Source: Netflix
Nick Thompson from Season 2 of ‘Love Is Blind’ shares exclusive details about the filming conditions when he was part of the Netflix reality series.
Season 2 of Love Is Blind may feel like forever ago, but contestant Nick Thompson seems to remember his experience like it was yesterday. And in an exclusive interview with Distractify, Nick shared what the Love Is Blind filming conditions were like for him and how he has started to move on since his season ended.
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Viewers will remember that Nick left the season married to Daniele Ruhl. However, in October 2022, the pair filed for divorce. And since then, both have been separately candid on social media about their shared and respective experiences with reality television thanks to the Netflix series.
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Nick Thompson said the ‘Love Is Blind’ filming conditions were “tough, brutal, and exhausting.”
When we asked Nick about his specific experience with the Love Is Blind filming conditions, he didn’t mince words. In fact, according to Nick, the schedule, expectations, and lack of support from the show lad to an experience that was “tough, brutal, and exhausting” for both himself and Danielle.
He shared with us that when they traveled to Mexico for the couples’ trip following engagements, production was on them to continue to film at nearly every hour of every day.
And when Nick and Danielle were stuck in their rooms because of a COVID-19 lockdown, they were eventually cut off from ordering room service and were supplied with just four bottles of water each day. They were also supplied with food, but because Nick and Danielle were hungry, irritable, tired, and frustrated with the way things had been so far in general, tensions were high.
According to Nick, those feelings may have been producers’ goal in the conditions for the cast in Mexico.
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“I would like to think in a best case scenario that it was unintentional,” he shared with us. “Then again, I also know that when people are sleep deprived, dehydrated, [and] hungry, your nervous system accelerates, and you are in a heightened state of anxiety, basically. And so, when you’re in that heightened state of anxiety, you make rash decisions. You’re very reactive. Obviously, that gives you better drama.”
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‘Love Is Blind’ contestants film for more than 18 hours at a time.
When Nick and the other contestants were in the pods on Love Is Blind, they filmed nearly around the clock. He shared with us that many days consisted of 18 to 20 hours of nonstop filming, whether the guys were in the pods, on the couches socializing, or even napping. They were even pressed if they took longer than usual bathroom breaks.
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Nick and the other contestants were given hotel rooms to sleep in outside of the set that makes up the men’s quarters depicted in the show. However, Nick explained, producers were quick to point out that if he or the other guys opted to leave the set to take a nap in their respective hotel rooms, they would likely be at a disadvantage in making progress with potential matches in the pods.
For many, it was a lose-lose situation of missing crucial sleep or missing out on important pod time.
The ‘Love Is Blind’ contract is more than 20 pages long.
Nick told us that, in his experience, the aftermath of filming Love Is Blind is where even more damage lies. Because of the public backlash he faced, he was forced to step down from his job as a public speaker and he sought out therapy to get him through the difficult time that followed being on a high-profile reality show and then divorcing after.
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Source: Netflix
And there was no help or support for Nick or other cast members after the show finished filming. Not to mention that, upon agreeing to be on the show, Nick filled out a contract that most contestants wouldn’t have the ability or legal prowess to look over. But in it, Nick was liable to pay millions of dollars in fines for various things.
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“There’s a part in the contract where every time you publicly go against the edits, you could be charged up to a million dollars,” he revealed.
It doesn’t look like Nick or anyone else from his season has seen such a hefty fine for speaking out about the negative aspects of their time on the show. But because of the lack of support and filming conditions, Nick told us that in his eyes, the show is “ruining people’s lives with this stuff.”
Since filming, Nick started a nonprofit called the Unscripted Cast Advocacy Network (UCAN). It’s dedicated to helping people like himself who feel sort of lost and thrown to the wolves following a stressful time on reality television.
Source: https://www.distractify.com/p/love-is-blind-filming-conditions