Season 9: A Stage Set for Drama

Season 9 of Love Is Blind unfolded in Denver, Colorado, introducing a fresh batch of singles eager to find love. They fall in love in the pods and go on vacation as originally planned. However, the season deviated from its usual trajectory. Despite multiple engagements, none culminated in a wedding. Ali and Anton’s relationship unraveled at the altar when Ali cited Anton’s lifestyle choices, including excessive drinking, as incompatible with her values. Also, she felt as if he was not financially set enough for her (which defeats the entire premise of the show). Similarly, Kalybriah left Edmond heartbroken, expressing that she wasn’t ready for the commitment he sought. Megan and Jordan’s relationship faltered due to differing life goals, leading to a breakup before the wedding. Megan (like Ali) realized the lifestyle differences between her and Jordan along with financial discrepancies. There were two other couples who had ended up splitting prior to even making it to the altar. These events highlighted the tension between the contestants’ authentic selves and the personas they projected, emphasizing the challenges of maintaining a facade under the pressures of the show.

Social Constructionism meets Symbolic Interactionism

Social Construction + Symbolic Interaction: This combo is pure drama fuel.

It argues that love isn’t something we find — but rather it’s something we perform. Every tear, proposal, and “I can’t do this anymore” moment on Love Is Blind becomes part of a social script that people have learned through movies, culture, and now reality TV.

  • Social Constructionism says love itself is a cultural creation — we’ve been taught what love should feel and look like (from rom-coms to wedding-industrial Instagram). The constructs around us give us the “vision” of what a fairy-tale love should look like.
  • Symbolic Interactionism zooms in on how individuals perform that learned version of love through gestures, language, and emotion — like calling someone “my forever” after three days in a pod. Another example of this would be buying gifts and going on dates a lot to show how “good you perform” at love.
  • Together? You get the theatrical tragedy of people trying to live up to an ideal that never really existed. Often times, this combination takes us far away from reality. It makes us hyper focus on what our ideal fairy-tale love should look like rather than living within the reality of things.

So when contestants break down, overperform, or even spiral in front of the cameras, they’re not just being dramatic — they’re acting out the social performance of love in real time. It’s passion turned performance, heartbreak turned spectacle — and the cameras never blink. Oftentimes, what is shown on TV is not the proper representation of what a person is like in real life. Producers on the show have also been known to push couples to stay together, regardless of how they are feeling about their partners. They also do not have much of a choice than to get to the last episode unless they want a five-digit fine attached!

Drawing from these theories along with Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical theory, we understand that individuals present themselves in ways that align with societal expectations. In the context of Love Is Blind Season 9, this theory becomes particularly relevant. Contestants enter the pods, engaging in intimate conversations without visual cues, yet the moment they step into the real world, the performance intensifies. The pressure to align with romantic ideals, influenced by media portrayals and societal norms, shapes their interactions. This constructed reality often leads to dissonance between genuine feelings and the roles they feel compelled to play, setting the stage for inevitable conflicts and heartbreaks.

Theory in Action: The Performance Unravels

The unfolding of Season 9 exemplifies the clash between personal identity and societal expectations. Contestants, initially engaging in genuine connections, soon found themselves entangled in performances shaped by external pressures. Ali’s departure from Anton, citing his lifestyle choices, underscores the dissonance between his true self and the image he projected. Similarly, Kalybriah’s decision to leave Edmond at the altar reflects the internal conflict between her feelings and the role she felt compelled to play. Or even with Megan and Jordan, where Megan decides to end things with him due to their lifestyles not aligning. Granted, Megan had met Jordan’s son, which was a HUGE step in order for them to even move forward! These instances demonstrate how the constructed nature of reality TV can distort authentic connections, leading to outcomes that mirror the challenges individuals face in balancing personal identity with societal expectations.