“Love Is Blind” is back with Season 7 in yet another social experiment that examines if outside factors — like race, finances and religion — can prevent two people from falling in love.
In the Season 7 premiere — available to stream on Oct. 2 — Taylor Krause, a 30-year-old clean energy policy consultant, fully leaned into the concept by deciding to not discuss her ethnic background in the pods. During a conversation with her strongest connection, Garrett Josemans, she chose not to reveal her mother’s first name to avoid hinting at her ethnicity.
Garrett, a 33-year-old quantum physicist, was caught off guard by Taylor’s response. “Ethnicity — the thought hadn’t crossed my mind at all in any direction,” he said. Garrett then shared that he had only ever dated white women.
Taylor on why she withheld personal details from Garrett in the pods
“I’m a very proud Asian woman,” Taylor tells TODAY.com. “But, (I) also wanted to honor the experiment in a way that he can get to know that part of me later when he meets my mom and does different Chinese heritage or traditions that we have.”
She continues, “In the pods, it was the only opportunity for him to get to love me for just the merits of me and not have ethnicity tied to it.”
The policy consultant says that in the past, she has heard men voice opinions about Asian women that made her uncomfortable. So, she thought going on “Love Is Blind” would remove the possibility of reliving those experiences.
“I wanted to just take ethnicity out of the equation and be able to just fall in love (with) our characters and personalities first,” Taylor says.
After hearing Taylor’s explanation in the pods in Episode 1, Garrett questioned her and described her as “calculated.”
“You are very calculated about what you say. And while I love that about you, also, I’m like, ‘What’s she hiding?’” he told Taylor. He also worries she is crafting “a carefully curated image” for him to picture in the pods.
In the episode, Taylor said Garrett’s reaction was difficult to hear, but it was good to know how he perceived her.
While speaking to TODAY.com, Taylor expanded on how it felt listening to Garrett express his concerns.
“When Garrett called me calculated, it was a punch in the gut because I didn’t know how to do this whole thing,” she shares. “I’m trying to filter things that I otherwise would never think to filter.”
She adds, “It was our first miscommunication. Being able to work through that, I think, was a good thing for us.”
Despite the challenging conversation, Taylor and Garrett continued to pursue each other and got engaged in Episode 2.
“Taylor, I love everything about you. I think you’re an incredible person. I think you’re intelligent. You are very caring, kind. You’re authentic. You’re passionate. In here, I’ve fallen in love with the person that you are,” he gushed before proposing.
The couple met for the first time in Episode 3, after which Taylor shared that her mom’s name is Fong and she is from Hong Kong. Garrett replied saying he couldn’t wait to meet her.