‘Love Is Blind’ Is Back. Not All the Drama Is On-Screen.

Summary

Podcast Summary: “‘Love Is Blind’ Is Back. Not All the Drama Is On-Screen”

Introduction to Reality TV Drama In the February 12, 2025 episode of The Journal, hosted by Jessica Mendoza, Kate Linebaugh, and Ryan Knutson, the conversation pivots from the on-screen narratives of reality television to the turbulent off-screen realities faced by cast members. Jessica Mendoza opens the discussion by highlighting the pervasive drama not just portrayed on reality shows, but also stemming from the behind-the-scenes treatment of participants.

Nick Thompson’s Journey on Love Is Blind The episode delves deep into the experiences of Nick Thompson, a 39-year-old former cast member of Netflix’s Love Is Blind Season 2. Nick recounts his initial optimism about the show’s premise—finding love without physical appearances—and his subsequent journey through the high-stress environment of the production.

“The sleep deprivation was honestly terrible.” [00:21] – An unnamed cast member echoes the strenuous conditions on set.

Nick describes the intense filming schedule, detailing how cast members are isolated from the outside world:

“You don't know what day it is.” [00:27]
“You’re being filmed for 16, 18, I would say sometimes 20 hours a day.” [07:02]

These restrictive conditions, coupled with relentless camera presence, create a pressure cooker environment that significantly impacts participants’ mental and physical well-being.

Legal Battles and Contractual Constraints A pivotal moment in Nick’s story is his realization of the exploitative nature of the contracts signed by reality TV participants. Upon reviewing his agreement, Nick discovers clauses that strip him of basic rights:

“You don’t really have any rights to talk about what your experience was. You’re subject to being sued through arbitration.” [01:32]

This revelation propels Nick to challenge the status quo, leading him to file a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). His actions follow suit with Jeremy Hartwell, another cast member who previously sued Love Is Blind for underpayment and deprivation of basic needs like food and water.

Industry Insights from Michael Carroll To provide a broader perspective, the podcast features insights from Michael Carroll, a 54-year-old former reality TV producer with two decades of experience, including nine seasons of ABC’s The Bachelor.

“This was a show about dating and finding the love of your life and potentially getting married. So everything is directed towards that direction.” [09:00]

Michael explains that reality TV production inherently prioritizes compelling content over participant welfare. He acknowledges the ethical dilemmas faced by producers who, over time, become aware of the manipulative tactics employed to create engaging television.

“We always said that alcohol was like truth serum, and it is. You know, people's inhibitions go away.” [09:53]

Michael concurs with Nick’s experiences, validating the challenges reality TV participants face, including inadequate sleep, food shortages, and the pervasive use of alcohol to elicit genuine reactions.

Impact on the Reality TV Industry The legal challenges posed by Nick and other cast members have significant implications for the reality TV landscape. The NLRB’s tentative agreement with Nick suggests a potential reclassification of reality TV participants as employees rather than independent contractors. This shift would mandate production companies to adhere to labor laws, including minimum wage, overtime pay, and the right to unionize.

Michael Carroll outlines the ramifications of such a ruling:

“The reality television business would slow down immensely if it was required to have our cast members classified as employees.” [18:34]

He articulates concerns over increased production costs and logistical challenges, highlighting that the exponential growth of reality TV—from seven dating shows in 2019 to 59 in the following year—would be unsustainable under stricter labor regulations.

Future Prospects and Nick’s Advocacy Despite the looming uncertainty, Nick Thompson has taken proactive steps to advocate for cast member rights. In 2023, he co-founded a foundation with Jeremy Hartwell aimed at supporting reality TV participants who fear legal repercussions from speaking out.

“If I speak now and I do some of this work now, I can step away and never have to worry about it again because it’s scary.” [19:49]

Nick’s foundation seeks to empower former and current reality TV cast members, providing resources and legal support to challenge exploitative practices within the industry.

Conclusion: A Changing Landscape As the episode concludes, Jessica Mendoza reflects on the ongoing struggle between cast members seeking fair treatment and the production companies intent on maintaining the status quo for content creation. The potential court ruling remains a pivotal moment for reality TV, promising to either transform the industry by enforcing labor standards or maintain its current operational freedoms.

Nick Thompson shares his evolved perspective on reality TV:

“I don’t think of reality TV as real. I think of it as a show.” [20:14]

He expresses hope that future participants will navigate the industry more safely and emerge positively, contrasting the often tumultuous experiences documented behind the scenes.

“I just think it’s something that I did. It’s not who I am. And I wish everyone who chooses to participate in this show or any other show, like, I just wish them well, and I hope that they come out of it better than they went into it.” [20:14]

Final Thoughts This episode of The Journal not only shines a light on the personal tribulations of a reality TV participant but also sparks a broader conversation about labor rights and ethical standards in the entertainment industry. As legal battles unfold, the episode underscores the need for systemic change to protect individuals who find themselves ensnared in the high-stakes world of reality television.

Transcript

[Jessica Mendoza]

When I think about reality tv, there's one thing that comes to mind. Drama. But these days, that industry is also finding drama off screen. Cast members across several shows have been speaking out about the way that they're treated on set.

[Unnamed Cast Member]

The sleep deprivation was honestly terrible.

[Michael Carroll]

There were just cameras in your face constantly.

[Jessica Mendoza]

You don't know what day it is.

[Nick Thompson]

You don't know what the heck is going on ever.

[Michael Carroll]

If they want you to talk about.

[Nick Thompson]

Something that makes you super uncomfortable, which.

[Jessica Mendoza]

They most likely will, you're gonna be talking about that. If you don't drink, they interrogate you and ask you why you're not drinking.

[Unnamed Cast Member]

They say that you're more fun when you are drunk.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Some cast members have filed charges, and one of those cases is set to go to court later this year. That case is about one of the biggest reality shows on TV today.

[Michael Carroll]

I've met the person I want to.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Spend the rest of my life with. Netflix's Love is Blind.

[Michael Carroll]

I've never seen her before.

[Jessica Mendoza]

A former cast member from that show, which is about to drop its latest season on Friday, is one of the loudest voices calling for change in the industry.

[Nick Thompson]

My name is Nick Thompson. I'm 39 years old, and I was a cast member on Love is Blind Season 2.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Nick's experience motivated him to speak up, and his approach has been to take on the contracts on shows like Love Is Blind. When they sent you the contract, what was your impression of what you saw?

[Nick Thompson]

Yeah, it's like, around 30 pages. There were parts in there that kind of, like, struck me a little bit as odd. You don't really have any rights to talk about what your experience was. You're subject to being sued through arbitration. You can be defamed and misrepresented, and you basically have no recourse. And those are the parts that I thought, huh, that's weird. But you're naive, and this is why people are like, oh, well, you signed up for it. It's like you kind of go into it blind and think to yourself, well, this isn't gonna.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Netflix declined to comment, and the production companies behind the show, Kinetic Content and Delirium tv, did not respond to our requests for comment for this episode. But in court documents filed in December with a federal labor agency, they've denied all allegations about the way they've treated participants. The fight over these contracts could now end up in court. And if it goes Nick's way, the effects would ripple across reality tv. Welcome to the Journal, our show about money, business, and power. I'm Jessica Mendoza. It's Wednesday, February 12th. Coming up on the show Love is Blind and the Reality TV Reckoning.

[Nick Thompson]

Do.

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[Jessica Mendoza]

Eduardo how would you describe yourself and your life before Love is Blind?

[Nick Thompson]

Oh, my life before Love is Blind was pretty good. I was at the time at a software company. I had bought my own condo here in Chicago. I had a cute dog. I had so many things going for me, but I really was missing someone to share it with.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Nick had never really thought that he'd find his way to love through a dating show. But then in the fall of 2020 he got a DM on LinkedIn of all places. Love Is Blind is a dating show where each cast member tries to find the love of their life without actually setting eyes on them first. The series hit it big in season one during Lockdown, and I'm not a big reality show fan, but even I binged that with my roommates back then. When Nick first heard from the show, it was recruiting for its second season.

[Nick Thompson]

The premise of Love is Blind is actually very true to the title of the show. There's 15 men and 15 women and you speed date with one another in these things called the pods where you can talk to one another but you cannot see each other. And then over the course of a couple of weeks you narrow that down and if you agree to get engaged then you get to see them the next Day for the first time, making a decision on the last day if you want to get married at the altar.

[Jessica Mendoza]

It's kind of an incredible premise. Why did you agree to join in the end?

[Nick Thompson]

I was a believer in the concept. You know, there were some success stories that came out of it and I was like, maybe this could work for me. Like I felt, you know, this is a good way to get to know someone and not have the distractions of work and endless opportunities. On dating app, there's 15 people and if one of them works out, great. And I kind of got myself in the mindset of if it's day one and I'm not connecting with anyone, I'm fine. Going home.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Nick ended up getting cast on that second season. According to his contract, he'd be paid $1,000 for every week he was on the show. The series would film for about eight weeks. So in April 2021, Nick took time off work and flew down to LA where they started taping.

[Nick Thompson]

So the first day you get there, you give up your phone, you give up your suitcase. They go through your suitcase, all that stuff. And I had a smartwatch, they took my smartwatch.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Your IDs, passports.

[Nick Thompson]

Oh yeah, IDs, passports, all of it. So you really don't have access to any of that.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Getting cut off like this is pretty standard for a reality show. To keep cast members from being influenced by the outside world, they also typically sign non disclosure agreements. Despite that, Nick was excited to be there.

[Nick Thompson]

Then when you get there to that set, I do remember like being like, wow, like this is Hollywood. It's a very big set, sound studio. There's basically two sides. On those two sides there's a male side and a female side. There's some snacks in there most of the time, alcohol, of course. And then you sit there and that's when you have your conversations or your dates, as we call them.

[Jessica Mendoza]

And all of that being filmed, all.

[Nick Thompson]

That is being filmed. You are being filmed for 16, 18, I would say sometimes 20 hours a day.

[Jessica Mendoza]

As those long hours turned into longer days, Nick started to feel a little uncomfortable.

[Nick Thompson]

I remember being in the hotel rooms and I was like, this is weird because one, I drink a like ton of water and I had like two bottles of water. I was parched a lot. I also noticed somewhere around probably day three that I was like really hungry most of the time and I didn't feel like I was getting adequate food or despite asking. And then you also don't get a hotel room key. And if you do have to Leave your room without permission, you get locked out. Like, I get that they want all interactions to happen on camera, but, like, I feel like I was going a little crazy. I think we all did. Then I also noticed by the time I went to put my suit on, which was two weeks in, I put on my suit, which I had tailored the week before going, and it was really loose. And then when I finally got home, I realized I lost, like, £15 over the course of a couple weeks.

[Jessica Mendoza]

The production companies behind the show didn't respond to our requests for comment, but in an earlier interview with the Wall Street Journal, the show's creator addressed some of the legal controversies around Love is Blind. He said it has increased its communication and adjusts to feedback from participants every season. To get a better understanding of what happens behind the scenes, we spoke to someone who spent 20 years in the reality TV industry.

[Michael Carroll]

My name is Michael Carroll. I'm 54. Oh, can't believe it. And I'm a former reality television producer. Now I work in meetings.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Michael worked for nine seasons on ABC's the Bachelor, one of the OG reality dating shows. He says that a lot of what Nick described on Love is Blind is baked into the DNA of reality tv, and that's in part because the producers are trying to make the best TV as quickly as possible. That's what he said happened on the Bachelor.

[Michael Carroll]

This was a show about dating and finding the love of your life and potentially getting married. So everything is directed towards that direction. Not necessarily always pushing, but guiding.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Nudging.

[Michael Carroll]

Yeah, nudging. To keep them within the guide rails and on the street of where we're going. And a lot of time it was asking them. Exactly. Asking them the question that I wanted to hear back, because that made it very simple, direct, and expeditious for me to get what I wanted. Otherwise, we'd have been watching paint drive for 24 hours, and we'd have been like, we got nothing today.

[Jessica Mendoza]

You know, so the directive was like, make good tv.

[Michael Carroll]

Make good tv. Absolutely. Yeah. Don't waste your time.

[Jessica Mendoza]

We talked to Nick Thompson from Love is Blind, and he was saying, you know, he also felt like he wasn't getting enough sleep. They weren't, like, feeding them enough. There was alcohol on set. Does that sound familiar to you?

[Michael Carroll]

Absolutely.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Yeah.

[Michael Carroll]

I mean, we always said that alcohol was like true serum, and it is. You know, people's inhibitions go away. Most of the time, they're a little more apt to speak their mind and to say what they feel, and they'll probably be a Little more emotional when there's alcohol involved. And yes, there were times they probably should have been fed more. But that was not from us saying, let's starve them. It was from us staying on a schedule. Because we start shooting something specific, we're gonna stop for cheeseburgers. It's not gonna happen.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Were there ever concerns about how cast members were feeling on set or dealing with their environment?

[Michael Carroll]

Yes, because you're a compassionate human being, and we all weren't like evil people. But after doing it, season after seasons, I started to go, okay, this is. You know, there's times that I'm really messing with these girls, and I'm really kind of, like, manipulating and tricking them. So there were times that I really started to feel it for them.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Representatives for the Bachelor did not respond to our requests for comment. Back to Nick Thompson on Love is Blind. He was finding the relationship he'd hoped for. He had connected with one of the other cast members, Danielle Rule.

[Nick Thompson]

I was like, what if he doesn't think I'm cute? Of course I think you're cute.

[Jessica Mendoza]

And at the end of the show, Nick and Danielle decided to get married.

[Nick Thompson]

My Beyonce. I can't believe it. I love you too.

[Jessica Mendoza]

After their wedding, filming ended and they went home. But the show wouldn't air for another eight months. And as part of the contract they'd signed, the couple had to keep their marriage quiet. NDAs like this are common because production companies want to contain leaks. During those eight months, the relationship between Nick and Danielle didn't go so well. And just a little over a year after their wedding, the two filed for divorce.

[Nick Thompson]

It's kind of crazy when you look back on it and be like, I married someone after seven weeks in a highly controlled environment for most of the time.

[Jessica Mendoza]

It was around the time of the divorce that Nick also lost his job. His employer said it was part of a planned round of layoffs. But Nick felt that Love is Blind had played a role, and finding a new job was a struggle.

[Nick Thompson]

I had a pretty good resume. I had a lot of experience, and I started having job interviews, and the topic of discussion became the show. It was no longer about my experience. It always came down to, you were on this show, and there was always some sort of reason as to why that wasn't gonna work for them.

[Jessica Mendoza]

What did life look like for you at that time?

[Nick Thompson]

This is the darkest time of my entire life. The divorce, obviously, was hard. And I think people think. Cause they watch it on TV and then they see the headlines or whatever. They think it's not real. It was very real. I don't want to speak for her, but I believe we fell in love. And then I at the same. Within, you know, a few weeks, I had been let go from my job, and that was when I kind of just hit rock bottom.

[Jessica Mendoza]

During this dark period, Nick started reflecting on his time on Love is Blind, and he decided to take a closer look at what he'd signed.

[Nick Thompson]

And that's where I kind of started having these thoughts that, you know, they have a lot of control, a lot of autonomy. And I was like, wow, this actually doesn't really make sense, the way that this is framed.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Nick realized it was the contract itself that had set him up to be exploited, at least in his view. And it was this contract that he took to the National Labor Relations Board. That's next.

[Unnamed Cast Member]

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[Jessica Mendoza]

At the end of 2022, Nick Thompson was divorced, out of work, and struggling to put his life back together. And he felt like so many of his problems went back to Love is Blind. When he took a closer look at that agreement he'd signed, he zoomed in on how he was classified, and it very clearly stated that the production companies had not hired him as an employee. Why would being classified as an employee change the experience that you might have had?

[Nick Thompson]

Because then the production companies would have to follow basic labor laws, which is pay minimum wages over time. And the fact that in the contract, it says you cannot form a union or be a part of a union. And so if we were ever going to have those rights and that collective bargaining, this was step one to do.

[Jessica Mendoza]

That, we spoke to lawyers who deal with reality show contracts, and they said that most reality show cast members are not entitled to the kind of labor protections that an employee would have. They typically have no right to join a union or get minimum wage or overtime pay. Essentially, they're treated as independent contractors. As Nick started digging, he found that some former Love Is Blind cast members had already sued the show, including someone who was on season two with him.

[Michael Carroll]

I filed a lawsuit against Kinetic and Netflix on behalf of Love is Blind cast members and ultimatum.

[Jessica Mendoza]

That's Jeremy Hartwell speaking in a documentary.

[Michael Carroll]

Alleging that they violated California labor law.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Hartwell had sued the show, claiming it underpaid cast members and deprived them of food, water and sleep. And he said part of the problem was that participants should have been considered employees. But they weren't. Hartwell's lawsuit, which was eventually settled, laid the groundwork for Nick and another former cast member to take this idea one step further. They brought a complaint to the federal agency set up to protect workers rights, the National Labor Relations Board, the lack.

[Nick Thompson]

Of autonomy and the length of the contracts, and the NDAs. There was a possibility that the NLRB could deem that those are illegal and that we should be classified as employees.

[Jessica Mendoza]

The NLRB agreed, saying that reality TV cast members should be classified as employees. The production companies, on the other hand, denied the premise of the complaint. In their response, they said that reality show participants are not employees and that the NLRB is overstepping its authority. The case was set to be heard in court this April, but the production companies filed a motion to postpone. And Love is Blind is not the only show mired in legal battles. Former participants on some of the most popular reality shows like American Idol, Real Housewives and Vanderpump Rules, have also brought lawsuits alleging they were mistreated in one way or another. Some of these lawsuits have been settled, while others are still ongoing. We spoke to industry experts about the case Nick took to the nlrb. They said that if a judge rules in his favor, it could totally transform the way reality TV gets made. We asked Michael Carroll, the former Bachelor producer, about that.

[Michael Carroll]

It would have made my job more difficult because I wouldn't have been able to have them under my thumb or in my world or my web the entire time. So I think it would be a great thing for the cast. I think it would be an awful thing for the producers and the production company and the network.

[Jessica Mendoza]

One media and entertainment lawyer pointed out that reality TV relies on capturing cast members vulnerability. It's partly what makes these shows so compelling. The lawyer said that without being able to film people 24 hours a day, among other things, the entire genre would change.

[Michael Carroll]

And that's because you're not using real actors, using people that have signed up to be filmed 24 7.

[Jessica Mendoza]

Right.

[Michael Carroll]

So if you only had them for 12 to 14 hours, you'd have a two day schedule when you could have had one. So that just the budgets are going to go crazy and it's going to make for the networks and the production companies to make a lot less television because they couldn't afford it.

[Jessica Mendoza]

So think about this. In 2019, there were seven dating shows on TV, according to Nielsen, the ratings firm. Last year, there were 59. Experts told us that this kind of growth would be unrealistic if the business model changed.

[Michael Carroll]

The reality television business would slow down immensely if it was required to have our cast members classified as employees, not necessarily because of the pay, but because of restricting their time on camera and the amount of time that we can shoot with them if they're an employee. There are time limits to how long you can make someone work. And the way reality television works is that it's a slimmed down, a really tight version of regular television with a way smaller budget.

[Jessica Mendoza]

But there's still a long road to getting reality cast members classified as employees. There's that hearing that might be postponed, and the NLRB has seen a change in leadership under the new Trump administration and that might impact the case. So there's still a huge question mark over what happens next. Regardless, lawyers we spoke to said that this complaint will continue to haunt reality TV. As for Nick Thompson, in 2023, he started a foundation with Jeremy Hartwell dedicated to supporting reality cast members, many of whom are worried about speaking up because they don't want to risk legal action by breaching their contracts.

[Nick Thompson]

If I speak now and I do some of this work now, I can step away and never have to worry about it again because it's scary. Like, the NDAs are scary. I got a cease and desist type letter. Like, it's, it's terrifying. And, you know, when I got that letter, all I could think about is I was like, well, what have I got to lose? What are they going to sue me for?

[Jessica Mendoza]

Like, how would you view Love Is Blind now based on your experience in it?

[Nick Thompson]

It's different in the sense of I don't, I don't think of reality TV as real. I think of it as a show. And I, you know, hindsight's always 20 20, but I definitely think I would have probably approached it a little bit different had I known what I know now. But I, I just think it's something that I did. It's not who I am. And I wish everyone who chooses to participate in this show or any other show, like, I just wish them well, and I hope that they come out of it better than they went into it. I don't watch it.

[Jessica Mendoza]

I can't watch it.

[Nick Thompson]

People ask like, did you watch the latest season? I'm like, no, I did not.

[Jessica Mendoza]

That's all for today. Wednesday, February 12, the Journal is a co production of Spotify and the Wall Street Journal. Additional reporting in this episode by Jeevika Verma. Thanks for listening. See you tomorrow.