Netflix's "Love is Blind" not great for Chicago contestants
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Contestants on the Chicago-based season of Netflix's hit "Love Is Blind" were the least successful in finding lasting love on the show.
The big picture: As the 7th season of the the six-time Emmy-nominated dating show returns Wednesday with a Washington, D.C.-based cast, we wanted to look back at how the experiment has fared so far.
Catch up quick: The show tests whether "love is truly blind" by seeing if a man and woman (the seasons have all been opposite sex match-ups) can fall in love before seeing each other.
- Individuals date a number of other contestants by talking from separate rooms, or pods, on opposite sides of a wall.
Zoom in: Season 2 in 2022 was based in Chicago and had 16 engagements, but only six of those made it on the show.
- Two couples married on the show — Iyanna and Jarrette and Danielle and Nick.
Yes, but: Both couples announced they were divorcing shortly after the show aired.
The intrigue: One of the biggest stars to come out of the Chicago season was Deepti Vempati who declared, "I choose myself" in her rejection of fiancé Abishek "Shake" Chatterjee at the alter.
- Vempati was able to spin that mantra into a book, a TED talk and even a podcast.
Zoom out: Here's a breakdown how the relationships of contestants on other seasons of "Love is Blind" fared after the show.
Atlanta — Season 1
- A-Town was the blueprint for the series and produced one of reality TV's most popular couples — Lauren and Cameron Hamilton.
- Driving the news: The show is casting in Atlanta again.
Dallas — Season 3
The Dallas season produced the least engagements (five) but arguably the show's greatest "villain" — Bartise Bowden.
- The latest: Contestants Alexa and Brennon Lemieux welcomed their first child this summer.
Seattle — Season 4
- The Emerald City takes the crown for the most engagements, marriages and the first "'Love Is Blind' baby" from Bliss and Zack Goytowski.
- What they're saying: Chelsea Griffin Appiah, who married Kwame, joined the show's casting team. "It's very hard to cast for something like this. We check every box. It's tricky, people are humans, but we do our best," she tells Axios.
Houston — Season 5
- This season has become more memorable for the drama we didn't see on screen. Only three of the six engagements and two of the three weddings were aired.
- Behind the scenes: Participant Renee Poche, whose engagement and wedding did not air, has sued Netflix and production company Delirium TV and claims she "didn't feel safe" during her time on the show.
Charlotte — Season 6
- The Queen City season is the most watched to date.
- Yes, but: What happened to Southern hospitality? The Charlotte cast tied with Dallas for the lowest amount of engagements, and only one couple said "I do."
What we're watching: If the experiment is successful for D.C. singles.