‘Love Is Blind’: Is Raven the Villain This Season?
The hit Netflix reality dating show Love Is Blind returned for a third season on Oct. 19, and with it came a crop of new singles ready to find love. Hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey, the contestants try to find their husband or wife based on just their personality and without ever seeing them first. Last season, fans watched in horror as contestant Abershek “Shake” Chatterjee made derogative comments about his fianceé, Deepti Vempati, after seeing her outside of the pod. However, the title of villain this season looks like it might go to Raven Ross.
[WARNING: This article contains spoilers regarding Love Is Blind Season 3 Episodes 1-4.]
Is Raven the ‘Love Is Blind’ Season 3 villain?
During this season of Love Is Blind, we meet 29-year-old Raven, a pilates instructor and fitness enthusiast. She quickly bonded with fellow contestant Bartise Bowden in the early episodes. They both love working out, have similar personalities, and really hit it off during their time in the pods. However, Raven also felt a spark with SK. His calm demeanor created a nice balance with her on-the-move lifestyle.
Some fans noticed her somewhat conceited remarks when talking to the other men on the show. On top of that, Raven voiced her annoyance with fellow contestant Nancy and her “bubbly” personality.
Talking to producers, Raven says, “Nancy’s like that person you see in Wal-Mart from high school where you’re like, ‘Heyyyyyy,’ but also, ‘I might act like I’m busy and we don’t have to talk.'”
‘Love Is Blind’ contestant Raven did jumping jacks while Bartise spilled his heart
In Love Is Blind Episode 2, Raven and Bartise meet in the pods, and Raven tells him about a past relationship of hers. She says it involved an “older, successful man” and that she still has some of the things from that relationship. She doesn’t specify what. Bartise listens intently because it seems like talking about her past relationship might make Raven nervous. In return, Bartise tells Raven that he has a “crazy story” to tell her.
Bartise then confesses the incident that ultimately led to his parent’s divorce. Meanwhile, the entire time Bartise pours his heart out about a clearly personal moment in his life, Raven does multiple jumping jacks. When he finishes, there’s an awkward pause, but Bartise eventually mentions he heard Raven working out the entire time he talked.
Fans think SK deserves better
While it looked as though Raven and Bartise might become a couple in the first couple of episodes of Love Is Blind, Bartise soon realized he had more of a connection with Nancy. He broke the news to Raven during their next date. At first, she seemed blindsided by the admission before she eventually blurted out that she also wanted to pursue someone else. (Personally, her claim that she had already chosen someone else seemed awfully convenient, but I’m nothing but a humble entertainment writer, so who am I to say?)
Fans on the Love Is Blind subreddit have plenty of thoughts about Raven, but one common thread between the comments is that almost everyone believes SK deserves better.
One user wrote, “I feel really bad for him. Raven is not in love with him. She’s in love with how HE sees her. Typical for someone who’s made a dumbbell their entire personality. She barely looked at him when they met for the first time! The body language was so telling. I feel bad for this soft, romantic, and seemingly genuine man. Also, I do not like how when Bartise was trying to tell her that he didn’t want to continue with her, she just hijacked the conversation and made it about herself – that SHE was saying no to him.”
Another Redditor wrote, “I’ve been laughing so hard at how much she hates his guts. She’s a full-blown narcissist. Her ego is so blown up it’s made out of steel now. Nothing could pop it. I saw lasers come out of her eyes when he snored during that thing outside.”
Will SK and Raven make it to the altar in Love Is Blind Season 3? Stay tuned to Showbiz Cheat Sheet for all your updates!
