By now, fans of the reality TV show Love Is Blind know what to expect in a given season; hopeful singles go on lengthy blind dates in the pods and, if they strike a particular match with someone, they might choose to get engaged before they've even seen each other.
If that happens, the next step is an exciting reveal where the pair gets to see each other in person for the first time. After that, the couple is meant to jet off to Mexico for a romantic getaway together—but, for one couple this season, Brittany and Leo, things came to a screeching halt after their reveal. It's only recently come out why, exactly, the production team behind Love Is Blind chose not to follow Brittany and Leo's journey together, even though they were still a couple.
Courtesy of Netflix
Love Is Blind Production Chose Not To Invite Brittany And Leo To Mexico
In the beginning episodes of the season, Brittany and Leo had a rocky start to their relationship. The two were perhaps some of the more controversial cast members of the season, for one. In her introduction, Brittany spoke to the cameras about how she was interested in being a kept wife, uninterested in working hard and splitting the bills with her future husband exactly 50/50. For his part, Leo shared with production how he had struggled in the past worrying that women were only with him for his money—something he spoke about at length was how he'd inherited his family's art dealing business and that it made him extremely, extremely well off.
That said, once they got into the pods, something seemed to click between Brittany and Leo. Even through the wall, there seemed to be a palpable chemistry, and Brittany admitted that right from the first day she had a sense that Leo would be the one for her. However, their story wasn't without its drama, either. In particular, the two hit a snag in the road when Leo was torn between Brittany and another one of his dates, Hannah.
When another man proposed to Hannah and she tried to break things off with Leo, he grew so upset and defensive that it made Brittany question his feelings for her. She expressed to him that she resented feeling like his second choice and that she felt like he had "tainted" the connection they'd worked so hard to build. In the end, though, the two were able to smooth things over, and when Leo proposed to Brittany, she said yes.
Finally, the two had their reveal, and as soon as they were together in person, Brittany noted that something felt off, and that she didn't feel like Leo was actually the man meant to be her husband. That said, she didn't share any of these feelings with Leo in the moment, and in fact still moved forward with kissing him. At the end of the scene, the show noted that Brittany and Leo weren't chosen to have their story followed in Mexico, and that they weren't even invited on the trip in the first place. The show also noted that Brittany and Leo went on their own trip to Miami, but broke up a week later.
The Show's Creator Explained His Decision
Since then, Chris Coelen, the creator behind the franchise, has opened up about why fans were left hanging about Brittany and Leo's storyline. Despite seven couples getting engaged, viewers only get to see six on the trip to Cabo. In an interview with Digital Spy, Chris was candid in his answer, saying that often it simply came down to production's capabilities, and that it was never meant to be something personal:
Chris' reasoning implied that even following six couples in Mexico was already putting a strain on their crew, so adding Brittany and Leo to the mix would've pushed them over the limit. He also went on to add that part of their consideration for who to continue filming was based on their own judgment of who was "most authentically likely" to make it all the way to the altar.
Via: Netflix
When it came to Brittany and Leo, that is, Chris felt that they were the match the least likely to remain together, and so he made the decision to end their filming journey where he did. Fans seem to be torn about this decision—after all, it's satisfying to follow the story of a couple who ends up with their picture-perfect love story, but, at the same time, it can also be extremely entertaining to follow a pair who is full of drama and tension.
For his part, Chris defended his choice to cap filming when he did. In the aforementioned conversation with Digital Spy, he referred to what he called his "gut level decisions" about these moments, noting that he'd been consistently correct about them in the past:
In the end, it didn't seem that Leo and Brittany were fully invested in one another, and, as a result, production made the choice not to invest in them any further, either. Given that the two split a week later, it seems that Chris' hunch was once again spot on.
While it may be the end of the road for Leo and Brittany, the journey continues for the remaining six couples of Season 7. The first six episodes of the season are available to stream now on Netflix, and additional episodes are set to drop on Wednesday, October 9th.