D.C. podcaster talks Love is Blind ahead of finale

After learning Love is Blind’s D.C. season was finally dropping, I had to reach out to Tayne, a reality TV junkie and host of “Altar Call: A Married at First Sight Podcast.” Tayne (who prefers to use her first name only) moved to the D.C. area from Texas five years ago. She currently lives in Fairfax, Va. with her husband of five years. As a transplant, she was excited to see how Love is Blind’s latest installment measures up to her—and many others’—views of D.C. locals. 

I’ve listened to Tayne’s podcast faithfully since I began binging Married at First Sight (MAFS) a few years ago. Produced by the same company, MAFS is similar to Love is Blind (LIB) but with arguably higher stakes, as strangers get legally married the first time they meet and then decide whether to stay together or get divorced after eight weeks. 

Between seasons of MAFS, Tayne can’t help but cover other shows like Love is Blind. “I joke that I am a ‘reality show whore.’ There's just no reality show that I don't watch,” she told me during a recent video chat. 

A fan of recap podcasts, Tayne co-created “Altar Call” in 2020 with her friend and former co-host Ade after her favorite MAFS recap podcast was no longer available. After seven seasons and more than 200 episodes, she’s become an expert in the intricacies of reality TV production and finding love, unconventionally. As a Black woman and an immigrant, she also feels her commentary adds nuance to the ecosystem of reality TV podcasts. “When we watch a show, we’re able to bring the fun, the emotions, and different layers that aren't always at the forefront,” she says. ”Also, the shade.”

During our conversation, which took place after the release of LIB episodes 10 and 11, Tayne and I discussed how (and whether) this season of Love is Blind truly represents D.C., how producers affect the episodes, the bizarreness of lifelong partnerships, and more. Below is a transcript of our conversation, edited for length and clarity.

So my husband often compares marriage to a hurricane. He says you can prepare for it as much as you can, but you don't really know what it feels like until you're in it. Do you agree with that? 

Yes. I used to joke that marriage is like a cult until you're in it—I don't mean that in a bad way. 

No, no. I get it. 

Because it's so unique—it's not one size fits all. And honestly, I think marriage is such a strange concept—two people from different backgrounds who think completely differently, trying to make a life together, forever. So, yes, I agree with your husband. It takes a lot of work and intentionality. 

So if you can’t fully prepare for marriage, do you think shows like Love Is Blind and Married at First Sight are good ways to find a lifelong partner? 

‘Good’ is a very strong word. I wouldn't say ‘good.’ But I also think, why not? For the fact that they've had successes. 

In general, whether you date someone for 10 years or two days, there is an element of luck when you decide to partner with someone for life. So my thought process with those shows is why the hell not? I mean, not for me—but for others. 

What did you think when you heard Love is Blind was coming to D.C.? 

I was excited. I love when shows film where I live because I like looking at all the places they go. I take notes. 

Also, as a transplant, D.C. is very career and status-focused, to my knowledge. So it was going to be interesting to see how that was going to play. And I know people say ‘D.C.,’ but for the most part, it's usually the DMV. And it's different when you add Maryland and Virginia. 

If it was D.C. proper, I think the show would have a whole bunch of Monicas. That's quintessential D.C.—Taylor and Monica. But because they mixed it up, that's how you get the Stephens and Tylers. So I was interested to see what direction they were going to lean in.  

That makes sense, except I'm a D.C. native, so my friends are like normal people. They're not all Monicas! And I was also happy to see more Black people represented since it’s in D.C. 

I don't think I expected that. We had a lot more Black people than ever before. I also think this season has the most veterans. So I think that is representative of D.C., and that was pretty cool to see. 

Were there other very D.C. things that you've seen so far, or do you think this season could have been filmed anywhere and you wouldn't know the difference? 

I'm half joking when I say this, but there weren't enough brunches. D.C. is known for brunches. It seems like they were just meeting up for drinks. You have to have the brunch culture.

And I don’t know that they showed a lot of D.C. because they were filming in Arlington, where they were living. So they're showing more of the suburbs. It wasn't showing like D.C. proper. Listen, even go cliche and show Ben's Chili Bowl. 

So what are your thoughts on this season, do you have any favorite couples? 

I am drawn to Taylor and Garrett because I think they exemplify what this show is about. Like when it works, it works. It's the magic of going against all odds. 

As soon as I saw them, I was like, ‘I have no idea what the hell they're saying with all these science terms.’ And I think Garrett said something like, ‘This is not who I am. Like, I just work, work, work, and this is going to push me out of my zone.’ I don't think he expected to find someone that would understand that. And then they had like the same tattoo and I was just like, ‘My God, this is why we watch the show.’ So I'm rooting for them—even with this latest episode and everything that happened. 

Were there any storylines in particular that caught your attention? 

I do find all of them interesting—except Hannah and Nick. I just don't care about them. They're not fun to watch. But I think everything was intriguing for me because you could see the red flags for a lot of them or that they were just not a match. 

Tyler and Ashley were intriguing because they didn't seem real. They seemed like a perfect match, everything's great. And thanks to the internet, people ruined everything for us, so we know all the stories offline. It’s also like, do we think the Love is Blind producers know this? Because all it takes is for people to do a Google search and we find all this, so how don't they know?

I was intrigued by Tim and Alex because Tim leaned heavily into the loss [of both his sisters]. And as soon as they went on a honeymoon, it was easy to see that Alex was a brat and Tim was a militant. Not a dictator—but something to that effect. So that was a mismatch from jump. 

Monica and Stephen…. just, no. I compare them to Miranda and Steve from Sex and the City. It just wasn't a thing. And I don't know that I was intrigued by it. 

I recently checked to see how many episodes were left and realized there’s just one wedding episode when there are usually two. Then I realized it’s because we're down to three couples out of the six. So that’s kind of sad.

I have a problem where they let them break up beforehand. Ride it out to the end and say ‘yes’ or ‘no’—no matter how terrible it is—because that's the original premise of the show. I think they need to put a stipulation because if we continue this way, we're going to end up with no couples at all. 

Is there a type of D.C. person you think makes for good reality TV? 

It wouldn't have to be unique to D.C., but anyone who's willing to be themselves. Authenticity goes a long way in reality TV. And honestly, even if you're the kind of person who's into their career, if that's you for real, there's still a storyline or an angle to that. 

And someone searching for love. These people are not looking for love—and that's the problem. 

So, it seems we’ll have three weddings in the Love is Blind D.C. finale. What are your predictions? 

Taylor and Garrett—yes and yes. Marissa is going to say yes, and Ramses is going to say no. 

Tyler and Ashley—I thought they were both going to say yes. But then I keep thinking: this diabolical man is going to be like, ‘Damn, she didn't say no. I need to back out at some point.’ And then he is going to say ‘no’ at the altar.