How real is Love Is Blind? Behind the pods, edits and drama

Five couples got engaged during this series of Love is Blind

This article contains some spoilers about series two of Love is Blind UK

When it comes to love, most of us would like to think personality and values are our main priorities. But if looks were taken out of the equation entirely, would we still fall in love with the same people?

That's the question at the heart of Love Is Blind, Netflix's hit reality dating experiment.

The show sees singles date each other in "pods", speaking through a wall without seeing what the other person looks like. Only after getting engaged can couples meet face to face, then navigate the pressures of a honeymoon, moving in together, and meeting families - all in a whirlwind run-up to a legally binding wedding.

In the UK's second season of the show, 30 hopefuls entered the pods - five couples got engaged and three said yes at the altar. And yet, a year later, only one couple remains together.

The one couple still standing is Megan and Kieran, and when I sit down with them they couldn't look happier. Megan says life since the pods has "been a hoot" and the couple are "having the best time ever".

"It's been seamless fitting into each other's lives and now we live together," Kieran says. "We've had a really good, fun and silly time. I'm grateful to have had the year after the experiment out of the public eye."

Unlike some of the show's other couples, they insist they haven't had to overcome any major hurdles. "People will eye-roll at us," Kieran says, "but it's been really easy."

Megan and Kieran are the only couple from the experiment to still be together a year on

There was some drama between the pair during the show as Kieran was accused of disrespect for giving Megan a gift while he was still dating another contestant, Sophie.

The pair insist the situation was exaggerated in the edit, with Kieran saying the love triangle was "slightly manufactured".

"You see a very small portion of a very long experience," he adds. "Everyone is dating everyone up until you propose, and that's the point of the experiment."

The BBC has approached Netflix for comment.

'I might troll back sometimes'

The other men on the show who got engaged agree with Kieran and say viewers only see a fraction of the real story.

Javen, who had a rocky time with his partner Katisha, tells me "what you don't see is just as powerful as what you do see".

Watching his love story back, he was left thinking "I wouldn't pick myself either" but he says that's because the edit didn't show "the intimate and vulnerable moments that we had".

"They can only show so much and they are creating an entertainment show so I just take it on the chin," he continues.

He laughs and admits: "I might troll back in the comments sometimes but I don't really look at the negativity."

Viewers saw awkward pauses and simmering tension between Katisha and Javen - and fewer of their happier moments

Katisha insists she and Javen had chemistry but that the show "highlighted the worst parts" of their relationship.

One thing she says she struggled with was being asked by producers to repeat conversations she'd had with Javen offscreen for the cameras.

"It was difficult to discuss it again and make it look like a real conversation," she says.

Megan and Kieran say they also found this a challenge and that most of their deeper conversations happened when the cameras weren't around.

"We'd get told off a bit for being too silly," Megan tells me. "The producers would ask us to get a bit deeper and we'd just be laughing."

Watching their love story back on screen was "the weirdest thing ever", she says, adding that it felt like being "in a Black Mirror episode".

'Not the same person off camera'

As well as feeling wrongfooted by the editing process, a few of the female cast members tell me the men they met on the show seemed like very different people "when the cameras were on".

Bardha, who was engaged to Jed but said no at the altar on their wedding day, says her partner "was not the man [from] the pods".

Bardha and Jed butted heads on the show as he wouldn't let her pay the bill after a meal out

"For him, it was all about 'when this comes out and I make some money', it was never about love or planning a future like we discussed. That all went out the window when the experiment ended."

Jed strongly denies ever talking about the money or fame that could come from being on the show. "I don't even understand the opportunities that come after because this is not my world, I'm a family man," he insists.

The other men I interview also come to his defence. Kal, who married Sarover, makes the point that people go on the show "for a lot of reasons".

"We're all aware it's a reality show, no one is here my accident," he says and his castmate Billy agrees. "You'd be foolish to ignore everything that comes with this."

Despite most of the couples no longer being together, I ask the cast whether they've learnt anything about themselves or what they want in a partner from the experience.

Billy struggled to see how Ashleigh's job as cabin crew could fit into his more regimented lifestyle

Billy, a personal trainer who works in the Army, says people often stereotype him and he hopes the show will make women see him differently in future.

"I will also now give everyone a fair chance but hopefully, people won't judge me just being a PT [personal trainer]."

For Kal, the show was a chance to step beyond boundaries of familiarity. On the show, he explains he has only previously dated white women because Wigan is less diverse than many other parts of the UK.

He ended up marrying Sarover, who is British Indian, and says it was "nice to learn more about her culture and religion".

Sarover was the first Indian woman Kal had dated, which became a sticking point in their relationship

After the show, their relationship disintegrated. Sarover says she was "blindsided" by the breakup, which happened "so abruptly".

"The Kal I dated in the pods was not the Kal after we got married," she explains.

Kal agrees to some extent and says he was "a better communicator in the pods, as you can open up a bit more in that environment", but stands by the fact that he "gave it 100%".

While only one couple is still together now, most of the cast agree the experiment offered them a rare opportunity to test themselves, explore love in a unique environment and, in some cases, grow through failure.