Love Is Blind is like nothing we’ve seen before. A new addition to Netflix, the reality dating show explores whether emotional connections alone are truly enough to make a relationship work.

If you have no idea what I’m talking about, just imagine this situation:

You’re physically standing near someone, but you cannot see them. There’s a wall separating your vision of each other. Yet, you can still talk. In fact, you talk so much that you begin to know the essence of who the other person is, based purely on the conversation. Soon enough, you form an emotional bond that brings you feelings of warmth and joy; feelings you’d usually experience when you’re falling for someone. And that’s exactly what’s happening: you’re beginning to fall for the person on the other side, and they’re falling for you.

Yet you’ve never seen them, and they’ve never seen you.

Love Is Blind follows this exact plotline. A group of men and women go in and out of empty rooms across from one another, until they find someone who they truly connect with on an emotional level. Day in day out, they talk (pretty deeply) with different people until they find a genuine connection. If it’s mutual and successful, they eventually see each other in person. But get this: it’s only AFTER one of them PROPOSES to the other.

Then the real ‘test’ starts, and they see if their emotional connection can turn into a physical one. Yeah it’s a little forward and unconventional, but that’s reality TV for you.

If you think it sounds kind of weird, you’re not alone. I agree it’s a strange concept. Personally, I only started watching it out of curiosity.

Still, despite any reservation you may have about the validity of this experiment, it really does make us question: are emotional connections alone truly strong enough for a relationship to last? Or do we need that physical attraction, too?

When we are thinking about investing in a serious relationship with someone, it should be our default mentality to base this off of how we emotionally connect with the other person. At the end of the day, this is the person you probably see most often, and enjoy their company more than anyone else’s. So naturally, you’re going to need that deeper connection for it to last.

What about physical attraction, though?

At the surface level, physical attraction seems like an entirely different ballpark, and in some ways, it is. When a physical connection is not accompanied by an emotional or soul connection, well, you can forget about making it serious! It will simmer out before it can even begin. This is because what was drawing you to the other person is their exterior, and therefore it’s based on what they can physically offer you. Which is more of a ‘casual dating’ type situation.

On the flip side of that, when there’s a situation of emotional connection, but zero physical attraction, outside the asexual community, it largely becomes the beloved ‘friendzone’.

But can one attraction survive without the other for a serious (sexual) relationship to thrive?

Believing both physical and emotional attraction are necessary for a relationship to last is by no means a superficial thought. In fact, it’s common knowledge that when both factors are present in a relationship, a (sexual) couple is more likely to stay together.

Think about it like this — have you ever heard the phrase: ‘beauty is in the eye of the beholder?’ Everyone has a different perception of attraction, and this encapsulates physical attractiveness, too. Not to mention, the way someone carries themselves innately can reflects outwardly, making them more physically attractive. Personally, I believe true beauty will always go deeper than the surface when there is a true connection. When this happens, the physical attractiveness can emerge naturally. As Love Is Blind has shown, the pace at which this happens depends on who you are, and what you’re comfortable with — and everyone is different.

So, does Love Is Blind live up to the name?

For most couples on Love Is Blind, when they finally see each other for the first time, they form that physical chemistry which reaffirmed their emotional one. Yet, for one couple in particular, the physical attraction appeared to be lacking in the beginning, which seemed to cause problems. (Spoiler alert: I’m talking about Mark and Jessica).

Mark and Jessica deeply connected conversationally, but when they finally met face to face, there was a struggle to form a physical connection. I noticed many comments on social media attacking Jessica for not reciprocating these feelings. A lot of people said how ‘mean’ she was for not being able to connect with Mark physically yet. I personally respect Jessica for not being intimate with Mark if she wasn’t feeling it.

While Mark was attracted to Jessica — in fact, he even said he loved her — Jessica seemed to be struggling to reciprocate the physical attraction, and it seemed this is why the relationship looked like it was falling apart.

While I am a firm believer in ‘it’s what’s on the inside that counts,’ what Love Is Blind has revealed to me is that a physical attraction with no emotional connection is only surface level intimacy, and largely for the sexual community, emotional attraction with no physical magnetism is not a romantic love.

When the two are combined within the sexual community, it seems this breeds the greatest chance of success. While love can be blind in the sense of deep emotional connection, the physical chemistry is also necessary for a relationship to tick every box, and has a greater chance of long term success. That’s not to say physical attractiveness can’t be formed through the emotional connection, because this is possible too. It is also important to remember that some forms of romantic love, especially those found within the asexual community, break all kinds of boundaries.

Featured Image: Netflix