Emma and Matt Willis weigh in on the Love Is Blind 'love bombing' debate ahead of season 3 landing on Netflix
Emma and Matt Willis have opened up about everything from sex and intimacy to emotional vulnerability and the ever-debatable topic of 'love bombing' ahead of the return of Love Is Blind: UK.
The husband-and-wife duo are back as hosts for the third season of the Netflix dating experiment, which sees hopeful singles attempt to find their future partner without ever seeing them face-to-face.
And judging by the first batch of episodes which will hit the streaming platform next week (19 August), viewers are in for quite the ride.
Check out the official trailer here:
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Speaking ahead of the new season, which treats reality TV lovers to another dose of pod drama, honeymoon chaos and emotional twists, Emma told Tyla that this season is the 'best series ever' when asked to sum it up in three words.
Matt agreed, as Emma added that, without any 'disrespect' to the previous two seasons, she genuinely thinks this is 'the most perfect as a whole series that we’ve had, in the UK'.
One thing Emma and Matt particularly praised this season was how frank the contestants are willing to be when it comes to the conversations that can make or break a relationship, including everything from having children and family dynamics to intimacy and sex.
The pair believe contestants need to have the conversations that might normally take months, or even years, to come up much earlier when they are taking part in an experiment as intense as Love Is Blind.
"You’ve really got to go into it, I think, with a book written of all the things that are important to you," Emma explained, acknowledging that those priorities will be different for everyone.
"Of course, you’ve got to have chats about how you feel about having a family," she continued. "We’ve had chats about intimacy this year, and how important that is in an individual’s relationship, how important family is to you, or the struggles that you may have with family and where you're going to live if you live in different parts of the country."
The same goes for sex and physical intimacy, particularly when contestants have only a short amount of time to work out whether they could genuinely build a life together.
Emma pointed out that while these conversations might not always happen before physical intimacy in the real world, the format gives contestants a unique opportunity to talk openly before they reach that stage.
"They have two weeks to kind of get all that stuff out the way before they’re even in a position to do anything," Emma explained, noting that some contestants were open about having a high sex drive, while others made it clear they wanted to take things slowly.
"It’s just important to say."
But perhaps one of the biggest talking points surrounding Love Is Blind is the behaviour that happens inside those pods, with viewers frequently debating whether intense declarations of affection are genuine or whether contestants are veering into 'love bombing' territory.
After watching relationships develop from day one, are Emma and Matt able to spot the difference?
Well, it turns out it isn’t quite that simple.
"It’s quite hard to tell because of the nature of it," Emma explained. "Everybody is in there dating everybody else. And because you have such a short amount of time to make sure that you are following the right path of the person that’s right for you, sometimes you might feel like someone’s love bombing, and sometimes you might feel like someone’s a red flag."
But that initial judgement can change dramatically as the experiment progresses.
And that, Emma and Matt suggest, is perhaps one of the most fascinating parts of watching Love Is Blind.
Contestants can be judged within minutes, both by the people around them and by viewers at home, only for their behaviour to start making more sense as their stories unfold.
Matt said he found it particularly interesting watching people 'evolve' throughout the experiment and seeing sides of their personalities that weren’t immediately obvious.
"You’re like, 'Oh, you’re great. You’ve just been hurt by something, or you’re acting a certain way. That’s not necessarily you,'" he explained.
It’s a reminder that, despite all the drama, romance and questionable decisions, the people taking part are still trying to navigate an unusually intense dating experience in real time.
And while removing physical attraction is at the heart of the show, Emma and Matt believe the pods can also encourage contestants to open up in ways they might not normally do.
"I think it’s different for everybody," Matt said. "If you’re used to relying on [physical attraction], that can be a real barrier for you and you’ve got to kind of find another way to connect with somebody, which is challenging and awesome."
Emma agreed, suggesting that the pods can give people a wall to hide behind, while also giving them the freedom to be more open.
Whether that openness leads to happily ever afters, heartbreak or yet more pod-related chaos remains to be seen...
Love Is Blind: UK returns for Season 3 on 19 August, only on Netflix.
Topics: Emma Willis, Celebrity, Tyla Exclusive, TV And Film, Love Is Blind
Rhiannon Ingle