Love Is Blind Executive Producer Shares How Fan Criticism Affects Show

Love Is Blind executive producer Ally Simpson looked back on season 8 following the reunion, and she revealed how fan criticism affects the dating reality show.

After noting she would “be remiss not to” pay attention to any backlash the show has received, Ally told Rolling Stone that she takes “it all with a grain of salt.”

“I think you can tell the people who are being cruel just to be cruel, but we strive to become better and better storytellers because we want to do justice to the journeys that each of these people went on,” she continued. “It does feel like our responsibility to see if things feel accurate and if we did them justice.”

Ally added that the producers sometimes view the reunion as their “chance to address if someone is being unfairly attacked.”

“We really want them all to leave the reunion feeling like they got a chance to either set the record straight, defend their character or have the opportunity to say their final piece about something,” she said. “We heard feedback this season that the show spent a lot of time in the pods and we’re thinking about that as we move forward. We do pay attention, but I think we know how to filter the useful from mean-spirited comments.”

While Ally did not point out specific backlash the show has received, fans have been vocal about their concerns regarding many of the contestants over the years. For season 8, several fans slammed David “Dave” Bettenburg for his reaction to learning that ex Lauren O’Brien was casually seeing someone else shortly before joining the show.

Meanwhile, Ben Mezzenga also faced backlash for seemingly not having opinions about social issues.

Another issue that Ally reflected on was how she and the other producers cast people with pure intentions instead of contestants simply hoping to get their five minutes of fame. Ben’s drama continued when a TikTok video about him began to circulate, in which an ex accused him of treating her poorly. However, Ben insisted to then-fiancée Sara Carton that he barely dated the woman in the TikTok video and he was not guilty of the accusations.

“We do a social media training of what to expect in terms of both haters but also people latching on and trying to get their five minutes of fame out of your very heartfelt, earnest journey. We talk to them about how to manage that, what to look out for and we tell them we’re there but there’s only so much we can do to manage the insane world of social media,” she explained of the casting process. “TikTok wasn’t what it was in those early days of Love Is Blind, but the haters were certainly there.”

She continued, “People from seasons 1 and 2 had to deal with a lot of social media backlash, and it’s unfortunate, because they really are being vulnerable and putting it all out there.”

Ally also acknowledged that a lot has changed since the show first debuted in 2020, and the producers have become wary about who is cast. “We think it is such a cool experience and experiment for people to do, and we want to bring on really quality individuals,” she said. “We want people to want to do it because we’ve seen it work, and I think the social media aspect does sometimes scare away people who are thoughtful about that.”