'Love Is Blind' Producers Respond To Allegations Of Mistreatment On Set

The producers of the hit Netflix reality dating show "Love Is Blind" are speaking out after a new Business Insider report alleged that "contestants say producers deprived them of food and sleep, preyed on their anxieties, and refused to let them quit."

This is after season 2 contestant Jeremy Hartwell filed a lawsuit against Netflix and the producers of the show, alleging that producers “contributed to inhumane working conditions and altered mental state for the cast” through a “combination of sleep deprivation, isolation, lack of food and an excess of alcohol all either required, enabled or encouraged” by those in power.

In a statement to Entertainment Weekly earlier this week, Kinetic Content responded to the report, saying, "The wellbeing of our participants is of paramount importance to Kinetic." The company added, "We have rigorous protocols in place to care for each person before, during, and after filming."

Kinetic also claimed that Hartwell's allegations had "absolutely no merit" and vowed to "vigorously defend against his claims."

Another former cast member from season two who has publicly supported Jeremy is Danielle Ruhl, who got married to Nick Thompson on the show but later filed for divorce.

Although "Love Is Blind" contestants indicated that they had no problem getting alcohol, they alleged that food was scarce while they were filming.

"They would run out of food," Ruhl alleged in the Business Insider report, adding, "I remember every time we'd get to the freaking kitchen, there'd be like one hard-boiled egg and it was like a fight to see like who could actually get the stuff."

In his lawsuit, Hartwell claimed that contestants were "regularly denied food both on the Defendants' production set and in their hotel living quarters." He also claimed that the sinks in the on-set lounges didn't actually work, so they had to rely on production assistants to bring them bottled water.

Hartwell alleges that producers told production assistants to give them alcohol with bottled water. However, Danielle's struggles went far beyond just food and water. She was filmed having a panic attack in Mexico and wanted to quit the show, but she claims producers convinced her to stay.

"I kept telling them, 'I don't trust myself,'" she said. "'I've tried committing suicide before. I'm having suicidal thoughts. I don't think I can continue in this.'"

In April 2022, the "Love Is Blind" contestant shocked fans when she said that she was "coughing up blood" while filming and was denied medical treatment. “Just one more thing bc it’s hard getting this off my mind and Idk what I’m allowed to do anymore…” she began.

“There were 2 days they stopped giving Nick and I water and food in Mexico (We snuck to a neighbors through the swim up pool to get some),” she alleged.

“Me and Nick begged to leave Mexico bc of how bad everything was,” she continued. “I was so sick I was coughing up blood but wasn’t able to see a doctor.”

“Everyone made me believe that I should hate myself, and I didn’t, until they engraved it in my brain,” Ruhl added. “So watching what ur seeing is many ppl being tortured to fit a narrative preconceived.”

A screenshot of the message was reposted to a Reddit page where fans hotly debated whether or not the allegations were plausible. “Yeah idk how true it is, but I do know for a fact that there were several days where they were confined to their rooms due to COVID exposures (this was filmed in early May of 2021),” one user commented. “So they certainly could have been deprived of food. Shaina's dad also posted that they were sleep deprived and encouraged to drink alcohol so I wouldn't be shocked.”

Danielle wasn’t the only one who claims that producers showed no sensitivity toward her mental health. Briana Homes from season 1 also told Business Insider that she had a panic attack after the man she was dating admitted he didn’t want to marry her.  "They literally chased me off of the set to the trailers, cameras in my face," Holmes said. "I'm like, this is too much. I don't want this. I don't want to be here. I don't want to do this."

Holmes also recalled feeling “disgusted” after she had a pod date with a match where they were talking about the death of their parents. Apparently, the two ran out of time, and producers would not let them finish their emotional conversation.

"We're not even viewed as human beings at this point," she said. "I get that you're filming a show. But we're human. We were having a genuine moment of grief and it was like, 'Sorry, too bad.'"