What makes a truereality TVvillain? In a genre built ondrama, these are the characters who set themselves apart from the rest of their cast —usually for very, very bad reasons.Yet often the most shocking antagonists come from dating shows, with these settings where people are at their most vulnerable being filled with people who either don’t respect that level of emotion or try to use it for their own gain.
There are countless individuals who’ve used their shot at romance forvillainy, but few are as shockingly bad as the ones that come fromLove is Blind.Created byChris Coelen, thisNetflixseries has astounded viewers not only with its many heartwarming couples but also the numerous shocking villains it has managed to produce over eight seasons. It’s about time we count down the top ten, with a small caveat: only those who actually got engaged are going to be considered. Sorry, pre-Honeymooners, but it’s often those with the most screentime in the show who get the chance to reveal the worst parts of themselves.Let’s take a look at them now and count down the biggest villainsLove is Blindhas ever seen!
Love Is Blind
10Cole Barnett
It’s not always easy to determine who is a true reality villain, which is whyLove is Blindseason 3 contestantCole Barnettlands so low on this list. The main critique people have is that he’s immature; people are meant to come onLove is Blindready to get married, yet his obnoxious attitude around things like emotionally validating his partner or making comments about her appearance left both his fiancée, Zanab Jaffrey, and viewers frustrated.
Despite this, recent years have seen people come around on Cole,calling out how Jaffrey was oftenextremely harsh with the manand how certain things the series tried to play up as huge strikes against him (like the infamous cuties comment) were actually not that big of a deal. He wasn’t the best partner, but he definitely wasn’t the worst,with only his flagrant immaturity earning him a soft placement in the “villain” category.But, don’t worry about spots 2 through 10 — there’s no question that this list is where they belong.
9Jared “JP” Pierce
The ninth place villain lands in this spot because his time onLove is Blindwasn’t long enough for the man to show his worst parts — though he certainly made the most of the time he had. Season 5 of the show sawJared “JP” Piercehit it off withTaylor Rue, the pair meshing easily in the pods but finding it hard to connect when finally face-to-face. They both promised to work through this awkwardness, only for Rue and viewers to be shockedwhen Pierce began criticizing her for wearing makeup when they first met.
He ranted about how her “excessive makeup use” was fake and a bad way to start their relationship, saying that he’d prefer her not to wear any going forward. His thinly-veiled misogyny made an appearance in the worst way, making audiences cheer when Taylor clarified that no man could ever tell her what she was allowed to wear andbroke up with him on their honeymoon.
8Micah Lussier
It’s often forgotten that cruelty doesn’t have to be loud, withLove is Blindseason 4’sMicah Lussiershowing that the meanest behavior can also be the quietest. She was the second half of this season’s cruelest duo (her partner will make an appearance on this list, don’t worry) and constantlymade comments under her breath about how annoying she found the other women.
This escalated to blatant acts of rudeness throughout the installment, with moments like mocking her past partner for refusing his proposal and refusing to defend her partner,Paul Peden, when her friends ruthlessly tore into him over virtually nothing. Micah then made history as the first person to refuse to answer first at the altar, leaving it on him to decide the fate of their relationship in an unfair move that just so happened to remove all responsibility from her. It was a calculated actthat many viewers were quick to call out, making many believe that Micah was in fact one of this season’s biggest villains —she was just excellent at hiding it.
7Bartisse Bowden
FewLove is Blindvillains are as infamousas season 3’s Bartise Bowden. This installment saw the man propose toNancy Rodriguez, with the couple hitting it off in the pods and having a clear physical connection when they finally met face-to-face — but that didn’t stop Bowden from raving about how attractive he found the other women in the experiment. This began the viewers' sense of unease with the man, something that only got worse when they discussed abortion, and Rodriguez was shocked to learnhow much pushback she received over believing that women should be able to make choices about their own bodies.
He then brought up this issue in front of his conservative family, forcing Nancy to try and defend herself against a group of people she desperately wanted to like her. The terrible cap on this relationship was when Bartise blindsided Nancy at the altar, not only shocking the woman (who explained later that he’d told her he was going to say yes) but cementing himself as one of the series' smarmiest cast members.
6Jackelina “Jackie” Bonds and Josh Demas
There’s outright infidelity, then there’s the messy situation thatJackelina “Jackie” BondsandJosh Demasconcocted onLove is Blindseason 4. The pods portion of this iterationsaw the pairin a love triangle with Marshall Glaze; while the admittedly wild Jackie typically went for suave playboys like Demas, she eventually chose to move forward with the gentle Glaze in the hopes of avoiding heartbreak. The pair started clashing right away and, while Marshall wanted to try and work it out, Bonds began making flirty comments towards Bonds the moment he was reintroduced into their group.
This escalated into the man publically mocking Marshall and Bonds abandoning the dress fitting for her wedding to go on a date with him, meaning it was a surprise to no one when she and Glaze broke up later in the season. Look, it’s good that Jackie and Josh didn’t physically cheat while she was engaged to Marshall,but outright cheating is almost (big emphasis on almost) better than the sad rollercoaster this pair put him through.
5Stephen Richardson
Of all the terrible things a person can do on Love is Blind, one of the absolute worst is infidelity (remember that for later). Cheating on your partner is already bad enough, but to do it in such a narrow scenario where everyone is open about their desire for a life partner is even worse —makingStephen Richardson’s actions in season 7that much more shocking. Fans had been wary about the man since the show began; from calling his fiancée, Monica Davis (a woman of color) a Mutt, to making it clear that he’d need to rely on her financially, the only thing that made audiences give him a chance was the woman’s clear love for him.
Which is what made it so shocking when we saw her sobbing on the couch after learning that, only weeks into their trial marriage,she’d caught Richardson exchanging dirty texts— the details weren’t revealed, but she said they were truly disgusting — with another woman. While Richardson was extremely apologetic and Davis eventually forgave him, Love is Blind fans never could, with Richardson joining one of the (sadly) many contestants who couldn’t stay faithful for longer than two weeks.
4Irina Solomonova
Every reality show has encountered a contestant who cares more about their image than actually finding love, a selfish mission that was clearly at the forefront ofIrina Solomonova’smind onLove is Blindseason 6. Micah’s best friend from the pods, the contestant wasn’t shy about her bad attitude; she would openly make fun of the other women and had many jaw-dropping confrontations with her romantical “rival,“Bliss Poureetezadi, overZack Goytowski.
Luckily for Solomonova, Zack decided to propose to her…or, rather, unluckily, as within moments of first meeting Irina began to criticize the manand made it clear thatshe never really felt that connected to him. Things only got worse from there, with the honeymoon seeing her continue to ridicule Zack (that hair on the arms comment was hilariously rude) and even flirt with her supposed best friend, Micah’s boyfriend. She offered a masterclass in what not to do in a setting likeLove is Blind, giving the seriesone of its most blatant — and enthusiastic — villains ever.
3Tyler Francis
Love is Blind has faced numerous controversies during its history and, barring ones focused on the production itself, none have been bigger than that of Tyler Francis. Initially, viewers loved him; he was quietly caring for his fiancée, Ashley Adionser, with the contestant’s commitment to his faith and multiple heartfelt monologues over wanting a family winning viewers over — before it was revealed that he already had the family he “so desperately wanted.” In a shocking series of TikToks, it was revealed that Francis had been a sperm donor for his friend and had fathered three of her children —a fact he didn’t tell Adionsar until they were days from walking down the aisle.
Digital digging from fans revealed that Francis didn’t have the hands-off approach with the children that he’d told Ashley he had, with many since-deleted posts seeing him with the kids at multiple holidays acting as a father figure! It was disheartening to fans who felt empathy not only for Ashley but for the children Francis had tried to hide, but she actually stood up for him at the reunion, claiming that things were being blown out of proportion and that she would never be with someone who would do such things …which may explain whythe pair recently announced their divorce.
2Abishek “Shake” Chatterjee
When it comes to reality TV villains, few are as cliché as Abishek “Shake” Chatterjee from Love is Blind season 2. The man seemed intent on disgusting viewers from the very start; the pods portionsaw him try to “trick” women into telling him how much they weighed, with him making brazen comments about how he could only be with someone physically attractive — in a setting based on blind love — and hyping up his own greatness to anyone who would listen. It made audiences shocked when he proposed to Deepti Vempati and the kindhearted woman said yes, with the pair bonding over their cultural similarities and deciding to get married.
The cruelty didn’t stop there, with Chatterjee constantly poking fun at how unattractive he thought Vempati was (he even said he saw her more as an aunt than a possible partner) and aggravating everyone around him with his unwanted criticism and persistent self-celebrations. Fans spent the entire installmentcalling him out as cocky and misogynistic,making it all the more validating for all when Vempati left him at the altar, finally realizing how much better she deserved.
1Jeramey Lutinski
Finally, we are at the worst villainLove is Blindhas ever seen: season 6’sJeramey Lutinski. At first, the man’s biggest offense was being unmemorable; the pod portion of his season saw him torn between Laura Dadisman and Sarah Ann, a meager love triangle that was easily solved when he proposed to Dadisman. The pair went on their honeymoon and seemed primed for the altar…until viewers saw Laura sitting angrily on her couch, furious that Lutinski had stayed out till 5AM the night before. The ensuing argument saw Jeramey claim that, yes, he was out with Sarah, but only because they’d run into each other at a bar and had only stayed in the parking lot talking — before Dadisman revealed she’d checked his location and saw him at her house at 4AM.
The situation only worsened from there, with Lutinski trying to blame Laura for their ensuing breakup (he didn’t get why she couldn’t get over his cheating) and even deciding to pursue a relationshipwhen the pair met again at a party …IN FRONT OF LAURA!This man’s tenure on the show featured all the aspects of a cliché reality villain: blatant lies, rampant gaslight, wanton cruelty and, the worst of all, brazen infidelity with someone his fiancée knew! It was a string of misdeeds that left Dadisman sobbing and viewers furious, but at least it made one thing very clear:Jeramey Lutinski is the worst villainLove is Blindhas ever seen.
