Internalized Beauty Standards Might Be The True Villain On This Season Of ‘Love Is Blind’

If we’re being honest, the Love Is Blind experience has always included a whole lot of conversation around looks. From the very first season, the hook of Amber, Jessica, and Barnett’s love triangle revolved around two conventionally attractive firecrackers fighting over the bad boy they could tell was hot through the wall. Then, professional doctor d-bag Shake Chatterjee (who got fired from his clinic after LIB) broke the internet when he not so subtly asked Deepti if he could put her on his shoulders at a music festival, and revealed he’d never dated a woman of his own ethnicity. You would think the uproar from Shake’s body shaming would have warned future contestants not to follow in his superficial footsteps, but Clay upped the ante when he outright asked his match, AD, to describe her body in the pods.

Clay “got” that “love is blind” or whatever, but his “worst nightmare” was “fall[ing] in love with this beautiful connection” only to be turned off by what was hiding behind the glass door. Even though it just so happened that AD had the petite figure with “lips” and a “butt” Clay wanted, she still gave the only acceptable response: “In what way do you want to talk about appearance in an experience where we’re not talking about appearance?”

Jessica warned Jimmy that he was “going to choke” when he “realized what he missed out on” after Jimmy pulled back from her. Though I applauded her for an iconic line delivery, it was impossible to ignore the irony that they both were aware her bombshell looks were a critical part of the deal.

The infatuation with what’s on the surface made its way across the pond, too. While Demi worked to overcome her insecurities on Love Is Blind: UK about presenting like “one of the boys,” Catherine implied Ollie wouldn’t be happy with her because of that. Sam nearly had a panic attack when it was suggested the supposed love of his life, Nicole, might be too heavy to swing around in his arms. All of this evidence clearly means I shouldn’t be surprised the new DC season has learned nothing from their elders. Yet here I am, jaw on the floor, over how concerned the season 7 cast of Love Is Blind is with physical appearance.

The Love Is Blind Season 7 Cast’s Comments About Body Image

As the most problematic man of Love Is Blind: DC, ofc Leo had a thing or two to say about his physical preference. When telling Hannah about a dream he had about her, he starts by “assuming” she is white. Yet before getting into the dream, Leo says about 56 times he has no idea what Hannah looks like, which seems like a not-so-subtle ploy to get her to clue him in.

But Leo’s loud mouth is not the only one to default to whiteness. Garrett is awakened in real time on camera to the possibility that he could be in a relationship with a woman who is not white. The beauty standard was so hard at work in Garrett’s otherwise overly thoughtful mind (the man is a scientist, FFS) that despite living in one of the most diverse areas in the country, the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind.

Brittany half-jokes “Love is blind but I’m a little vain” before meeting Leo. When they do meet, you can see the pure relief in Leo’s eyes when he confirms Brittany is closer to a “Victoria’s Secret model” than the hypothetical ogre he was pretending he’d be cool with. In fact, he declares it’s “insane” that he’s now engaged to the “hottest girl on earth.”

Hannah And Nick’s Drama About Her Looks

Image Credit: Netflix

Hannah’s other match, ex-footballer Nick, doesn’t shy away from describing his dream girl, either. TBF, Hannah kicks things off when she teases she’s wearing a pink suit and “sexy librarian” glasses on a pod date. She wants Nick to be the Travis to her Taylor, prompting Nick to joke that he’s actually better looking than Kelce so he hopes she’s better looking than Taylor, too. Even as someone icked out of this universe by Travis Kelce, I can conceptualize how bold of a statement that is.

Nick goes on to describe his celebrity crushes: the very attainable options of Beyoncé and Scarlett Johansson. Hannah opts for a literal superhero, which leaves some huge Henry Cavill-sized shoes for Nick to fill. But Nick gives it a try anyway: he claims he does favor the “athletic nerd” just a “less buff version.”

ATP, everyone is well aware of the drama that comes with hinting at your looks in an experiment that is supposed to truly blind. Look at the excessive discourse forced upon Chelsea’s body when she made the harmless comment she resembles Megan Fox. Yet, Hannah seems to be game for all of this chatter about appearance. She muses if they’ll be one of those rare hot couples that somehow make an ugly baby, and then suggestively boasts that her mom is a smoke show. But mid-convo Hannah abruptly decides she actually doesn’t want to know what he looks like anymore, which is only made worse when Nick brings up the B word: bikinis. When Hannah gets skittish, he clarifies that he wouldn’t care if she thought she looked terrible, because, to Nick, she’ll be beautiful regardless of any insecurities.

Even though Hannah smiled at his reassurance in the moment, back in the lounge her POV drastically shifts. Hannah feels with Nick she’d “have to be this perfect woman” because of his “experience” with other hotties. This rightfully scares the rest of the girls into telling Hannah it sounds like he’s a very charming fuckboy. Hannah’s gut is telling her not to believe a word Nick says when it comes to loving her if she were “250 pounds and maybe not a supermodel.” She doesn’t explicitly say where she pictures herself on a spectrum between a larger-bodied person and a Victoria’s Secret supermodel (damn, VS hasn’t gotten this much positive promo in years) but it’s clear Hannah believes Nick won’t treat her like she’s as valuable as a woman in the latter category.

Image Credit: Netflix

When she confronts Nick about her concerns about being too hot or not hot enough for him, he insists he wants “sincere,” “genuine,” and “unconditional love” after spending too many years focused on “the wrong thing.” Still, Hannah breaks it off, because all of a sudden her “connections with other people just grew stronger.” Yet, even in Hannah’s breakup speech, she says she’s sick of being objectified for being hot and she knows they’d have good sex. Hannah said she doesn’t want a relationship centered on looks, but when she eventually gets back with Nick, appearance is weighing heavy on her mind.

Hannah finally admits before their reveal her biggest worry is he won’t be happy with what he sees. But in a surprising twist, Nick’s looks visibly disappoint Hannah instead of the other way around. In Hannah’s words, Nick’s appearance was “shocking” because thought he’d be a Big & Tall pro-bowler type. His height makes her “insecure” because she’s a tall girl herself, but TBH, it also just seems like Hannah has a personal preference for the “really big, 6’5″ jock-y guys” who are “the most handsome…in the room.”

Their chemistry only gets weirder in Mexico. Hannah sarcastically jokes that Nick’s topless bod is “all she’s ever dreamed of.” The butt of the joke appears to be that Nick’s body is too average to care. On his end, Nick sets a boundary that he doesn’t want to imply anything sexual happened between them on camera which can easily come off as rooted in shame, even if the person is just shy. By the time Nick is basically spitting Drake lyrics during a convo about plastic surgery (“You got it all, I hope you know that,” “I think natural women are the most beautiful”) I’m not sure if he is body positive or a hellbent at controlling his image as a good guy.

If someone isn’t confident enough to trust that they’re everybody’s type or has a very specific type themselves, it’s hard to imagine why TF that person would sign up for Love Is Blind in the year of our Lord, 2024. It seems like as much as we may try to fight it, the beauty standard is internalized in all of us, one way or another. It’s only human to crave love without having to figure out every single insecurity first. But whether you’re on reality TV or putting in work on dating apps, having unconditional love for yourself on lock makes trusting someone else to do the same a whole lot easier.