Is Love Truly Blind? — The Crescent

By: Olivia Aragon

The popular Netflix reality dating show "Love is Blind" released its Season 2 finale on Mar. 4. The concept of the show comes from one main question: is love truly blind?

In “Love is Blind,” 15 women and 15 men all blind date each other for two weeks. And blind means blind; they do not get to see each other but instead talk behind a wall in rooms the show dubs "the pods." If they get engaged based on their emotional bonds, they get to meet in person and test their relationship—and its physical chemistry—for four weeks. If all works out, they get married, only having known each other for six weeks.

The show asks the question, "Is love actually blind?" literally repeating the question in the narration almost every episode. The contestants themselves are also aware of their duty to answer the question in their romantic relationships, often reflecting on how seeing or not seeing their partner affects the relationship in the solo interview portions of the episodes. But what does science say about physical attraction?

A study done by the Journal of Sex and Marital Therapy with 335 married couples found that "[e]motional and sexual aspects of intimacy in romantic relationships are important correlates of couples’ relationship satisfaction; sexual satisfaction significantly predicted emotional intimacy for husbands and wives, while emotional intimacy did not appear to have a significant influence on sexual satisfaction.”

Another study done with 39,000 straight couples that had been together three or more years found that those who reported having higher sexual satisfaction had a happier relationship. This study also found a correlation that couples who reported having a similar level of physical attraction as they did at the beginning of their relationship also had higher levels of sexual satisfaction, meaning they also had a happier relationship.

Additionally, a study done in 1998 by Feingold said finding a person of a similar level of attractiveness to oneself can increase your chances at a long-term relationship.

It seems that sexual attraction does appear to play an important role in a romantic relationship, though personality also contributes signficantly.

A study was done by Bartels and Zeki in 2004 that found a person-in-love experiences suppression in the area of the brain that is responsible for critical thinking and the part responsible for making negative judgments about people.

According to the science, love isn’t blind and often physical and sexual attraction play a role in the longevity and overall satisfaction in relationships. But when it comes to overlooking personality faults and quirks, love is indeed blind. The show proved this point as some couples overlooked the numerous arguments or awkward conversations they had, perhaps because of physical attraction. In a show built on couples not seeing each other before getting engaged there was still potential for the looks of one partner, once revealed, to be distracting.

"Love is Blind" asks an interesting question, but the conclusive results of the season finale seem to be the manifestation of what studies have shown to be the case. Being physically attracted to and comfortable with one's romantic partner is necessary for a healthy romantic relationship.

Nevertheless, Netflix's reality dating show is entertaining and season two felt more dramatic than season one. While watching, I found myself rooting for all the couples despite disliking most of the individuals. "Love is Blind" is a gripping experience for reality TV because the emotions are so high for the contestants, who experience serious romantic feelings within such a short period of time. Whether love is truly blind is a question that, when explored, is high stakes and high energy.