Love Is Blind creator and showrunner Chris Coelen has responded for the first time to the allegations that the show has “inhumane working conditions.†In 2022, season 2 contestant Jeremy Hartwell filed a lawsuit accusing the show of being denied “access to a phone, food, or any other type of contact with the outside†for hours at a time. Hartwell’s suit said the production companies restricted food and drink, “regularly refused timely food and water to the Cast while on set severely restricting the availability of hydration opportunities.†Meanwhile, the cast was “plied with an unlimited amount of alcohol without meaningful or regular access to appropriate food and water to moderate their inevitable drunkenness.†These accusations were accompanied later by season 2’s Nick Thompson and Danielle Ruhl, who said the show lacked meaningful mental health support.
Ruhl claimed she had disclosed past suicidal ideations, but was cast anyway. Speaking to Variety, Coelen denied she had said anything to production before filming. “These are very serious issues that she describes,†he said, “and if her recent allegations about her mental health history are true, unfortunately she didn’t disclose this before filming.†Ruhl told Variety that she had conversations with producers and therapists before filming, but nothing was written down.
Ruhl also said that during filming, she had a panic attack and suicidal ideations, and wanted to leave the show. Coelen denied this. “She never asked anyone in production ever to leave the show. She was free to leave the experiment at any time, as many participants have in the past,†he said.
To the claim that the show doesn’t support the mental health of participants, especially after filming has wrapped, Coelen said the show offers to reimburse cast members for therapy: “We consistently reiterate to people at the end of their time in the experiment, ‘We really urge you to seek aftercare.’ Even for people who don’t feel like they ‘need it,’ I encourage it, because I think you’ve spent a lot of time here talking about your feelings, and to all of a sudden just stop talking about your feelings, to me, would not be the best course of action.â€
Coelen acknowledges that cast has their phone, internet access, and travel restricted during filming. He says the show is very transparent about that, as it’s part of Love Is Blind’s experiment. “We tell them that they won’t be able to travel freely while they’re in the pods. We tell them they won’t have phones or TV or internet service in the pods or in their hotel rooms where they stay or in the romantic getaways,†he said. “You’re asked to stay in your hotel to protect the integrity of the experiment. We disconnect their phones and internet so they can’t get online because people are tempted to look people up.†As for the claim that cast are deprived of food and water, Coelen says the cast has catered meals multiple times a day, bottled water, and sinks in the lounge.
In a statement, Hartwell stood by his lawsuit: “I affirm and stand by the allegations as stated in the lawsuit. I will continue to act in the best interest of the class in the pursuit of truth and justice. I have no further comment beyond this as the evidence and eventual outcome of the lawsuit will stand on its own merit.â€