We’ve Got To Ban Single Parents From Love Is Blind, It’s Too Much

The first time I watched Love is Blind, I totally fell for the pods part of the experiment. Talking to someone without ever meeting them or seeing them? I could see how a deep connection could happen through that, especially if both parties are wanting that deep connection. It reminded me so much of how I felt when I first started talking to my husband. We met on an app and because I had a 6-month-old, we spent weeks just texting and talking on the phone. It felt safe and steady and gave me the chance to really decide if this was someone I wanted in our lives. I tell people all the time that I think meeting someone through an app and getting to know them is the perfect way to date when you’re a single parent.

But y’all. Love is Blind is not the spot for single parents.

Love is Blind Season 9 is officially streaming on Netflix, and this is the second time a single parent has shown up in the franchise. And sure, while listening to Jordan talk about his 5-year-old son Luca and what it feels like to be a dad is cute and wholesome, knowing that he’s literally joining this experiment to propose to someone he’s only talked to for a couple of weeks — making that person his son’s stepmother — is not the move.

Like, OK, of course we know not everyone takes these silly reality dating shows seriously. We know this. Just because a single parent accepts a proposal or proposes to someone they haven’t met doesn’t mean it’s actually going to happen.

But what are we doing here, guys?

Single parents deserve all the support in the world. Even if the other parent of your child is super-involved and handles their responsibilities and is there for their kid in all the ways (and therefore, there for you, too), it’s so lonely. It’s hard to raise a child and feel like you have nobody to lean on but yourself, nobody to share the daily ups and downs of parenting with, nobody to just be your support system when you need it.

And I fully see the appeal of a show like Love is Blind for single parents.

But listen, nothing proves how hard it is to date when you have a kid like this show. We’ve seen it play out twice now, where someone having a child is a huge “no thank you” from their potential partners.

And that’s 100% fair.

Because asking someone you’ve never met — someone who also has several other options to talk to — to MARRY YOU and become a stepparent to your actual living child (and not just the fictional kids you’re dreaming up in the pods) is bonkers. This isn’t just a “ha, let’s see if we can get a free trip together on Netflix’s dime,” you’re including a whole new person in this. Your kid’s entire life is intertwined with yours — along with your co-parent’s life (if there is one), by the way — and thinking that you could meet the love of your life on Love is Blind and immediately have them mesh in with your kid weeks later? Nope.

Honestly, do we even have to talk about how silly it sounds to leave your small child for weeks — with zero ways to communicate with them — so that you can go find them a stepparent? It gives me the creeps just thinking about it.

You don’t know this person. You’re both on a reality show. You’re away from your kid for weeks and sequestered in this weird party world where you’re half-buzzed all day and daydreaming about sleeping with a voice from the other side of a lava lamp wall.

Do you see how maybe you’re not in the right mind to propose through that wall just yet?

And while we’re here, we have to talk about the double standard. Because in Love is Blind Season 6, I knew all about Jessica being a single mom before I ever even started an episode.

I have not heard one person talk about Jordan being a single dad — it was a total surprise to me.

In Jessica’s season, she dealt with men shutting her down completely (again, fair) and then a guy who dragged her on for so long and ultimately said no because she was a mom (and boy did ol’ Jimmy regret that).

But on Jordan’s season, he’s got his number one (I won’t spoil anything for you) telling him that not only is she OK with him having a kid, but she also talks openly about wanting to be in that child’s life and be there for him and have a relationship with him.

You know. Real cool stuff that Jessica could never dream of.

So let’s just make it easy: let’s just ban single parents from Love is Blind.

Because single parents, you deserve better than a reality show to find love. You deserve someone who will support you and your kid. Someone who doesn’t have you on the back-burner because they’re waiting to see if another “connection” is going to happen. Someone who is excited about meeting your child and knows how important it is for you and your kid to be considered a package deal. Someone who isn’t sipping from a gold goblet of wine all day and writing your name and identifying facts in a notebook so they can remember your details.

Someone who actually feels a little weird being engaged to you without meeting your kid first.

Being a single parent already feels like an invisibility cloak — don’t hide yourself or your kid. You’re a parent; you’re going to have to put yourself out there (safely) and find your future partner — your kid’s future stepparent — without hiding in a sensory deprivation pod or producers prompting you to explain your feelings.

I promise, you and your child are enough all of on your own. And you deserve to be out there.