“Love Is Blind Brazil” messed up its reunion in the worst way

Content warning: The following text contains discussions of sexual assault.

The reunion episode of any season of Love is blind is often the most anticipated episode by viewers. The reunion was recorded and released some time after all the couples had already said their yes and no at the altar. It gives the audience a glimpse into the lives of the participants after the experiment and lets us in on some really juicy gossip about who broke up with whom and why. The last reunion episode of Love is blind: Brazil showed a side of romantic relationships that is much uglier than many of us would like to admitWorse still, it was done in a way that did not reflect the seriousness of the issue at hand. To put it simply: Love is blind: Brazil had to deal with an issue of sexual harassment committed by one participant against another, and when the horror of this story came to light during the meeting, none of the hosts Camila Queiroz And Glue Toledo nor the rest of the production team knew what to do about it.

It all started when Ingrid Santa Rita was asked what had become of her marriage with Leandro Marcal. Although they were seemingly one of the most well-adjusted couples of the entire season, despite some issues, it was a surprise when they announced they were no longer together. After being given a hammer to smash her wedding photo, Ingrid voiced a series of complaints about her ex-husband, such as his inability to help her renovate their home. All of this culminated in her finally revealing that Leandro sexually abused her in her sleep for at least a week during their short-lived marriage, crying profusely as she asked him to name what he did to her. The moment is shocking and disturbing in and of itself. shown without any content warning and carelessly inserted between jokes around Patrick RibeiroBaldness and Ariela CarassoGiven the exaggerated reactions, it is completely disheartening.

Love is blind

Singles who want to be loved for who they are, not how they look, have embraced a less conventional approach to modern dating.

Release date

13 February 2020

Pour

Nick Lachey, Vanessa Lachey, Bartise Bowden, Micah Lussier

Main genre

reality

Seasons

6

Ingrid’s pain was pushed between much lighter segments

The reunion began quite normally. Patrick and Marilia Pinheiro went first and revealed that they had decided to end their relationship due to a lack of compatibility after agreeing not to walk down the aisle yet. Then Queiroz and Toledo asked Muriel De Aquino Silva And Gabriel Kaleda couple that formed after the end of the pod phase to tell the viewers a little about their upcoming wedding. Everything was perfect and There were no signs that anything alarming was about to happenWhen Ingrid started speaking, it was clear that – just like the audience – none of the other participants had any idea what she was going to say.

“When I chose you as my husband, I thought you had three sisters and knew what not to do,” Ingrid explained, before recounting how Leandro waited until she went to sleep to make sexual advances to her. She also talked about how She started sleeping with more clothes on and went to the couch to avoid himall to no avail. The situation escalated until one day Ingrid’s two daughters found her screaming on the floor and ordered Leandro not to touch her. While he denies many of Ingrid’s accusations about his lack of contribution to the renovations and his family’s rudeness, Leandro never once confronts the rape accusations. Instead, he simply states that he knows what he did was wrong and claims to have apologized to Ingrid, to which we say: that’s not enough.

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The back and forth between Ingrid and Leandro continues until she, visibly shaken, decides to leave the stage. Queiroz and Toledo then give a whole speech about how seriously they take sexual violence and that such things cannot be tolerated. After Ingrid leaves, they politely ask Leandro to leave the stage as well and announce that they must continue with the show. Renata Giaffredo And Alexandre Thomaz continue to talk about their successful non-monogamous relationship. During the rest of the episode Ingrid’s story remains like a ghost while contestants and moderators debate whether Ariela was right to be angry at Evandro for keeping one of his children a secret and joke about Patrick’s new hair implant. It’s hard to pay attention, and it’s hard to accept the levity of these discussions when such a horrific story is swirling around in the back of our minds. Was there really no better way to broach such a topic?

“Love is Blind: Brazil” should have presented Ingrid’s story more carefully

What happened at Love is blind: BrazilThe reunion of has naturally taken the Brazilian internet and media by storm. Netflix and production company Endemol Shine issued a joint statement to the local entertainment website Splash Uol She claimed that the participants received extensive professional support during the recording of the show and that “the allegations made are being investigated by the relevant authorities.” In the same story, Camila Queiroz said: “From the moment we received the news, we spoke to Ingrid and supported her in every way possible.” Ingrid, who was embraced by her colleagues as she told her story during the meeting, also received support on social media from Marília and her eldest daughter Rafaela, a cousin who adopted her to escape a similarly abusive situation at home. While this is all very heartwarming, at least as sexual harassment can be, it’s hard to shake the feeling that Ingrid’s story should have been handled with a little more care.

While Love is blind: Brazil can get a little hotter with his make-out scenes, the cameras aren’t in the room every time they sleep or have intercourse. Love is blind is not a 24/7 show like Big Brother. Moreover, Ingrid’s attack only took place after the cameras had already stopped rolling. when it comes to presenting such a story to a broad, international audience, other measures should have been taken. First of all, she could have told her story in a separate section, perhaps in a one-on-one interview with Camila alone, followed by information about how women can find help in these situations. The filming and editing could have been done with a little more sensitivity.

Another problem is the complete lack of a content warning for viewers who may have problems with memories of sexual assault. At least A sign should have been placed at the beginning of the show so that viewers who might be triggered by stories like Ingrid’s could prepare themselves for what was to come. This would also help set the tone of the show. With a warning, no one would be caught off guard and laugh at Marília and Patrick’s antics, or even Ingrid’s claims that Leandro is impotent, only to lose their grip when the bomb drops. Netflix’s decisions not only affected Ingrid and viewers, but also the very unique atmosphere of the reunion episode, as it was hard to keep things light after something so horrific came completely out of nowhere.

This is not the first time that problems have arisen during the production of “Love Is Blind”

The whole thing is made worse by the fact that This is not the first time that Love is blind Franchise faced allegations of sexual assault. In 2023, American participant of the fifth season Tran Dangwho was not seen in the episodes, filed a lawsuit against the production company Kinetic Content, claiming that her fiancé sexually harassed her on set and the crew did nothing to stop him. Her lawsuit also includes issues with working conditions on the set of the reality show, which is also nothing new, but the core complaint revolves around her being touched without her consent. Speaking to People, Love is blindCreator Chris Coelen has stated that no contestant has ever claimed to have felt unsafe on the show or called attention to any misconduct. However, if Dang was assaulted on set as alleged, did she really have to say anything?

In the case of Ingrid and Leandro, things are quite different. The assault did not take place on set. Nevertheless, something went wrong when it came to telling the audience what had happened. In the end Love is blind: Brazil Ingrid was also abandoned, even though there was nothing they could have done to stop Leandro from attacking her. They re-victimized her by putting her in a position to face the man who had attacked her purely for entertainment. What remains from both stories is that The franchise needs to make its reality stars betterboth in terms of how they are treated on set and when they are asked to reveal their feelings and traumas to the world.

Season 4 of Love is blind: Brazil can be streamed on Netflix in the US

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