Love Is Blind: Why does the cast only use gold glasses?

Since season two of Love Is Blind aired on Netflix, viewers have been enamoured by the latest couples’ love stories, their impending weddings, and the gold glasses used by the show’s stars.

The popular reality TV dating show follows individuals as they attempt to forge romantic connections with one another sight unseen in pods, with the premise of the show to fall in love and get engaged, all without ever seeing each other.

However, after airing the first nine episodes of the season, in which contestants fell in love, proposed, honeymooned in Mexico, moved in together in their respective apartments, and met one another’s families, viewers couldn’t help but notice one glaring detail about each scene.

As noted by multiple people on social media, each moment sees the show’s cast, and their friends and families, using opaque gold wine glasses - with the unique stemware first popping up in the pods but ultimately following the individuals into their homes and on various outings.

“What’s the deal with these gold cups in Love Is Blind? Why are they everywhere… yes I am watching this show, I’m invested and doing well, thanks,” one person tweeted.

Another said: “Is the Love Is Blind season two sponsored by gold cups or…??”

“What’s with the hideous gold cups in Love Is Blind that everyone seems to be using,” someone else asked.

Others noted that the contestants don’t rely on the opaque wine glasses just for alcohol either, as one viewer pointed out that the glasses, which also appear in stemless versions, were used to hold coffee and tea.

“They even put their coffee in them. It stressed me out,” they wrote.

Speaking to Variety about the show, Love Is Blind’s creator Chris Coelen was asked about the ubiquitous glassware, which he claimed is a “fun” way for viewers to easily identify the show.

“I don’t know. It’s something I like. When you turn on the show, you know it’s our show. It’s a very authentic, really true following of these people’s journeys, but I like the fact that we have this sort of connective tissue with that in a really light way, it’s fun,” he said.

However, the explanation isn’t the only one, according to Love Is Blind fans, who have claimed that there are numerous uses for the gold cups, such as continuity and editing reasons.

“The Love Is Blind opaque metal wine glasses solve an essential reality TV problem: you gotta get everyone drunk but you can’t have anything in the shot that gives away how non-chronologically things are stitched together into a final product,” The Atlantic reporter Amanda Mull tweeted on 14 February.

On TikTok, where theories and questions about the widespread usage of the distinct cups have also gone viral, another viewer also claimed that the glasses are used so that producers can “cut footage and put it together without worrying about the level of liquid in the glass changing”.

The use of the opaque cups also prompted some to suggest that producers wanted to disguise how much alcohol was being consumed by contestants.

“Are they drinking in these gold cups because the alcohol consumption was so obvious last season (Jessica and her wine) they don’t want us to see what they’re drinking?” one person asked, in reference to season one star Jessica Batten, who later addressed concerns from viewers after she appeared to show her dog drinking from her wine glass in one controversial scene.

Despite the various explanations and theories, many viewers simply want the contestants to be able to use other glassware.

“Why do the gold cups and goblets in Love Is Blind have more screen time than the entire cast,” one person asked, while another said: “Love Is Blind please get these gold cups out of my face.”

Others were simply curious about the logistics of the glasses, with someone else wondering: “Ok but how are these gold cups showing up at the parents’ houses.”

The Independent has contacted Netflix for comment.