n 2020, Netflix released a one-of-a-kind dating reality series that had millions of users from all over the world glued to their screens, watching the experiment on which the show was premised play-out. Within weeks of its premiere, “Love is Blind” shot to the streaming platform’s number one trending programs, attracting 1.5 million viewers for its initial episodes, and maintaining the high viewership to attract 2.5 million viewers for its reunion episode. Since Netflix doesn’t offer a comment section, the show’s viewers took to other social media networks to discuss their thoughts on whether (or not) love is blind. The different views that the discussion attracted lead to the question, is “Love is Blind” too good to be true? Keep watching to find out what psychology and biology say about the show.

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Premise

“Love is Blind” has a unique format. Fifteen men and women are selected and isolated from the rest of the world, kept in a secret location with all the amenities except their phones, computers, and any other device they could use to communicate with any other people besides each other, or use to learn anything about each other. The men and the women stay in the same chambers separate from the other gender, and only interact through pods that allow them to hear each other but not see each other. Every couple gets a few minutes in a pod before switching to speak to other people.

Once two people get to know each other and believe they are falling or have fallen in love with each other, they become engaged, and are only then allowed to see each other for the first time. The engaged couple then proceeds to a resort for a few days, before going home to meet each other’s families and friends and plan their wedding. The second most important day in the show, second to the day a couple says its first words to each other, is the wedding day. The show’s producers ensure that the participants understand the weight that their choice at the altar carries for their future, and with this understanding in mind, couples are asked to decide whether love is blind at the prompting of their wedding officiant in front of their families, friends, and guests in the full glare of the cameras.

The Science of Love

Nick Lachey hosts the reality series alongside his wife Vanessa. At the start of each season, Nick repeats the same phrase about a belief held by psychologists that the key to longevity and success in marriage is a strong emotional connection, not physical attraction. While many discredit the statement as an attempt at sensationalism, to get the show’s audience to believe in the premise of “Love is Blind,” his claims are backed by science.

In 2013, the American Journal of Sociology published a study evaluating the relationship between communication and connection among 900 couples in heterosexual relationships. The couples featured in the study were part of a speed-dating program, and the study found that it took a couple an average of four minutes to establish a strong and meaningful relationship. Furthermore, communication was a more significant indicator of a couple’s level of connection, compared to their physical appearance. The study’s findings provide a psychological foundation for the approach that “Love is Blind” employs to help participants find love.

The environment the show creates for participants speeds up the process of falling in love; this phenomenon is founded in biology. Falling in love and experiencing new things both activate the same part of the brain that releases dopamine. Attempting to find love in a novel environment under the watch of the entire world floods the brain with twice the dopamine, triggering the brain to fall in love faster. Biology may confirm that “Love is Blind” contestants are kept in an environment that makes them fall in love faster, but this raises a crucial question, “Could the dopamine rush be misleading the show’s participants into believing that they are truly in love?” We think not. The following couples prove that the participants fell genuinely in love, and the dopamine rush just escalated the process of falling in love.

Lauren and Cameron

It’s impossible to talk about the successful couples from “Love is Blind” without mentioning Cameron Hamilton and Lauren Speed-Hamilton, who participated in the pilot season of the show. They met for the first time in 2018 in the pods, after struggling to find love. Lauren chose to participate in the show to find a partner who wasn’t attracted to her for her looks, while Cameron wanted to find true love after picking the wrong people by focusing on their looks rather than personalities. Since Lauren and Cameron are both introverts, the pods allowed them to get to know each other without the inhibitions and pressure of dating in the real world. After five dates in the pods, Lauren and Cameron were ready to spend the rest of their lives together.

When the two became engaged, well-wishing fans wished them prosperity while skeptics followed keenly, looking for any indication that their relationship was either staged or superficial. The couple proved them wrong by maintaining the strong emotional connection they had built in the pods, long after leaving the facility. They met and established relationships with each other’s family and friends, and talked about their future. When Lauren walked down the aisle towards an emotional Cameron 40 days after their first conversation in the pods, there was no doubt in the minds of everyone watching that they would say “I Do.”

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Today, five years later, Lauren and Cameron are still going on strongly. While they appear to be as in love as they were at the beginning of their relationship, they don’t approach love and marriage with rose-colored glasses. They are open about the hard work and sacrifice it takes to build and maintain a happy and fulfilling marriage. The couple is planning to expand its family soon, and is actively trying for a baby. 

Amber and Barnett

Lauren and Cameron may be the couple that has made most skeptics believe that love is blind, but the show has produced several other happy couples – Amber and Barnett immediately come to mind. Unlike Lauren and Cameron, who instantly knew they were meant to be, Amber Pike and Matt Barnett walked a longer route to find each other. Matt was getting to know more than one woman, and was torn between Amber and Jessica. When they got together eventually, their different approaches to financial management threatened to split them up. Fortunately, they worked through their differences, said “I Do” at the altar, and have been married for five years.

Alexa and Brennon

The second and third seasons of “Love is Blind” brought new participants for viewers to love and get behind. Several couples stood out, reminding fans of the great love story between Lauren and Cameron. Unfortunately, only one of the three couples has stayed together until now. Alexa Alfia and Brennon Lemieux are the picture of devotion and shared values, although ironically, they come from different religious and cultural backgrounds. They demonstrated a rare and soft connection, never raised their voices at each other, and offered mature advice to other couples who became engaged in the show’s second season. They joined the successful couples who came before them in confirming that love is blind, by saying “I Do” 40 days after their first meeting and have remained devoted to each other in the two years since they filmed the season.

Love Is Blind's Alexa and Brennon – Are they still together now? https://t.co/4RQuCIHMpU pic.twitter.com/B7chBClmq7

— Digital Spy (@digitalspy) October 27, 2022

Verdict

Clearly, “Love is Blind” has produced couples who have defied all odds, and silenced critics by falling in love with their partner’s personality and values, forging a strong emotional connection, and putting in the effort to stay together and make their respective marriages work. Although the start of their respective relationships was unconventional, the couples the go through the stages of a regular relationship, such as meeting each other’s friends and families, planning a wedding, discussing their living arrangements, finances, and children, and living together. Their success alone is proof that the show is not too good to be true.

However, the show has produced several failed relationships that disintegrated before the couples made it back from the resort, even at the altar when one potential partner said “I Don’t,” or ended in divorce after successful weddings. The high number of failed relationships and broken marriages would prove that the show is too good to be true if they didn’t reflect a similar state of marriage and relationships in the real world. In the United States, where the show is set and draws participants from, an estimated 41% of first-time married couples end up divorcing. Therefore, the few failed relationships alongside the successful ones prove that “Love is Blind” is not too good to be true. Ultimately, as in all relationships, only time will tell how long Lauren and Cameron, Amber and Matt, Brennon and Alexa, and the couples who said “I Do” in the recently concluded Season 4 actually stay married.

Isaac Martinez is one of the rare patients featured in “My 600-lb Life” who mostly did what they were supposed to do, yet didn’t receive the often life-saving operation from Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, better known as Dr. Now. Nonetheless, he has a bright future ahead of him, since news reports revealed that he’s slimmed down further. We studied what happened to Isaac after he left the TV show in the ninth season.

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Isaac went private after initial success

Some viewers initially thought that Isaac was finding excuses for not caring about his health, not even after having a cardiac arrest, i.e., a heart attack, which had stay in a coma for a week at 22. Although he didn’t start immediately, the event made him want to turn his life around; hence, he auditioned for the show. However, as his episode progressed, viewers learned that Isaac had a difficult childhood. Moreover, he was still preoccupied with cooking for his family, while caring for his mother undergoing cancer treatments.

Nonetheless, the reality TV star lost over 100lbs or 45kgs, and Dr. Now approved him for a weight loss operation if he continued progressing for the next two months. He did so before going silent about his journey, only posting unrelated updates to his social media profiles. Still, his updates indirectly let viewers know that he was alive and well and living a fulfilling and happy life.

He had childhood trauma and many obstacles

After making his debut in the show at 23, Isaac admitted to having many struggles growing up that led to morbid obesity. He stated that he used food as a coping mechanism after his mother’s stroke, forcing him to be the caretaker for his siblings at 10, meaning he had to cook a lot and quickly. Isaac also had food allergies as a child, which impacted his meal choices. Moreover, Isaac went through another difficult situation as a kid; he lost his grandmother at six and moved in with his aunt, changing the familiar environment before his mother’s diagnosis.

All these events had impacted his social life and everyday physical activities, meaning that he reached 300lbs or 135kgs by 14, when he was diagnosed with cellulitis, a possibly life-threatening bacterial skin infection, and the 450lbs or over 200kgs by age 16, eventually forcing him to use a walker.

Although he solved some of those issues, his attention remained on his household, and he disregarded his health and underlying problems. Besides being a caretaker for his mother battling ovarian and uterine cancer, he cared for his family by cooking for them, and starting side hustles from home, which he would later advertise on Facebook.

Isaac is more physically active today

Positive diet and exercise habits that Dr. Now instilled in Isaac gave results after the show ended. During a year featured in the show, he went from 660lbs or 300kgs to 540lbs or 245kgs and qualified for bariatric surgery. While he hasn’t specified his current weight, based on periodic social media updates after the show, Isaac is ‘more active than before and confidently carries his body weight.’ He clarified that he no longer uses a walker, and doesn’t require daily assistance.

He never mentioned the operation, meaning he likely chose not to go down that road, or perhaps, as many fans suspect, had used the money for his mother’s treatments. As if his financial situation wasn’t challenging enough, he told his Facebook friends that someone stole his father’s truck on 8 October 2022, along with a construction machine in the trailer. He reported the incident to Lancaster police, but neither he nor his sister Juanita revealed whether they tracked it down.

He is or was a student

His social media profiles imply that he’s been working on his social life, has attended a university or college full-time, and has potentially graduated by now. However, Isaac omitted whether he attended the same Houston institution that awarded him a scholarship for his musical talent several years ago. Viewers may remember him mentioning dropping out of school while in the show, to help his mom.

Furthermore, toward the end of his episode, Isaac reconnected with old friends; he’s presumably continued building those relationships nowadays. As for his romantic life, his Facebook profile mentions that he’s single, and hasn’t leave his home state.

Isaac turned a passion into a business

It’s unclear whether Isaac was passionate about crocheting during the show, but some fans think that many pictures in his house were crochets inside picture frames. Whether that was the case is irrelevant; on 2 February 2021, Isaac made his devotion to needlework technique to create scarves, hats, and yarn dolls public.

Isaac posted his first work, a blue pom-pom scarf he made for his dog Pablo, then followed it up with a picture of a poncho his niece Carolina wore. After his followers praised his skills, Isaac spotted an opportunity and started a business, Made To Love, based in Dallas, Texas, doing personalized crochet projects with a two-week turnaround. He also developed product lines, such as his TSR Bucket Hat, which he makes in different colors.

Isaac had moderate success on “My 600-lb Life”

Isaac wasn’t the show’s biggest loser, as he’d barely lost 120lbs or 55kgs between the first and last measurement. However, he went to therapy with Dr. Paradise to solve his food addiction problems, which led him to snack while cooking for his large family and many friends. Dr. Now believed in Isaac too, approving him for a gastric bypass surgery two months ahead of time, as long as he stayed on track.

All this helped him do beneficial things he had always wanted, personally and professionally, and allowed him to be there for his family, while inspiring fans. He also unexpectedly attracted an audience willing to support his crocheting talent.

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He got out of a rut

Although Isaac rarely mentioned his progress, he evidently stopped seeing food as a source of happiness and comfort. He’s sticking to his promise at the end of the episode, ‘not to make any more excuses and to make my family proud.’ He admittedly didn’t slim down to the extent that patients such as Sarah Neeley, Milla Clark, or Christina Phillips did. Still, it gave him energy for the things we mentioned, and everyday activities such as watching movies or attending church with friends in his hometown of Hutchins, Texas. Although fans wish to hear, see, or read more about his post-show life, Isaac keeps to himself, staying authentic, instead of leveraging his brief time on-screen to become an influencer or a reality TV star.

TLC’s “1000-Lb Sisters” gives viewers a glimpse of the struggles and difficulties of the weight loss journey from the perspectives of two sisters, Tammy and Amy. In the three years during which TLC has aired four seasons of the show, fans have walked with the sisters through their initial visits to the doctor, in their attempts to follow strict diets and exercise plans, their respective weight loss surgeries, and through their life long journeys of maintaining their desired weight to avoid regressing. At the beginning of the reality television series, the sisters pledged to walk the journey together and have continued to support each other, even when Amy reached her goal years before Tammy. Despite the sisters’ close bond and vow to be there for each other, they have occasionally butted heads and served-up one of their classic shouting matches before quickly making up and going back to their dynamic of loving and protecting each other fiercely. Here are Amy and Tammy’s biggest feuds.

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4. Contents

   • 1 “I am Not Your Mother!”
   • 2 “I Am Your Sister, Not an Animal.”
   • 3 “Who is the Bad Guy?”
   • 4 “I Am Not Your Slave!”

   “I am Not Your Mother!”

Over the seasons, Tammy has dated a few men. Around the time when she and Amy made the pact to lose weight she was dating Phillip, but Amy was worried that Phillip didn’t have good intentions for her sister, particularly since he was rumored to have a fetish for big women. Furthermore, Amy felt that Phillip was distracting Tammy from her weight loss goals.

Tammy lashed out at Amy, accusing her of being overbearing. An angry Amy told Tammy she could not be her mom to which Tammy responded that she’s a grown-up and knew that Amy was not her mother. In their feud, Amy revealed that Tammy had been in other relationships with men who had ulterior motives, such as Jerry, an enabler who had a fetish for watching Tammy eat. The feud ended with Tammy asking Amy to stay out of her business. and shouting that she’s a grown woman.

3. “I Am Your Sister, Not an Animal.”

When the sisters made the pact to transform their lives, it quickly became evident that Amy was more motivated and put in more effort to lose weight. She had just married Michael, and wanted to expand the family they had created by having a child. Her dedication paid of,f and her doctor declared that it was safe for her to have a child after a successful gastric bypass and her determination to keep off the weight. She had her and Michael’s first child in November 2020.

While the birth of Amy’s son and Tammy’s nephew was a happy moment for the sisters, it brought on more responsibilities for Amy, who was forced to evaluate her previous responsibilities. One of the duties she had to abandon was taking care of her older sister, Tammy. Ever the responsible sister who put Tammy’s needs ahead of her own, Amy suggested getting Tammy a nurse, and reported that she’d already set up some interviews for the following week, starting a feud between the sisters.

This time, the feud involved other members of the family as well. However, Tammy directed most of her vitriol at Amy, calling her a “dumbass” and warning that the suggestion was just making her angry. In a confessional, Tammy claimed that, by getting her a home aide to help her as Amy took care of her son, the family was treating her like an animal. She rubbished the suggestion as one that disrespected her, robbed her of her dignity, and treated her as if she was invisible. As usual, fans and viewers sided with Amy, and accused Tammy of refusing to take charge of her life, do things for herself, take responsibility for her choices and actions, and treat other people, particularly Amy, with the respect she demanded for herself.

2. “Who is the Bad Guy?”

Amy had taken the doctor’s advice seriously, followed the recommended diet and exercise regimen, lost enough weight, and had weight loss surgery. She went from weighing 406lbs to 250, while Tammy’s weight remained unchanged. Fans noted that Tammy blamed Amy for reaching the weight loss goals they hoped to achieve together, without her.

Fans’ observations were confirmed when the sisters had a feud in their therapist’s office during a session, during which Tammy complained that Amy refused to bring back the food she asked her to buy every time she went food and grocery shopping. Amy responded that she only wanted to help Tammy manage her diet, to which Tammy responded by accusing Amy of being equally terrible at making and eating healthy food. Tammy insisted that Amy only lost weight because of the surgery, not because of any effort on her part to lose weight. When Amy attempted to interject and defend herself from Tammy’s accusations, Tammy accused her of being callous. The heated feud ended with the sisters trading accusations of making each other out to be the bad guy, before their therapist took over and changed the topic.

1. “I Am Not Your Slave!”

Amy and Tammy’s biggest feud started on a spa day two weeks before the sisters were due for their final check-up, to determine whether they’d qualified for weight loss surgery. Amy treated her sister to a mani-pedi, but getting to the nail salon required them to go up a flight of stairs. The minor inconvenience had Tammy lashing out, much to the chagrin of viewers who called her an ungrateful perennial complainer. Amy noted her sister’s lack of gratitude, and expressed her frustration over trying to help someone who gave up at the first instance of discomfort, and was rude to any person who tried to get her to look beyond her comfort zone.

The sisters’ feud at the nail salon was minor but the seed of disagreement that Tammy had planted earlier bloomed once they got home to Amy’s house, after having manicures and pedicures. Tammy was sitting on a couch while Amy walked across the room. Tammy asked Amy for some water, which Amy delivered dutifully before joining Tammy on the couch. A few moments later, Tammy asked Amy for some peanut butter. An exhausted and frustrated Amy complained that Tammy kept asking her for things separately when she could ask for everything she needed all at once, or get what she needed herself. 

Amy’s response triggered a barrage of complaints from Tammy, who accused her younger sister of having an attitude, and spewed the characteristic and hostile vitriol she reserves for Amy. At the height of the feud, Tammy cursed at Amy, telling her to shut up, and adding that she would start getting up from the chair and engaging in any physical activity when she chose to, not when any other person told her to. Typically, Amy calms down or tries to pacify Tammy when she throws a tantrum. This time, she didn’t back down, accusing Tammy of turning her into a slave and called her out for being blind to every other person’s pain besides hers. Amy ended the fight by telling Tammy to grow up before walking out of the house. The feud left both sisters frustrated and in tears.

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Evidently, the sisters feud often. Fortunately, they make up every time and go back to holding each other up and being each other’s support systems. Amy has stood by her sister’s side when she went to a food rehabilitation center, almost lost her life and fell into a coma, and had weight loss surgery. Tammy reciprocates by being there for Amy when she needs help, such as offering her a place to stay for a few months during her separation from Michael.

All of this apparently makes for good television, as viewer numbers are constantly maintained!