Love is Blind season 10 contestant allowed to bend rules for a heartbreaking reason

Spoilers are ahead from Love is Blind season 10!

One of Netflix's best reality shows is back with a brand-new season, and of course, it's what everyone's watching and talking about. Love is Blind season 10 sees a bunch of new hopeful singles stepping into the pods, ready to find love without distractions. The first six episodes have been released so far, and the season is already giving fans plenty to talk about, including a moment no one saw coming.

For the first time in the show’s history, a contestant was allowed to break the pods’ strict no-phone rule. And it wasn’t for drama or strategy. Love is Blind season 10 contestant Devonta Anderson faced a heartbreaking situation when his grandfather passed away during filming. In the first batch of episodes, viewers get to see him open up to his date, Brittany Wicker, about what happened.

Producers then gave Devonta the chance to call his family to discuss the situation and decide whether he wants to continue on the show or leave. After speaking with his loved ones, he ultimately chose to stay. This decision allowed him to continue dating Brittany, and by the end of the first set of episodes, the two got engaged.

Entertainment Weekly got the opportunity to chat with Love is Blind creator Chris Coelen, who explained that allowing Devonta to make a private phone call was the right decision. Normally, contestants can’t use phones in the pod portion to preserve the experiment. That way, they can focus solely on dating without distractions.

However, Coelen shared with Entertainment Weekly that the show always has a system in place for emergencies. He explained that the producers tell the contestants to provide their family members or loved ones with the show's specific contact information so that they can relay urgent messages if needed. If someone reaches out with a serious message, like in Devonta’s case about his grandfather, the producers then relay that information to the contestant and give them the choice to leave the show or continue on.

"What we always say is give your family members or any loved ones this contact information, and if anybody ever needs to get in touch with you for any reason, please do get in touch. And so if someone reaches out and they have some kind of important message that they want to relay, like in this case that his grandfather had died, we will always relay that to the person. And then we will give them the opportunity of if they want to leave, they can leave. In this case, to talk and find out what was happening."

Coelen also told the news outlet that they did not film Devonta during his private conversations with his family or the producers about the situation. The cameras only captured him sharing the news with Brittany, which is what viewers see on the show. Another key point Coelen emphasized is that producers never pressured Devonta to either leave the show or stay. He made it clear that the decision to continue in the pods was Devonta’s choice entirely.

In Love is Blind season 10, we see Devonta tell Brittany that his decision to stay was influenced by what his family told him. They expressed to him over the phone that his grandfather would have wanted him to continue, and that's ultimately what guided his choice. However, things don't end off on the best note for the engaged couple at the end of the first six episodes.

Despite Devonta’s choice to stay and his commitment to Brittany, the weight of his grief still lingers. This ultimately affects their connection, and Brittany is shown leaving their hotel room in tears. It'll be interesting to see how their relationship turns out as the season continues to unfold. Will they even make it to the altar? We'll just have to stay tuned in for the rest of the installment to find out!

The second batch of episodes of Love is Blind season 10 is set to be released on Netflix on Feb. 18.