Nick and Vanessa Lachey Talk Outside Influences In Love Is Blind Season 8 and 98 Degrees Reunion
Love Is Blind took the world by storm when it premiered in 2020. While we were all quarantining in the comfort of our homes during the pandemic, the contestants of the new Netflix show were doing something similar. They separated into pods and made connections sight unseen, all in hopes of finding love — and a hit was born. As the show celebrates five years and introduces us to its eighth season, Pop Culture Planet’s Kristen Maldonado spoke with Love Is Blind hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey on their favorite love stories, the pressures the contestants face, and the outside influences that particularly effect the cast of season 8.
There’s been 13 marriages over the last seven seasons of Love Is Blind, with Vanessa Lachey saying picking a favorite couple is like asking her to pick a favorite child “[There’s] so many great love stories. It's hard to pick just one,” Nick Lachey told me. “I'll always go back to the first season. Barnett was my guy. He and Amber [are] still going strong and expecting a little one any day now. They'll always have a soft spot in my heart.”
While no one could be prepared for how much the first season would blow up, Love Is Blind has become a guaranteed influencer maker at this point — if you’re lucky enough to make it out of the pods. But not every couple is a perfect match. There have been seasons where couples fall apart after the first meeting or at the getaway, or even after online sleuths have uncovered more about contestants while the season airs.
What’s different about season eight is that we’re seeing those outside influences like family and friends and even social media seep into the story while the cast is still filming. “This is the first time we're seeing those other things when getting your phone back and the social media aspect of it and the family and friends and being back in the hometown are really affecting [them],” shared Vanessa. “In Minnesota, they really spend a lot of time in the pods vetting who they wanted to propose to. They get to the getaway, that's a beautiful another layer. It's all happy and then you finally are starting to see these other elements that are in life. How they navigate that is the beauty of Love Is Blind and this season it's touching on things that we haven't seen before.”
Nick continued: “Is your emotional connection enough to see you through all those turbulent times” Some can navigate those waters, others can't. That's part of the experiment, if you will. It’s part of the ride.”
While the contestants are already experiencing it while filming, there’s a whole other element coming when the online investigators get into the mix as the show is airing. “We always say at the beginning, definitely be vulnerable and don't leave anything off the table,” shared Vanessa. “Be honest with your spouse because if it doesn't come out in the pods, it will come out later on or it will come out when the world sees your relationship.”
“We try and caution them. I mean, there's no way for anyone to know what's coming once the show airs. The pressure from the public, the comments, the trolling, all the things that happen in our in our modern world these days. It’s impossible to prepare anyone for that. What we try and just tell them is you got to just look to each other. Live your reality. That's all just noise. What truly matters is the two of you and what you've established,” explained Nick. “Even if you don't get married, try to ignore the noise. You got to stay true to yourself. It's hard though.”
The Lacheys are uniquely adept to that as a couple who has also been in the spotlight for decades after finding love on TRL. “I love a TRL throwback. We were at dinner last night and this guy's like, ‘I grew up watching you guys and I've been a fan since I was a kid.’ We're like, ‘Damn, we're old,’” Vanessa laughed, while Nick shared: “As a couple in the public eye, it's hard for us sometimes to still ignore what's happening out there and all the noise that comes. While it's a great TV show and people love watching as a TV show, we love hosting it as a TV show, it's important remember these are people with real emotions and real feelings and real families. At the end of the day, that's what really matters.”
While Nick has been hosting Netflix hits like Love Is Blind, The Ultimatum, and Perfect Match for the last five years, we were first introduced to him in the boy band 98 Degrees, who are gearing up for a reunion! “We're celebrating our 30th anniversary, believe it or not, of getting together as a group so it felt like the right time to do an album called Full Circle. Five new tracks, five re-records of our our biggest hits,” he revealed. “Our new version […] of “I Do (Cherish You)” is being released on Valentine's Day. So I’m excited for that and for all the new music that's coming out this spring.”
Love Is Blind season 8 is streaming now on Netflix.
