This show has had more ups and downs than most reality TV I watch. I spend more time complaining about the premise and the people and the Lachey’s than I do expressing affection toward it and yet…I come crawling back every time. What can I say, I am a sucker for anything that brings frustration and rage about random people who have no impact on my life – I live for the drama.
With the newest season fully out on Netflix, I am going to provide a recap of each stage in the journey for the five engaged couples. First, let’s take a look at their time spent in the pods.
**Author’s Note: I wrote each of these recaps before watching the entire show. This was written after Laura and Jeramy left the pods and before the couple’s went to the Dominican Republic.
What immediately jumped out to me about Johnny and Amy – besides the fact that they were the first couple introduced without the chaos of a love triangle – is that they genuinely seem like people who would get together in real life. She is a mushy softie and he is a very logical if-not hyper verbal alpha male. On paper they balance each other out perfectly.
Being the first couple to get engaged and meet each other means we got to see them the least out of the five engaged couples. This leaves a lot unexplored for these two, at least from the viewers perspective. I have no idea how things will transpire for them, but I am rooting for them.
The Reveal
The reveal is up there with the moment when the couples meet the people they didn’t choose in their love triangle as a moment with the potential to make me want to run and hide or be my absolute favorite moment. Johnny and Amy had an adorable reveal with only one moment that made me cringe – that hug they shared on the bench was reading hostage situation. Other than that though, it’s clear how much Johnny is into Amy physically. I predict that if things don’t work out between these two it might have to do with her not being as into him.
Be still my beating heart. These too are so cute! They randomly pop up on our screens with an established connect and, much like Johnny and Amy, no presence of a love triangle. We stan uncontested bonds! At first glance they don’t seem like a couple that would ever ben drawn to each other, yet their conversations prove the complete opposite. They are both sweet and faith-driven individuals who work in education and want to find their person.
What really sold me on these too though was their conversation about each other’s race and expectations around sex. Two heavy topics are handled in a short, sweet, and simply manner – exactly as they should be. They are both understanding, supportive, and accepting of each other. I am so invested in these two it isn’t even funny. These two crazy kids better make it work for my sake.
The Reveal:
I am such a sucker for a bigger guy and his petite female partner. It is so basic and heteronormative and leaning into gender stereotypes, but I can’t help it! It just turns me into mush. So when these two come out and hug each other, you better believe my heart fluttered. They are so wholesome and sweet, I am going to be so upset if they don’t work out!
Oh AD. I was so rooting for you! The first note I wrote down about her was “I think AD is the girl for me.” She is a sassy, spitfire with an amazing fashion sense and she is from Boston. Yes, yes, and YES! Yet, she stumbled into the clutches of two very different, but very problematic men. Maybe she was right when she said that “If I see a red flag, I’ll paint my nails red to match.”
First we have Matthew. When this man walked onto my screen I was already so out on him. Maybe it was a bad cut, but he looked terrible during the first few clips. Too analytical, not open, and bossy. Not right for this show and not right for any of these women. But then something silly happened: AD broke his walls down. And silly old me kind of loved it. It was nice that no one else saw something in this guy, but she brought something out of him. She did so little to draw it out, it was almost as if her energy brought it out of him. It seemed very sweet and maybe a little bit like fate?
Then there is Clay. Sigh. This man gives the biggest “I can fix him” energy of any man on this show since Bartise. In case you forgot, that is not a good thing. From the minute he walked into the pods it was hard to deny his physical appeal, but that isn’t what this show is about. He definitely has good energy and is an endearing goof ball, not everything is working against him. Before too long though, the red flags started rolling in and oh boy were they just absolutely blood red. Asking about AD’s appearance would be one thing, but the way that he chose to do it was degrading and honestly highlighted just how much the physical means to him. Not to mention his reaction to finding out AD was also talking to Matthew. Talk about being childish. This dude is a 30-year-old man-child.
After the first episode ended with the shocking reveal that Matthew was spewing the same shit that he did to AD to another girl, one thing became abundantly clear: AD would be settling for either of these guys. They are both flawed men who showed her their true colors, yet she stuck around. It was making me wonder if she actually wanted to find her person or if she was just determined to leave the pods engaged.
I, for one, was surprised by the Matthew revelation because I had been buying into the bullshit he was telling AD. But then I remembered my initial impression of him and realized that sometimes people really do just show you their true colors. From this revelation onward we got to see a man who put himself in a pickle, got caught, and then began to splash around trying to stay afloat. It looked like he knew that AD had another connection and felt the need to run out and make another connection of his own in order to gain back the power. When he spoke with AD after she confronted him, he somehow managed to make it about how he needed to think things over now. I’m sorry sir, think about what?! He totally took over the situation and AD should have been out from that very moment. Thankfully she did tell the other girl, Amber, who then left without saying goodbye to Matthew.
This was all shitty and stupid, but did give us one of those iconic Love Is Blind moments where we see someone get so whittled down from the stress that they almost forget they are being filmed. Matthew’s version of this was to confess just how much he cared about the fact that – in his words – “America is watching.” Yikes dude!
With him running after Amber – LOL – AD is kind of just left with Clay. Now here is where I am most reminded of Bartise and Cole and other toxic men from this show. Clay made it a point to go on and on about how much he had grown in the pods thanks to AD. She seemed to almost be more in love with the impact he had on a person than the person themselves. On top of that, this is an obvious red flag. This unique situation of “pod life” is not in almost any way representative of real life. If this person changed so much from this experience in this short period of time, how do you know they will keep these changes when they return to the outside world? Old factors will come back into play and, odds are, they will quickly go back to their old ways. Nothing is going to change, honey.
Now I hope this isn’t true and that this was a genuine journey of self-discovery for Clay. He did seem more vulnerable that f*ckboys of the past, but I am weary.
The Reveal:
I cannot complain about getting to watch two hot people kiss. I thoroughly enjoy when the couples are super physically into each other during their reveals – it was low-key the best part of Amber and Barnett’s relationship. Yet Clay’s desire to hear about how AD looks in the pods crept back into my mind as he made comments about getting past the physical stuff. Like dude: she is gorgeous, you didn’t have to “get past” anything!
Also, I am already sick of these people calling each other ‘baby’.
There is a couple like this every season. Think Jessica & Mark, Shaina & Kyle, Colleen & Matt, and Zack & Irina. They were a part of a love triangle and one of them probably would have been better off choosing the other person. True, one of these couples is still – shockingly – married, but I felt the same shock at the acceptance of the proposal for all these couples that I did for Jimmy and Chelsea.
I do think Jimmy made the right decision for himself, I just think he handled himself in a very messy way in the process of making said decision.
Firstly, let’s acknowledge maybe my strongest opinion of this season so far: Jessica made a huge mistake by not being upfront about having a kid. I’m sorry, but it’s true. This needed to be something she led with and by not leading with it, she left herself vulnerable to catching feelings and then having someone reject her because of the baby. Which, guess what, IS EXACTLY WHAT ENDED UP HAPPENING! I understand her logic, I just think she did herself a huge disservice by putting herself in that situation. She also claims that she wants the men to get to know her first because being a mom doesn’t define you, but like your daughter is a part of you. It’s impossible for them to see her and get to know her for who she is without knowing about Autumn!
Now that I have that out of the way, I can acknowledge that Jimmy handled himself so poorly in this situation too. There is absolutely nothing wrong with not being ready to be a step-parent. Even if you want kids down the line, that is very different than a) immediately being thrown into a parenting situation with a 10-year-old and b) immediately being thrown into a parenting situation with a child that is not biologically yours. It is okay to not feel you are ready for that immediately (which is part of the reason why she needed to be open about it, because being ready for that immediately is a must for her).
What’s not okay is to say something like “it’s not a deal breaker” when you hear this news. Don’t speak in such finalities when you aren’t 100% sure how you feel about this news. It’s not fair to Jessica when it did ultimately become about the fact that she has a child.
His decision to pick Chelsea was definitely motivated by the fact that with her, he could live a life more closely aligned with what he wants at this stage in his life. There is nothing wrong with that, in fact I think it is the right decision, but he caused so much mess trying to come to that conclusion. It’s just a shame.
I would be remiss not to acknowledge Jessica going absolutely off on him when he dumped her. Saying “you are going to choke” about how he will react when he sees her in person is some seriously iconic phrasing. And it’s justified considering just how physically beautiful she is.
Where I believe Jimmy made the right decision for himself, I think Chelsea made the wrong decision.
How. Could. You. Not. Choose. Trevor?!?!?! I don’t understand this decision and I don’t know if I ever will. They are both high-energy weirdos who would have the absolute time of their lives together.
I am also just sad that this naive, innocent, meatheaded boy will no longer be gracing us with his presence. What a truly goofy sweetheart this man is. A sweetheart with a dog named Chelsea – which is stranger that I can fully wrap my head around – but a sweetheart that deserves love! In my head it would have been absolutely no contest between these men. Maybe it was the way it was edited, but I just didn’t see it between Chelsea and Jimmy in the same way that I did with her and Trevor. The pair of them just seemed so obviously adorable together. I am sad about it.
In the end, Jimmy fumbled the bag by not immediately telling Jessica about his decision to chose Chelsea. Instead of telling Chelsea he loved her, going to bed, and then dumping Jessica the next day he honestly should have just immediately told Jessica. If he cared about her, he would have been a little more sensitive about it.
In the end, Chelsea also fumbled the bag by not choosing Trevor. What a gem of a man who truly deserves better!
The Reveal:
This made me want to claw my eyes out. I already knew Jimmy would mention the Meghan Fox comment and when he did I felt my hand form into a little Arthur-meme-type fist. Most of us are told we look like or remind someone of a celebrity. I get told I look like Lily Collins, but that doesn’t mean I am her spitting image! It means I bare a resemblance to her. And let’s be honest: Chelsea bares a resemblance to Meghan Fox. Don’t lie about it and say she doesn’t – she does! This just shows how shallow Jimmy is and makes me want to protect Chelsea from him.
But this is the path Chelsea chose. I am already dreading the reaction she will have when Jimmy inevitably chokes at the sight of Jessica. Whose name he accidently let slip when he was talking about seeing Chelsea in real life, by the way. This isn’t going to end well.
These two perfectly acceptable people ended up together after being a part of yet another love triangle. Perhaps it was the lack of screen time they got or the love-triangle-fatigue from the drama of the rest of the couples, but I had a hard time getting too invested in this whole situation. If a situation ever called for bullet points, this is it!
- Laura: Admittedly, I am 100% here for Laura. I absolutely adore her. She had me from the moment she declared that she was turned on my cleanliness. She is silly, sassy, and seems to be a total girl’s girl. Unproblematic queen if you ask me.
- Jeramy: This man puts me to sleep. Not only does he spell his name in a way I have truly never seen before, but he possesses a rare lack of anything special that made me completely zone out pretty much every time he was on screen. Maybe this means he is just too normal for reality TV, but either way he was not of any entertainment value to me.
- Sarah Ann: This girl is adorable, she gives me Gabby Windey vibes in the best way possible. But there doesn’t seem to be much to her. She seems a bit shallow and very much the type of girl who I would probably get along with in real life…aka not good reality TV (this is no shade to my friends, but they are not destined for the unhinged drama of this type of television program and I am thankful for that).
These three people were in a love triangle that practically put me to sleep. There was no drama or suspense that built up to Jeramy picking Laura. He was as bland as can be when he broke up with Sarah Ann and she was nothing but cordial with Laura after the fact. Nothing to write home about here. Though, I am happy that he picked Laura and impressed by how maturely the girls handled things.
The Reveal:
This was a perfectly acceptable reveal. They actually look good together and seemed to be happy with their decision. That being said, I have absolutely no idea if these two will work or not. I mean, to be fair, I have no idea if any of these couples will work out, I just feel especially unsure about these two. I hope they do because I like Laura, but I don’t know how much faith I have in silly little Jeramy.
More Love is Blind, Season 6 Content:
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