Love Is Blind UK season 3 won’t restore your faith in dating – but it’s addictive

This Love is Blind UK season 3 review is based on the first eight episodes.

Three seasons in, Love is Blind UK has cracked the formula for addictive reality TV with its best outing yet.

I’ve watched Netflix’s famed dating franchise since the very first US season came out in 2020 and took the world by storm, bringing together one of the sweetest dating show couples of all time – Cameron and Lauren – and restoring faith in romance for millions.

For those unfamiliar, the show’s premise is what it says on the tin. Is it possible to fall in love without ever setting eyes on your betrothed, based purely on an emotional connection? Or is true love skin deep?

Since the glory days of the first season, however, the show has taken a sharp nosedive with several spin-offs and the US version growing more unhinged by the episode to keep viewers engaged.

I had long lost interest in the show until it arrived on British shores in 2024 with married celebrity couple Emma and Matt Willis as hosts.

Nowadays, the UK version is the only one I keep up with, managing to recreate the magic of those early seasons of the original show with its own unique British twist.

For example, unlike the US version where religion and the military are recurring themes, in the UK the couples have to overcome the North and South divide, class dynamics, and even diaspora woes, among other culturally specific challenges.

To me, this spin-off feels more down-to-earth and committed to the experiment while still including the juicy drama we all know and love.

Also, while some of the men have definitely shown red flags and terrible behaviour, it’s nowhere near reached the heights of the most worrying echelons of reality TV, which platform abusive men for the entertainment of the masses.

In the third season, the producers seem to have found the perfect balance between endearing love stories you want to root for and gasp-worthy drama that will keep you watching to the next episode to see how it’ll all pan out.

Of course, no Love Is Blind season is complete without a few love triangles, and the new episodes have two for viewers to get hooked on.

One three-pronged love affair involving one of the women and two guys who couldn’t be more different comes to a chaotically delicious conclusion with repercussions for the rest of the season.

I don’t want to give too much away, but there’s one interaction about cheese in the pods that had me cackling at how ridiculous it was.

As usual, there’s also one man who gets the characteristic villain edit and, if the way he’s portrayed on the show is anything to go by, I was left gobsmacked that anyone trusted him as far as they could throw him. Seriously, at one point he forgets the name of his nearly-fiancée.

But when the contestants start to show their true colours outside of the pod, he’s not the only one who will leave you rolling your eyes. There are a few more who are too self-absorbed to see a good thing staring them straight in the face.

Of course, there’s also the reliable couple who we all know are going to say yes at the end of the aisle, even if the show is still trying to whip up some contrived drama for them for entertainment’s sake.

In season one, Bobby and Jasmine had their happy ever after. In season two, Megan and Kieran rode off into the sunset together. And, if I’m not mistaken, in season three there’s one sweet couple who will get the fairytale ending that we’re all rooting for.

Another endearing storyline is a genuine exploration around body insecurity and the impact that can have on self-esteem and how someone approaches relationships.

It’s by far the most interesting lens to view the show through, since the hope of falling in love sight unseen should theoretically overcome this struggle so many people face.

In a show where the vast majority of the cast looks as though they’ve walked out of the pages of a fashion magazine from the 2000s, it’s refreshing to see different perspectives.

Unfortunately, I don’t think this season will make anyone believe in true love. If the track record for season two is anything to go by, where all couples but one parted ways, love ain’t blind.

The show veers into predictability at times, but compared to the off-putting melodrama of most reality shows, at least this is bearable to watch.

So grab your popcorn and strap in for the ride because it’s well worth watching to see how it all plays out.

Love Is Blind episodes one to eight are streaming on Netflix now. Episodes nine and 10 will arrive on Wednesday, August 26, and the reunion will land on Sunday, August 30.