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EPISODE 12:

- Micah's friend has said her opinion, now she needs to shut up because she is just being a hater now. Smiling while Micah was crying? Mean girls attract mean girls. To want heartbreak for your friend? When your friend has just been dumped at the alter, it is not the time to say 'I told you so'. If Micah didn't feel confident saying her answer first, then she already knows her answer. It was a way to feel like she wasn't rejected but it was rejection either way

- When Tiffany's father said 'take care of her' and Brett said 'I will', we all knew what was coming but we already did. The most secure couple!

- I love that Marshall was at Brett and Tiffany's wedding!

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Apr 15, 2023Liked by Michelle Elman

I laughed SO hard when I realised the preview drama they tried to edit in for Brett & Tiffany was actually about his TROUSERS.

I get that it was stressful and important to him, but using snippets to make it sound like Tiffany surprised him with a “no” was some hilariously clever editing

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BUT he is a fashion guy!!! He gotta have the right trousers!

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Oh I’m so here for it - a man strong enough in his masculinity to show emotion about is appearance? What a king and on top of that what a move to get rid of that boring “bridezilla” trope! You do you Brett 👏

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Absolutely!

I had no issue at all with the situation or how he handled it, it was the way they had edited it to make it look like Tiffany said no. In a high pressure situation like that, details really do matter 💕

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Oh my gosh right? I was going to skip through their preamble because I thought it was an obvious yes when I remembered the preview and stuck it out for it to be about TROUSERS 😂

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Although I wasn't sure that Kwame & Chelsea would make it, I'm now really rooting for them to make it work (I'm avoiding googling until after the catch up episode next week)

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EPISODE 1:

- Between job titles, asking what race someone is and how tall they are, it makes me ask how blind is it?

- I wanted to know more about Amber and how she felt under-appreciated and still got married.

- For a second, I thought they were actually included a stripper and I thought that would be great great but it really threw me off that all the women assumed it was the joke. When he revealed it was actually his mum that was the stripper, it struck me as interesting psychology to almost use the joke about him being a stripper as a test to see their reaction to something he was actually quite insecure about

- I LOVE Brett and Tiffany. No notes.

- Jackelina came across very judgemental but it might have been the edit

- I swear Micah was the first person in any season to ask about someone else in the pod. Her jokes about how he should just be dating her, were obviously NOT jokes. And it’s funny considering she’s not even decided herself. It reminded me how a lot of people date because you are so focused on people rejecting you when not aware you are rejecting others. This is going to be a problem down the line and you can see it now. It seems like Micah wants to win more than she wants Kwame. She wants to be able to take Kwame away from Chelsea and Paul away from Amber more than she actually wants the men themselves

- I think Kwame has made the wrong decision and it’s not going to work with Chelsea

- Irina being insecure and then rude, made me sad because usually the women on past seasons are very close. It shows how the influence of some judgemental people can affect the dynamic of the whole group

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EPISODE 9:

- Kwame was expressing true emotions about her snapping in the morning and Chelsea wasn’t being direct or open. She took out her anger on him and didn’t communicate what she needed. In that moment she should have apologised and said what she was going to do different. Instead she turned it into a tit for tat, by adding her issues to the pile which means you solve neither. If I was Kwame, I would have said what I wanted her to say instead and also would have asked “why does asking you ‘how are you?’ annoy you”

- Zack made me sob in that conversation with Bliss’ family and I love love love Bliss’ family. “Then I’ll be your mum too” made my heart break

- Wow to go meet with Josh without telling Marshall ahead of time and kissing him as well. I would see that as a red flag because if she can do that to someone else, she can do it to you. I really don’t buy the “Marshall is too sensitive for me” line. I believe she is used to a certain kind of love that might not be healthy

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EPISODE 4:

- I wasn’t surprised at Irina’s reaction to Zack because when you are that judgemental, she would be so when it came to appearances. She also didn’t even try to hide it and came out with a jab about a cartoon character instantly, and insulting his eyes by calling him weird

- Now that Micah and Irina are paired, there’s gonna be so much more mean girl shit.

- Only one I have faith in is Brett and Tiffany

- Irina saying “you like me don’t you”, “aren’t you lucky”, “you have a crush on me” but not reciprocating

- Marshall was so perfect and had good communication, he was validating and supportive. It really reminded me of that independent woman finally asking for help, when jackelina said she won’t do that again and I wanted to say “yes you will” and he said it perfectly by “you are human”

- Zack communicated well about his issue

- Everything with Irina and Micah was just childish. They were yelling at him across the pool for her to hear

- Micah saying “I was all in with you” multiple times when she ended it with Kwame is manipulative

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OOOF Irina is being so rude to Zack and it’s so sad to watch!

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EPISODE 2:

- There isn’t a perfect response to rejection but if there was what Kwame did, it would be that. He took a breathe, was polite and then processed his feelings separately. It was also good representation for men that they show men crying and displaying their feelings

- I feel like Micah didn’t expect that response because she wanted the ego boost of Kwame fighting for her

- The advice that Irina gives is an example of listening to your friends can be the blind leading the blind and she was even nasty when someone who she considers a friend was crying

- Both Irina and Micah smiling when Amber was upset was so cruel. And it’s also alarming that Micah would be surprised that Amber would be upset?

- Side note: How do you fall asleep so quickly mid conversation?

- Marshall’s response was concerning, again it’s wanting to win the other person almost like a possession. I feel like he saw the comment about Josh packing bags as a threat, as opposed to him just telling the truth. Marshall and Josh both came from ego

- I love Chelsea so I’m hoping it works because I think she communicates well

- I’m resenting how much airtime is given to mean girl shit when they could just air the positive connections. It’s interesting how mean girls attract each other and became friends.

- I don’t love Zack framing Irina’s meanness as being “real”. Being honest and being cruel are two different things

- I understood what Bliss was saying about if he chose Irina, it says something about him. I think it does too because to be willing to overlook mean behaviour because it isn’t directed at you is shortsighted, as it will eventually turn on you

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EPISODE 11:

- I’m so glad that Kwame had family there even if he didn’t have his mum. Also I love Kwame’s sister

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Barbara seemed absolutely lovely! 😍

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EPISODE 10:

- The timing of “I’m going to keep the ring” demonstrates her priorities. Jackie got it right when she said “I probably need to do some self-work”

- I understand wanting your mum’s approval but at the end of the day, Kwame is an adult capable of making his own decisions. It is hugely painful to not have any parent’s approval but her not even answering the text or call comes across as control

- Bliss was very boundaried in her conversation with her dad and handled it the best she could

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EPISODE 8:

- Aww the hug between Bliss and Zack after the proposal felt so safe. I know it’s early to propose but it almost feels like Zack righting his wrong decision. I think Zack and Bliss will make it and the only other couple will be Tiffany and Brett

- With Jackelina, these harsh judgemental words were there from the beginning so it shouldn’t be a surprise her comment about Marshall not being ‘man enough’. Marshall was much more articulate in the argument but it’s on him that he fell in love with potential and not reality She only knows one version of masculinity and I think the reason she so quickly apologised in that argument was because as soon as he stood up for himself, she got that aggressive energy that she wanted. What she doesn’t recognise though is she got it in a negative way and therefore she will likely start a fight to get the same energy again. Also explains why she was so insulting about Zack because she doesn’t view him as masculine.

- I think Paul is actually right that you shouldn’t care what her friends think and not should Micah. The way Micah’s friend said she is just protective of her but I think this is part of the “you can find better” mentality that is promoted so much but the reality is, you’ll end up leaving everyone cause no one is perfect. Stop assuming your friends know more about love than you do!

- It was really interesting see the guys talk to different girls and girls going to different guys for advice because usually the divide between men and women is quite strong

- Jackelina doesn’t know what she wants. She’s telling Josh she wants openness and emotions but then laughing when he calls Marshall a crybaby

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Infelt like micahs friend is extremely scared that their friendship will change if micah gets in to a serious relationship and that is why she is so ‘protective’

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EPISODE 7

- I don’t know if Jackelina’s is just about her parent’s approval. It seems like it is something deeper but is trying to keep the family problem’s private. It makes it hard to watch though as a viewer because you feel like you lack context

- Between Kwame saying “your anxiety is becoming mine” and Jackelina saying “your energy is affecting me”, these people need to have more boundaries so they can coexist and not absorb each other’s energy

- This is so good for publicising money conversations about splitting bills

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EPISODE 3:

- I believe in the slow burner relationships but not for Kwame and Chelsea. Kwame is settling and it is shown by the fact that his top thing about Chelsea is she validated him and gave him so much reassurance

- When Irina said she wants to know the difference between herself and Bliss, she didn’t actually want to hear the truth and she wasn’t ready for it. She just wanted Zack to compliment her. I think why it was so hard for Zack to choose was because it was a choice between the familiar and the new. He is making decisions from a lack of safety because of his upbringing and he has confused safety for familiarity because he would see he isn’t safe with someone who he calls vicious. The reason why he perceives it as safety is because with Irina’s bad behaviour so publicly on display, he reassures himself as to why she chose him. With Bliss, he couldn’t see overtly visible flaws and therefore questioned if Bliss was too perfect for him and if she is, then she might leave him and that creates uncertainty. It’s the illusion of safety, not safety itself

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EPISODE 13

- Vanessa keeps asking leading questions like asking “you guys are happy, right?” while nodding so there is no room for people to answer honestly

- Kwame and Chelsea seems to have much better chemistry in the reunion she makes me think they were edited badly

- Kwame is so eloquent about how yes he was in love with Chelsea but also simultaneously grieving the loss of Micah

- Chelsea seemed healed and wanting to move on from Micah. I love that she wants to give everyone Micah

- Irina’s “I need a minute” felt so contrived

- I actually have the same line as Paul, I wouldn’t be bothered by flirting either

- Paul is really digging himself into a hole, he should have just apologised

- I wish Micah had been called out on her mean girl comments

- Vanessa needs to listen better cause she shouldn’t be shocked Paul and Micah dated after the show because that was said earlier and it should have been picked up then and she also needs to be more neutral. She is so one sided with both Jackie and Josh, and Micah and Paul

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Apr 19, 2023Liked by Michelle Elman

Vanessa really tried to stir everything up and it was nice to see people mostly not taking the bait - her interview style was so full on and uncomfortable she didn't really listen to anyone properly. Could have been some much more interesting discussions! I agree with everyone the baby comments were so uncomfortable 😐.

It was interesting when Zack said Irena just wanted to be famous, I would have thought there was some element of that for all of them considering the platform.

Also, I dont think love is blind - they're yet to prove me otherwise! 😅

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I think after 4 seasons, yes they are all aware of the fame so it wouldn’t be just love reasons, cause you can find love in SO many other ways. Totally agree that there was such a missed opportunity for better conversations!

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Apr 18, 2023Liked by Michelle Elman

Vanessa bringing up motherhood so often feels so inappropriate to me. Micah clearly had a lot of feelings about that and no one should be pressured into having the first LIB baby. Felt so icky

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Also just quite dated. You’d think with all the awareness around infertility, she’d realise how sensitive a conversation it is

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Vanessa annoyed me sooo much! I felt like she was really onesided and not really listening.

I really love the married couples:)

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Her interrogation of Marshall was rough :( I think he handled it so well though

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I really found myself feeling so differently about all of the couples which just shows how manipulative the editing was, which does annoy me a little. I've heard so many things about how the show has treated the contestants (including poor psych evaluations).

- I thought Micah was quite respectful, seemed genuinely upset and I don't think she was out for blood. Paul tries to talk himself out of a situation by using fancy words. But(!) we never know what goes on behind the edit.

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Vanessa was so different when she was alone speaking to Jackie and Josh, without her husband as a backup, and other cast mates to perform to. She was immediately accusatory towards Marshall, not just with her words but her facial expressions

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Did Paul’s reasoning around Micah not seemingly nurturing feel a bit odd? He kept saying maybe he didn’t give her a chance to do that, but I kept hearing ‘she doesn’t treat me like she’s my mother and I’m her child’ which is all to common in heteronormative relationships

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I figure that she’s been called ‘not nurturing’ or there was an ex who questioned her ability to be a mother cause it seemed to come from one of her own wounds that she wouldn’t let it go

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Yeah there were clearly some convos around kids in the relationship that we didn’t get to see too. I personally would think it was mean but wouldn’t be triggered in the same way so I think you’re right about there being an old wound there

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Oh yes you're so right! It's also quite a hurtful thing to say I think - I can see why it upset her so much. Even if you don't want to be a mother, the implication of those comments is that you're not caring and maybe quite a cold person.

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EPISODE 6

- I love the preemptive conversation about housework between Chelsea and Kwame

- I’m glad Micah had slight remorse around the comments she had made about Zack. I love that he’s so confident in both his relationship and his friendship, the way he defended Zack

- Really related to Chelsea saying she FaceTimes when she eats. FaceTimes was the only reason I survived the pandemic

- God, Tiffany’s friends made me cry. It says so much about you when your friends speak about you like that

- I think Irina’s insecurity means that if someone is interested in her, she doesn’t believe it so she starts to think there is something wrong with them. It’s why there was a sudden switch, it wasn’t the reveal as much as she didn’t need to compete anymore. Which is why she was interested in Paul suddenly when she wasn’t in the pods

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EPISODE 5:

- Yup I was right what I said about episode 1 Jackelina

- Again it’s a competitoion is that once you’ve won, game over

- Why can’t any of them stand Zack? I don’t understand

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Apr 14, 2023Liked by Michelle Elman

You know what? I used to hate reality shows like Love Island or Love is Blind. But my friend suggested I should watch them, so I did so we have more things to talk about. And surprisingly, I've learned so much about his values, his view on relationships, and what he'd tolerate and what are his deal breakers. I've never have thought that watching Love Island would kick start such deep conversations and allow us to develop a stronger bond.

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Yes! In early dating we watched sex education and it meant so many important conversations

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Yes!! Watching sex education together is how I felt comfortable sleeping with my partner for the first time 😂 and now we watch love is blind to figure out how we want to get married!

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deletedApr 16, 2023Liked by Michelle Elman
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Right? And she defended them so heavily! I think people confuse honesty with meanness

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