Reality dating shows such as Love Is Blind have interesting but bizarre premises, with regard to cast members finding love. From intense competitions to drama-filled rivalries, they’re rarely short on entertainment. As contestants look for partners, there are unexpected twists and turns.
There’s no doubt that there have been some interesting dating shows over the years, ranging from strange to flat-out weird. Whether contestants are looking for dates or want to find their future spouses, ten reality dating shows give them completely different formulas for meeting potential mates. How, it’s time to look at a group of reality dating series that have graced television screens, for better or worse.
10 Love Is Blind
The hit Netflix show Love Is Blind takes a different approach to the world of dating and finding love. Instead of contestants basing their feelings on physical attraction, it’s based on deeper emotional connections. The contestants have a literal wall between them as they go on dates with multiple people. They try to find perfect matches. Once they make their decisions, couples take the next step by getting engaged, moving in together, and planning their upcoming weddings. After seeing each other face to face, they deal with the stress of the real world. Their love is put to the test.
9 Married At First Sight
Lifetime raises the stakes even higher with Married at First Sight. This reality show isn’t really a dating show at all. Instead, its premise is the complete opposite. Couples don’t get to meet each other until after they’re at the altar, and once they are married, the dating stage begins. The MAFS couples are matched up by experts who think the singles will be good matches on paper. Once the couples tie the knot, they’ll have to decide if their marriages can go the distance. The experts don’t always get it right. despite using statistics, data, and questionnaires to pair them up.
8 Farmer Wants A Wife
The reality dating show on Fox, Farmer Wants A Wife, is an oddly specific dating show that takes bachelor farmers looking for love, and gives them the opportunity to find romance with women from the city. It’s up to the farmer to figure out who the best match is for him, and who can handle the responsibility of being a farmer’s wife. The transition from city girl to cowgirl continues through various dates, challenges, and eliminations.
7 The Ultimatum
Netflix has released another social experiment in the name of love: The Ultimatum. The reality show already has couples that are in love, but unfortunately, they aren’t on the same page. Each couple is there because someone in the relationship issued an ultimatum, and wants to get married or break up. However, it doesn’t stop there. Each couple breaks up for a short period of time, and they are free to find out if they’re a better fit with someone else that’s there. They go through a trial marriage to find out if they belong with the person they showed up with, or if they’re better off with someone new.
6 FBoy Island
The competitive dating show FBoy Island aired on HBO, and took drama to a new level. The now-canceled series showcases the stress of picking the right person. Three women are on a beautiful tropical island with 24 men, but the catch is that some men aren’t there for the right reasons. While 12 are nice guys, the other 12 are there under the guise of finding love. However, they’re really there to try and win $100,000. It’s up to the women to figure out who has good intentions, and who’s just playing the game.
5 Date My Mom
Date My Mom aired on MTV from 2004-2006. The premise of this dating show is exactly what it sounds like, which is “weird.” This dating show used moms in an attempt to find the perfect match. Instead of going on a regular date and getting to know one another, the dater would go on dates with three different moms, to find out why they should date their son or daughter. It was all up to the moms. They decided who made the best impression, and who was the right choice. The moms’ kids would be revealed at the end.
Netflix recently tried its hand at the world of dating again, with the cringe series, Dated & Related. The first season aired in 2022, and paired siblings who hoped to find love together. The search for a soul mate takes place in a villa in France. Everyone there is single, and attempting to find the right person. Instead of having to do it alone, each person has their brother or sister there to help, which in some cases can be helpful. However, it’s often very awkward.
3 Sexy Beasts
Sexy Beasts on Netflix brings blind dating to an entirely different level, and makes the competition to find love a gamble. This dating show takes a single male or female looking for love, and gives them three people to go on dates with. They then decide whom they click with. The catch is that no one knows what anyone else looks like, because they’re wearing elaborate Sexy Beasts costumes. They might be disguised as sexy devils or furry pandas.
Connections are built on personality alone. After going out on a date with all three, the competition heats up. Prospects are eliminated one at a time before the winner’s announced. As each person’s eliminated, their identity is finally revealed.
2 Love In The Jungle
Love In The Jungle on Discovery Plus is one of the most unique dating show competitions to ever exist. In an effort to find love, 14 singles compete in physical challenges in Columbia, all in the name of finding love. If finding a mate in the wild wasn’t stressful enough, none of the singles can talk to each other. They can only communicate through animalistic mating rituals. The point of this dating show is for the singles to find a connection purely on a physical level. However, getting to that point is definitely a strange journey.
1 MILF Manor
The new TLC show, MILF Manor, just premiered in January 2023, and its premise is undoubtedly one of a kind. This reality show may take things a little too far in the world of reality dating, and that’s why it’s ranked number one. Eight single women ranging in age from 40-60 are on a quest to find love with younger men at a villa in Mexico. However, there’s a strange twist. The women find out that all eight men are there looking for love too, but they’re the womens’ sons. Miles from Love Is Blind. MILF Manor leads to some awkward moments that can’t be ignored.
Sources: Netflix/YouTube, Lifetime/YouTube, Fox/YouTube, HBO/YouTube, Discovery Plus/YouTube, TLC/YouTube
This story originally appeared on Screenrant
