Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson, who starred in the Netflix dating series Love Is Blind, are speaking out about their struggles with mental illness.
The show took a toll on the former couple’s mental health, leaving them in a “dark place” when they returned home, according to the former couple, who wed in the second season of the show (and later divorced).
The production company behind Love Is Blind, Kinetic Content, has since addressed claims made by contestants that their mental health was ignored while the show was being made.
In a statement provided to PEOPLE, Kinetic stated that “the wellbeing of our participants is of paramount importance.”. We have strict procedures in place to take care of each person prior to, during, and after filming. “.
Ruhl, 29, described her 30-minute screening with a psychologist before shooting the show in a lengthy TikTok video. During this time, she discussed her entire mental health journey, including her prior suicide attempts.
“During the show, the producers were constantly bringing up past traumas to break you down emotionally and get the reaction that they wanted,” she alleged. I believed that the information I provided during the psychological evaluation was private. It was difficult to live through these events day after day. “.
While filming, Ruhl also experienced a severe panic attack, which she said left her feeling suicidal and forcing her to hide in a closet. She claimed that producers intervened to persuade her to stay after she expressed her desire to halt filming and return home due to the circumstances, but no therapist was ever brought in to help.
She noted that when she finished filming, she checked herself into an outpatient trauma therapy facility and that she is “still struggling” today as a result of her experience on the show.
“After filming I was in such a dark place that it not only impacted Nick but every single person that cares about me,” she said.
The 37-year-old Thompson also shared a TikTok video in which he alleged that the Love Is Blind set did not offer adequate mental health care.
Due to the lack of food and water during his three weeks in the Pods and Mexico, he revealed that he lost 15 pounds. Other than the ‘psych evaluation,’ there was no mental health support prior to, during, or after. Thankfully, after the show, when we were back in Chicago, I had the luxury of seeing a therapist.
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He continued, “Producers in Mexico withheld [that] my partner had a panic attack and sent me into the hotel room to film anyway. “If there were mental health professionals on set, as Kinetic claims, wouldn’t a person having a panic attack be an appropriate time to use them? “.
Additionally, Thompson stated that he was “isolated from everyone and practically everything for days at a time” and was without communication. Thompson revealed that he had founded a nonprofit organization to assist other reality TV stars after discussing his experience on Love Is Blind.
On Instagram, he disclosed that he serves on the founding board of the UCAN Foundation, whose mission is to “offer mental health and legal support to past, present, and future reality TV contestants. “.
Thomspon continued on his Instagram Story, “We cannot sacrifice mental health for the sake of reality TV.
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