The “Love Is Blind” live reunion, which brought together the hit show’s season four cast for what promised to be an hour of delicious reality TV escapism, was a bit of a disaster.
Technical failures plagued the episode, billed as Netflix’s second-ever live event, prompting a tsunami of social media posts from frustrated and confused fans. After an hour-plus delay on Sunday, Netflix eventually ditched the “live” promise and announced the episode wouldn’t be available worldwide until 3 p.m. ET Monday. It was the latest in a string of fumbles for the streaming giant, including its first live event: last month’s Chris Rock stand-up special.
Somehow, as I kept refreshing Netflix on Sunday night, I was eventually able to watch the episode. To my surprise, it wasn’t the show’s massive technical face-plant or the juicy cast drama that made the reunion so hard to watch. The show’s premise — an “experiment” testing whether people will get engaged after dating for a few days sight unseen and then tie the knot weeks later — is bound to produce some awkward moments. I fully anticipated the ick with “mean girl” Irina Solomonova’s resurgence or the possibility Zack Goytowski would sing to his wife, Bliss Poureetezadi. And I prepared myself for potential fireworks surrounding the Marshall Glaze, Jackie Bonds and Josh Demas love triangle.
But what gave me Chrissy Teigen cringe face the most was a comment — rather, a series of comments — from co-host Vanessa Lachey, whose relentless and regressive line of questioning about the contestants’ reproductive plans made me wonder whether I had been transported back to a time when her husband’s music career was relevant.
It started early on with Lachey’s pointedly telling Poureetezadi that she desperately wants a “‘Love Is Blind’ baby” and prodding a bit about her and Goytowski’s possible plans to start a family. Poureetezadi appeared to be caught off-guard but said they weren’t…
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