The Villain Edit: Reality TV editing or realistic portrayal?

It's time for us to talk. Fans, I have been with you for eight seasons of ups and downs of Love is Blind and other reality shows. We have loved and not loved the cast together. We have wanted to collectively throw our TVs and laptops into the ocean in protest. I'm glad I live in the desert because it would have gotten expensive this season of Love is Blind, especially.

HOW-EV-ER...it's too much. I love to talk trash about the cast with the best of them. I even made it my job. Everything I say about the cast, however, I would absolutely say to their face. That isn't the case, or at least it shouldn't be, for 99 percent of the hateful comments the cast gets on their own social pages and in their DMs.

Who is sliding into a stranger's DMs to tell them they deserve death, you ask? A lot of weird people. So, let's deep-dive into some past examples of reality TV villains and what they and their cast members have said about the show.

Unreal is the realest "reality TV" out there

A PSA for any reality fan: If you have not seen the most amazing show ever, Unreal with Constance Zimmer and Shiri Appleby, you are missing out. It's not 100 percent accurate. As far as I know, without giving spoilers, there are definitely limits to the extent of the cover-ups depicted on the show. The general premise, however, is spot on.

I don't think fans realize how amazing, not always in the best way, the production team is at getting the answers they're looking for, provoking emotion, and, of course, editing conversations to stir up trouble. I'm not mad at it as a fan. I love drama as much as I love love stories. I do feel for the cast, however, because it makes it impossible to prepare yourself for the backlash you get from unhinged people projecting their traumas and frustrations in insane ways.

Constance Zimmer, who plays executive producer of the fictional show Everlasting on Unreal, explained the show is "shining light into dark corners." I couldn't have said it better myself. It is eye-opening how, while these shows are based in reality, there are elements that are heavily produced and edited.

Those gold cups

One of the most common questions fans have had about Love is Blind is why the contestants have gold cups all the time. In the pods, in their homes, out at restaurants. You will see so many gold cups that you'll start dreaming about them.

The reasoning is 100 percent editing. If the amount of whatever drink in a glass is seen going up and down throughout the conversation, you're going to know it's edited. And the conversations are edited. A sentence about politics, for example, could have happened hours earlier on a pod date, or if they're having an argument in their apartment, it's the third time they discussed it, but the only time we see it.

The show captures thousands and thousands of hours of footage, so it's a necessary evil, but I am putting emphasis on the word evil.

Check, please

If you've been a religious Love is Blind fan, you may have noticed that sometimes, someone seems checked out during an important argument or conversation.

The best examples I have are Kenneth playing with his phone when moving into the apartments with Brittany and Jeramey wearing his sunglasses during an argument with Laura about where he wandered off to all night.

It's not just about wanting to piss off their partners. This could be the third, fourth, or fifth time they've had the same conversation for the cameras and have just checked out. If you're already heated and in a bad place, why would you want to go through the same exact roller coaster again?

Legal woes

If you've kept up with the news from various TV shows, you know that in addition to villains having a difficult time with their on-camera experience, some cast members go through the entire "experiment" and never get shown due to controversial legal issues and traumatic experiences.

On Love is Blind season 5, both Renee Poche and Tran Dang got engaged and went through the experience, but both of their storylines were edited out. for alleged sexual assault from her then-fiancee, Thomas Smith, and false imprisonment from production companies Delirium TV and Kinetic Content.

Renee and her ex-fiancee Carter made it to Mexico, the apartments, and even to the altar, where she said no. What were the reasons she was given for not being shown? Timing and her then-fiancee, who production referred to as "awful." No one was more surprised their story didn't air than Renee. While we may never see the footage, you can check out some snaps from her dress-fitting day with fellow brides Stacy and Lydia on her Instagram.

In addition to the chaotic relationship dynamics that were cut from the show, Renee is suing the Love is Blind production companies, which previously classified their cast as "non-employee participants" and had them sign NDAs that (also allegedly until their April 2025 court date) prevented them from many other job opportunities.

Not being considered employees opens the cast up to a lot of bent rules, to put it mildly, including no limit on work hours and different treatment than if they had the legal benefits being employed by the company offers. The National Labor Relations Board ruled that cast members must be considered employees as of December 2024.

A new initiative is born

Renee and Tran weren't the only ones with negative experiences from the show. Love is Blind season 2 cast member Nick Thompson went on to co-found UCAN, the Unscripted Cast Advocacy Network, to work for ethical treatment for reality TV cast members. This includes mental health resources, education and support for potential and upcoming cast members, and industry accountability, to name a few efforts.

UCAN was created after a laundry list of cast member complaints, including being overworked, underfed, and unprepared for the process and fan and media reaction once the show airs.

Wrap it up

I realize a single article isn't going to change the hearts and minds of reality TV fans. I'm definitely not telling you to hide your emotions when you get mad at one of the cast members for doing something stupid. Maybe, just possibly, consider that there's more going on behind the scenes than you realize. And whatever you do, do NOT go to them directly with the same behavior you're accusing them of.

If our own lives were broadcast on Netflix, I'm sure we'd have a hard time with having our dirty laundry come to light, too.