Love Is Blind UK star Ryan has addressed speculation about his reasons for joining the Netflix show, insisting he did not apply and that he was contacted by producers. He also admitted that looks matter to him.
Ryan, 33, has faced substantial online criticism since the episodes went live. Audiences have strongly condemned how the public speaker behaved towards Cuba after exiting the pods, particularly when he promptly flew off for work and subsequently claimed he required "independent alone time" to unwind away from her.
Criticism over split scene
The criticism reached its height following their split scene in episode 9. After informing Cuba his "body was resisting" the commitment, Ryan bizarrely asked Cuba if she fancied any mango (she declined) before the cameras switched to Ryan aggressively and wordlessly devouring the mango.
Viewers deemed the moment peculiar and detached, sparking viral memes. Ryan has subsequently shared a TikTok (while consuming another mango) justifying his behaviour, clarifying that an entire day's worth of intense discussions was compressed by producers into "a short, sharp focus on fruit."
Ryan's explanation
In a separate video, Ryan has now revealed why he genuinely participated in the programme, following questions about how genuine his motivations were. Posting a reel on his Instagram account, he informed his 15,000 followers that people continuously questioned him 'why he bothered to apply' for the programme.
He clarified that he didn't apply, and was instead contacted by producers, which he maintained 'was the same for most of the guys'. Ryan stated: "When I initially had the call, I didn't know what Love Is Blind was, I'd never heard of it before."
Following a producer's explanation of the concept to him, he considered it sounded "crazy" and acknowledges he still believes it is, though he notes it 'clearly has a track record of working' in certain instances. He mentioned that as he progressed through the experience, he was "very vocal about his apprehensions", yet his "curiosity was peaking".
On looks and profile
Ryan also revealed that when weighing up whether to appear on the show, he found himself reflecting on the role of appearance in today's world. "Yes, they're important," well to me they are anyway and I think to most people," he said in the clip. "We live in a very image-focused world, where most people put most of their pride and joy in how they physically appear, instead of what's inside."
With that in mind, he said he 'genuinely thinks the experiment is a really interesting concept to see if you can connect and communicate with someone deeply without ever seeing him.' "That's what really got me in," he admitted. Ryan described himself as "open" to getting married, because he was single. "I was so scared, but open to it," he said.
The public speaker also hit back at suggestions he had simply signed up to the show to "boost his profile". He retorted: "I think that most people know that when you go on a reality show, you are seen and there's massive drawbacks and some benefits to that. I don't need or want some plastic clothing contract off the back off this, that's not what I'm about."
Series 3 weddings
In the finale of Love Is Blind UK season 3, a record-breaking four couples successfully walked down the aisle and got married. These were Sophie and Taylor, Ciara and Ajay, Faye and Jack and Francesca and Joseph.
Nearly everyone in the pods got engaged during Season 3 of Love Is Blind: UK. Out of the 30 singles who entered the experiment, a staggering 14 couples got engaged. This shattered a global record for the entire Netflix franchise. Because there were far too many engagements for the production team to physically follow, they had to make difficult editorial choices. As a result, viewers only saw six couples on screen.
The Love Is Blind UK Season 3 Reunion will air on Sunday, August 30 2026 on Netflix.
