, but Jones confirmed to her that Zapata rejecting him only made him feel more confident with his feelings for Iyanna.
When speaking about the love triangle during the reunion special, McNeely revealed that she felt more angry with Jones than Zapata for the way he flirted with her during the pre-honeymoon trip to Mexico. Jones apologised to both his wife and Perez for his actions during the retreat.
McNeely and Jones said “I do” during the season finale. Since then, married life has been a rollercoaster for the couple. Even though they have different personalities and lifestyles, they’ve found a healthy balance between going out and staying in.
Mallory and Sal
Mallory Zapata had a strong connection with Jarrette Jones, but ultimately her relationship with Salvador Perez, 31, won out in the end. Even though the Chicago-based executive assistant proposed to Zapata, their relationship had a rough start once they left the pods. He was insecure about her relationship with Jones, while Zapata was unsure about her physical attraction to her new fiancé.
On their wedding day, Perez turned Zapata down, but the two had an amicable conversation about taking smaller steps in their relationship, starting with a proper date. As it turns out, they met for coffee when the cameras were down, but soon learned that they were very different from each other and the connection fizzled.
Even though Perez has been seen leaving flirty comments under Natalie Lee’s Instagram posts, he also insists that the two are just friends.
“Natalie and I are really good friends. That’s all I can say,” the 31-year-old executive assistant told Entertainment Tonight earlier this month. “We don’t have anything going on. Natalie is just a very sweet person.”
Season three of Love is Blind premieres sometime in 2022.
