Among all I have to do as a GCSU student, my favorite hobby has been watching reality TV religiously. From “The Bachelor” to “Dancing With The Stars” to “Love Is Blind,” I endlessly watch the episodes released with rapt attention.
Last week, I sat down to watch the newest season of “Love Is Blind.” One couple in particular made me think, “What really is the ‘reality’ of reality TV?”
Ashley Adionser and Tyler Francis met on “Love Is Blind” in season seven and were deemed one of the “golden” couples—the couples to go farthest on the show and even keep their commitment to marriage post-decision day. The couple stayed together when the reunion show was released, but fans questioned the pair staying together due to Francis’s controversial past, which was revealed in an episode right before the weddings.
“Tyler tells Ashley that he served as a sperm donor for a female friend and her wife, who wanted to have a child,” said Palmer Haasch, a writer for Business Insider. “He also told her that the children didn’t know what he looked like and said he wouldn’t be upset if Ashley decided she didn’t want to get married because he’d initially kept this information from her.”
This information was presented to all of the viewers in a way that made him out to be an honorable man helping out a friend in need. In reality, quite literally, the situation slowly became a gray area as more details came out from the friend in question.
According to staff writer Joelle Goldstein for People Magazine, photos of him and the kids spending Christmas morning in matching pajamas were leaked on social media showing that Francis had more of a relationship than he was letting on, along with allegations that he owed money in child support and abandoned his children to be on “Love is Blind.”
The most shocking part of this whole dilemma is how Adionser, Francis’s now-wife, reacted at the reunion.
“Who do you think has better insight on what’s going on?” Adionser said, according to Goldstein. “Social media or me? For people to imply that she was blindsided, she didn’t know, is insulting to my intelligence.”
She continued to say that they did end up talking about it on camera in “some capacity” so that there wasn’t a “disconnect” with loved ones and viewers, but “there were things he was comfortable sharing and things he wasn’t.”
This is the first time I, as a viewer, have seen a reality TV star openly admit that a controversial scene that could have a make-or-break ending for the show was actually staged and that both parties knew this beforehand.
According to Goldstein, Adionser even pointed out that Francis knowingly lied on camera about his kids not knowing what he looked like and joked about how it was very obvious in that scene.
After this whole situation resurfaced again post-finale with more context, I did a deep dive into any more controversial moments in reality TV that weren’t all that controversial, just staged for the cameras. Similar situations from a variety of reality TV shows all have one thing in common: a distorted reality.
“Reality shows influence our behavior and perception through observational learning,” said content creator Sandhya Bhandari from The Washburn Review. “Reality shows are not always completely real, as they may include fictional elements. Watching these shows may cause people to have a distorted perception of reality, which could lead to actions or beliefs that are not ideal.”
Between these observations, it’s clear that reality shows not only shape perceptions but also blur the lines between authenticity and entertainment.
“These shows have become a cultural phenomenon in many ways, and people often think they feature real people in unscripted situations,” said Bhandari. “So, viewers are often drawn to these shows because they can relate to the stars and feel better about their own lives after watching them.”
Overall, reality TV offers viewers a skewed version of reality, blending scripted drama and real emotions to craft compelling narratives. Shows like “Love Is Blind” reveal how participants and producers shape storylines, blurring the line between authenticity and performance.
But here’s where my personal opinion comes in: as much as I adore the escapism that reality TV provides, I cannot help but feel uneasy about the implications it holds for how we perceive relationships and life choices. In a world that increasingly consumes curated images and narratives, are we setting ourselves up for disappointment by expecting our own lives to mirror the highs and lows depicted on screen?
Take, for example, Adionser and Francis’s situation. It raises a poignant question: how much of what we see is truly authentic? When we invest our emotional energy into these characters’ journeys, are we not also contributing to a culture that prizes spectacle over sincerity? It’s one thing to enjoy the drama; it’s another to internalize those conflicts as a reflection of reality.
I believe we deserve more than mere entertainment from our media. Reality TV should invite us to question its motives and challenge us to seek authentic connections in our own lives. As we indulge in the manufactured chaos of shows like “Love Is Blind,” let’s strive to hold onto the grounding truth that real life—messy, complex and unscripted—deserves just as much attention.
While reality TV can entertain, audiences must recognize these shows as carefully curated productions, not authentic glimpses into people’s lives. Reality TV can realistically be depicted, but the “reality” it presents is often far from the truth. So, next time you tune in, remember: what you see may not be all that real—and maybe that’s the point.
