'Love Is Blind' Season 5: Everything We Know

(Image credit: Molly Brinton/Netflix)

last updated 10 October 2023

There's no denying that a new Love Is Blind season is a cultural event. The Netflix reality series—which, if you've been living under a rock, follows several couples as they get engaged sight unseen and decide whether to get married within a month—reached the peak of its notoriety with the release of season 4, which took over the Internet last spring, between its steady stream of social media discourse and semi-live reunion. Since the fourth season concluded last April, past contestants have accused the production company behind the show of gross mistreatment, spawning another round of discussion for whether viewers should support the show. (Kinetic Connect refuted the claims in a subsequent statement.) However, the announcement of season 4 After the Altar and season 5 has confirmed it: Love Is Blind isn't going everywhere, and we're all (enthusiastically or not) along for the ride.

In fact, the streaming giant is doubling down on their reality hit, with both After the Altar and season 5 arriving with the shortest break in between seasons yet. (Though part of that may have to do with the writers' and actors' strikes.) As details are gradually released over the next month, TV fans will have to prepare ourselves for LIB to take over our TikTok and Twitter (or X, I guess) feeds once again. Below, we're keeping track of everything we learn.

Season 5 will mark a return to the show's shorter format, only consisting of 10 episodes (which we're not mad at). The first four episodes will drop on Friday, September 22, followed by episodes 5-7 drop on Friday, September 29; episodes 8-9 on Friday, October 6; and the weddings on Friday, October 13.

Don't worry LIB fans—Season 5 will have a reunion, and it won't be live this time. Netflix just announced that the special episode will premiere on Sunday, October 15, at 8 pm ET/ 5 pm PT, two days after the finale hits the streamer. Though this time slot is the same one from season 4's disastrous live reunion, the streaming giant wants fans to know that this reunion will be pre-taped to avoid any delays. Besides glimpses of this season's cast getting ready for the show, the highlight of the reunion's teaser is a PA marking out the word "live" on a reunion poster with a sharpie. "IT'S NOT LIVE, BUT IT IS UNMISSABLE," the teaser reads.

Following the announcement, E! News revealed that Stacy Snyder, Lydia Velez Gonzales, Taylor Rue, Aaliyah Cosby, and Johnie Maraist all joined the finale taping. While the men haven't been confirmed, it's highly likely that Izzy Zapata, Milton Johnson, Jared "JP" Pierce, Uche Okoroha, and Chris Fox will also appear on the reunion to hash out all of the season's dramas.

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The first dramatic trailer for season 5 premiered early September, giving a hint at the storylines of the upcoming episodes. While many of the clips are business as usual—participants discussing their dating insecurities, sneak peeks of the proposals—there's also some looks at the post-pod drama, including protective family members doubting the engagements and intense discussions about finances. At one point, the trailer teases a love triangle among the engaged couples, with one man telling another, "She planned for us to both be here because she couldn’t let me go."

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Netflix previously introduced viewers to one of the pod couples during Tudum 2023. The clip showed the two participants (who go unnamed) meeting and sharing their relationship history. (He's been previously engaged, and she has had a string of "crappy" relationships, and she also was previously married.) There's even an "I love you" exchanged.

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In keeping with the show's super-fast filming schedule, Love Is Blind season 5 has been in the can for over a year. The show was renewed for seasons 4 and 5 back in March 2022, and in April 2022, co-host Vanessa Lachey told E! News that they were set to start season 5 in a few weeks. By March 2023, Nick Lachey confirmed to Women's Health that they had already completed filming on seasons 4 and 5.

After previous seasons set in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, and Seattle, season 5 will follow a Houston-based cast.

For anyone who's been keeping tabs on possible LIB cities, previous casting calls have been posted on Instagram looking for people in Washington, D.C.; Charlotte, North Carolina; Detroit, Michigan; Tampa, Florida; Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota; Phoenix, Arizona; Nashville, Tennessee; and Denver, Colorado.

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Quinci is a Culture Writer who covers all aspects of pop culture, including TV, movies, music, books, and theater. She contributes interviews with talent, as well as SEO content, features, and trend stories. She fell in love with storytelling at a young age, and eventually discovered her love for cultural criticism and amplifying awareness for underrepresented storytellers across the arts. She previously served as a weekend editor for Harper’s Bazaar, where she covered breaking news and live events for the brand’s website, and helped run the brand’s social media platforms, including Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Her freelance writing has also appeared in outlets including HuffPost, The A.V. Club, Elle, Vulture, Salon, Teen Vogue, and others. Quinci earned her degree in English and Psychology from The University of New Mexico. She was a 2021 Eugene O’Neill Critics Institute fellow, and she is a member of the Television Critics Association. She is currently based in her hometown of Los Angeles. When she isn't writing or checking Twitter way too often, you can find her studying Korean while watching the latest K-drama, recommending her favorite shows and films to family and friends, or giving a concert performance while sitting in L.A. traffic.