Vanessa Lachey Is Right About ‘Love Is Blind’ Season 8’s Biggest Controversy

When it comes to love, Vanessa Lachey and her husband, Nick Lachey, know a thing or two. After all, they’ve been hosting Netflix’s popular reality dating show, “Love Is Blind,” for a whopping eight seasons.

With the show renewed for at least two more seasons, it’s clear that fans can’t get enough of the drama. However, it’s pretty rare for the Lacheys to weigh in on a controversy mid-season. That’s what makes the controversy between contestants Daniel Hasting and Taylor Haag one of the biggest of the season.

The Netflix reality show attempts to test the premise of whether love is truly blind by having singles meet in “pods” and communicate through a wall. Using only the strength of their emotional connection, they must get engaged before the physical reveal. The show then follows the selected couples on a honeymoon retreat and the process of their wedding planning, including whether they tie the knot or walk away at the altar.

Contestants have seemed much more comfortable backing out of the show before they even get to the wedding venue in later seasons, but the show’s premise has resulted in several marriages and even a few “Love Is Blind” babies. Many singles from cities around the U.S. have applied to be on the show, hoping that they can find “the one” through their personality, and not their physical appearance.

However, that may not have been the case for Daniel and Taylor, as Taylor thinks Daniel might have known what she looked like ahead of their engagement.

Netflix dropped the first few episodes of season 8 on Valentine’s Day, giving fans a chance to meet all of the engaged couples before they head out on their honeymoon retreat. Although things looked like smooth sailing between Taylor and Daniel, their first meeting – after their engagement reveal – seemed to set off red flags for Taylor, who thought he looked familiar to her.

In the final moments of the last episode, she accused her new fiancé of following her on Instagram before meeting on the show. She had several things listed on her profile, such as her favorite fast food, the importance of her faith, and other small details, that may have made it easier for Daniel to use to his advantage when trying to convince her that he was “the one.”

And, to make matters worse, it means that he did know what she looked like behind the wall, essentially compromising the entire point of the show.

Although the Lacheys usually wait until the reunion special to weigh in on the most dramatic moments of the season, the “NCIS” actress told Us Weekly that she and her husband actually had differing opinions as to how bad it would be if Daniel really had followed Taylor on Instagram prior to meeting her on the show.

“It’s funny because that was one of those moments — we always tend to agree, but then when we do disagree, we agree to disagree. And I was like, ‘I understand what she’s saying.’ And [Nick’s] like, ‘I don’t think it’s that big of a deal,’” she said, noting that this season “really highlighted how social media does impact a relationship.”

“If somebody is following you and does know a lot about you, is that fair?” she asked. “And it didn’t give you an opportunity to truly get to know them for who they are because that is personal. That is why it’s Instagram and it’s posted. She had this little voice in the back of her head, and I’m really proud of her for speaking up on it.”

“Nick, again, was like, ‘I don’t think that it was that big of a deal,’ but I understood why it was a big deal to her,” Vanessa continued, adding, “We’ve never seen that particular scenario play out before. That’s what keeps it exciting for us.”

It’s impossible to make sure that all of the contestants don’t know each other prior to being cast on the show, although this season does seem to be a little bit more local than some of the past seasons. For instance, two contestants found out in the pods that they had actually attended the same high school – thankfully, it was a few years apart.

It’s definitely a major concern for Taylor that Daniel knew what she looked like before she was on the show because, for her, that would compromise the entire experiment. The show had a similar situation in a past season when one woman actually ran into her ex and started giving his new love interest unsolicited tips on his hobbies and interests. She ultimately felt like she couldn’t pursue the experiment fully with this knowledge and decided to leave.

Although fans will have to wait until Friday to find out whether or not Daniel did follow her on Instagram, it does beg the question if she should drop out of the show. To that, Kristin says no. It’s definitely possible that he didn’t follow her on Instagram and the show is just using this to stir up additional drama. But, even if he did, it’s possible that he doesn’t remember adding her. Sure, her bio says that she loves Taco Bell and Christmas, but I can bet Vanessa Lachey does too. Those details aren’t deep and they definitely aren’t enough to build a relationship over.

Taylor and Daniel built an emotional bond in the pods that shouldn’t be shaken by a possible follow on social media. The only alternative is that she found him unattractive and is just looking for any excuse to end the engagement quickly. In that case, the only controversy is why this experiment still exists, when contestants have said time and time again that physical attractiveness does play a part in whether or not they choose to say “I do” at the altar.

At least it’s fun to watch.