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in collaboration with
Amélie Boukhobza (Clinical psychologist)
Did you like the last seasons of Love is Blind? Good news, the series is returning for a seventh season. But in real life, is it really possible to love without worrying about the physical? Here is our answer.
Love is Blind is a Netflix series where love is created… out of sight. Singles enter a pod and start conversations with candidates without knowing them physically. An attractive concept, but one that raises questions. Can we truly love based solely on an emotional connection? Amélie Boukhobza, clinical psychologist, answers us.
Establish deep emotional connections, without being distracted by appearance
If Love is Blind has enjoyed such success around the world, it is thanks to its intriguing and engaging concept, which is reminiscent of the show “Tournez merège”. The idea of this series is to explore the complexity of human relationships, based solely on the personality and emotions of the candidates.
The latter are in fact “isolated” in strange cabins and chat with the selected suitors, without ever seeing them. Over the course of the conversations, participants become closer to certain profiles and may, at the end, decide to get engaged to one of the candidates.
However, we can only wonder, when viewing the images, if love makes you “blind” to this extent.
“At first glance, this seems counterintuitive, because physical attraction still plays an important role in our romantic relationships. But the show pushes us to ask ourselves the question: what if love was more about emotional and intellectual connection? We are ultimately not far from the “check boxes” of the dating site after all…”, says the expert psychologist.
That being said, it would still be possible to establish a strong and deep social connection in the absence of images.
“Psychology tells us that yes, it is entirely possible to feel deep emotions for someone in the absence of eye or physical contact. Our verbal exchanges, the way in which the other makes us feel unique, seen, heard, can be enough to create a very strong bond. Which ties in with the idea that communication and emotional intimacy are among the foundations of a strong romantic relationship. develops the specialist.
But, doesn’t physical reality always end up imposing itself?, asks the expert, who draws a parallel with “virtual meetings”, leading sooner or later to an in-person meeting.
A physical reality that would eventually take over
The moment of the “physical” meeting is completely decisive, recalls the practitioner.
“The charm of a voice, the intelligence of an exchange is good, it can build the first bricks why not, but what happens when we discover the body of the other? And I’m not just talking about the sexual encounter… I always say that when you physically meet someone, you’re meeting them for the first time regardless of the intimacy of the exchanges you’ve had so far…!” , she reveals.
“However, at this key moment, the meeting of bodies can strengthen or shake what has been built. Physical alchemy, gestures, looks, also participate in the entire romantic dynamic“, she continues.
So, can we love fully without ever meeting the other physically?
“Maybe. But for this love to take root and last, there is no other possibility than emotional alchemy meeting, at a given moment, the reality of the body“, concludes Amélie Boukhobza.
Slide: 10 proofs that you are falling in love