‘Love Is Blind’: Chris Coelen Reveals Why the Show Removed Its $50,000 Fine
Love Is Blind contestants took a bit of financial risk when signing on to the Netflix show. For a while, it was thought that they could incur hefty fines if they broke some of the show’s rules. But in a recent interview, the series creator officially cleared up the confusion about the fines.
How ‘Love Is Blind’ creator Chris Coelen responded to fining allegations
Series creator Chris Coelen created a social experiment with Love Is Blind. It was an idea that’s led to both a fair share of happy marriages and heartaches. But it’s also led to a couple of lawsuits as well. Most notably, former Love Is Blind contestants Nick Thompson and Jeremy Hartwell sued the show for allegedly causing them distress.
One of their complains about the reality series regarded the potential fining of its contestants. According to Vulture, Hartwell and his fellow contestants were reminded by producers that they’d be fined $50,000 if they left the show. There was another reported $50,000 stipulation if Love Is Blind contestants didn’t make it to the altar. But Coelen asserted that these fines were never enforced while they were active. Furthermore, Coelen revealed that the fines haven’t been written into contestants’ contracts since season five.
Coelen was also asked if the fine’s reputation could make contestants anxious about leaving the show, anyway. The theory was that potential stars might get the impression that the fines were still active. But Coelen responded that he wasn’t a mind-reader.
“I’m not inside people’s heads, so I have no idea what they’re concerned about,” Coelen said.
Chris Coelen wanted to make sure it was contestants’ free will to make it to the altar in ‘Love Is Blind’
Coelen took a very hands-off approach when designing Love Is Blind. This was a risk, as it meant the show could’ve easily fallen below expectations. But the decision was made for the sake of the reality show’s authenticity.
“It’s not a show of gotchas, or producers pulling strings. There was no guarantee anybody was going to do anything,” Coelen once told Deadline. “Nobody had to fall in love; nobody had to get engaged; nobody had to make it to the altar; nobody had to get married. It was their free will that led them to each of those steps.”
According to Coelen, even the show’s contestants might not have bought the concept of the show at first.
“I think they thought, ‘Hey, you know what? It’ll be an adventure. Maybe I’ll meet somebody. [But] who knows?’ I don’t think any one of them ever really felt like this was going to happen to them, what happened to them, but it did,” Coelen said.
The pay-off was huge, however, as it led to Love Is Blind being one of Netflix’s most successful reality shows.
“Love Is Blind is pretty simply about whether love—pure love—can overcome all of the obstacles that can get in its way in today’s world,” Coelen said. “Regardless of who you are, what you look like, where you’re from, what you feel that you have or are lacking, everyone wants to be loved for who they are on the inside.”
How binding are the marriages in ‘Love Is Blind’?
Some might wonder how enforceable the marriages are in Love Is Blind. In a 2020 interview with Bustle, Coelen confided that the marriages on the show were as legal as any other wedding in real life.
“If they choose to get married, yes, it’s a legally binding marriage,” he said.
Fortunately for contestants, it seemed that the show helped pay for some of the wedding expenses as well. But that didn’t completely absolve potential couples of any financial burden.
“Of course production supplies some of the basics but because these are their real weddings, it’s up to them as to how to spend their money,” Coelen added.
