Love Is Blind's Creator Defends Season 9's Historic No-Marriage Finale
"Not only is the experiment working, I think it’s working better than ever.”
For the first time in Love Is Blind history, Season 9 ended up producing no married couples. The writing seemed to be on the wall pretty early for the Denver-set season, as engaged couples began breaking up sooner than ever after emerging from the pods. When the finale came around, just three relationships were still intact. And after a last-minute split, only two couples made it down the aisle. However, both Kalybriah and Ali decided to dump their men (Edmond and Anton, respectively) at the altar.
The marriage-less ending marks a first for the franchise, which has previously always been able to produce at least one successful marriage. Despite the lack of a love story, creator Chris Coelen doesn’t see Season 9 as a failure. “Whether they succeed or fail, the trying is the most enjoyable and important part for me,” Coelen told Tudum on Oct. 22. “I’m honestly surprised this is the first season where nobody got married. While we’re always rooting for our participants to find a lifelong commitment — because that’s what they all say they come to Love is Blind for — most importantly, we root for them to make the decisions they feel are right for themselves. And I think that’s what happened here.”
The showrunner emphasized that although nobody ended up getting married, he still believes there’s a lot of value in the stories that were shown. “I hope they feel the couples ended up in the right place and that they enjoy the bravery and vulnerability of our participants, who put their stories out there in hopes of finding something amazing,” Coelen said.
He concluded that a lack of marriages does not disprove the Love Is Blind experiment. Actually, Coelen thinks Season 9’s ending further demonstrates the show’s power.
“Remember that the experiment is an experiment, and it’s meant to test two main questions: First, is it possible to fall in love with someone based solely on who they are? And second, if you do fall in love and get engaged, is that love strong enough to overcome the obstacles of the real, material world?” Coelen said. “In Season 9, at least one member of each couple felt their love was not strong enough to overcome the challenges of the real world, and they chose not to get married. That’s exactly how the experiment is supposed to work, so I would say not only is the experiment working, I think it’s working better than ever.”
