Love Is Blind season 8 is almost here — and Nick and Vanessa Lachey want fans to know it’s different than past seasons.
Speaking to PEOPLE ahead of season 8’s Valentine’s Day premiere, the couple say the Minneapolis-based cast brings a new flare to the hit Netflix show.
“I think this season is different because it is the Midwest. I think as we’ve said before, every season takes on the personality of the city that it’s based in. Minneapolis being in the Midwest, I think there’s a certain heartfelt-ness to this season that maybe we haven’t seen in others,” Nick, 51, explains. “There’s a certain sensitivity to everybody in the pods this season.”
Though Vanessa, 44, points out that Nick’s comments are “not negating the other cities,” she notes that the culture of the Midwestern city impacted the way the show unfolded.
“To his point, coming out of the gate, in DC for example, and they even said when we met the women in the women’s lounge and the men, they’re like, this is a work town. It’s hustle, hustle, hustle. We don’t have time to sift through and find our person and let alone go through the rigmarole of dating for six months before you go, ‘Do you want to get married?'” she recalls. “They were excited to just jump into getting all the guess-work out and being on Love Is Blind.”
“With Minnesota, it’s really interesting because they’re all there wanting to find love, but they definitely have had a harder time relating to issues,” she continues. “So, you see a lot more pod time on season 8, pod episodes, because there’s a lot of differences people need to work out.”
“Whether they’re fundamental issues and beliefs, or just getting along, or confused about this one or that one person-wise, it’s a different season for that aspect,” she says. “There’s a lot [of] other elements that never were factors in previous seasons, whether it be families or social media, that we’re excited for people, for the fans, to see and to see how they relate to that.”
Now in their fifth year serving as co-hosts of Love Is Blind, the couple has seen quite a lot unfold — but there’s still some storylines they’d like to see in the future.
“I wonder if we’re ever going to have an undefeated season. What I mean by that is every couple gets the altar. Every couple says, ‘I do,'” Nick says. “Chances are obviously unlikely, but that’s one thing that we haven’t had that if it ever did happen … Again, unlikely … it’d be awesome. What a day that would be.”
Adds Vanessa: “I think for me, it’s the most asked question when we’re out and walking around is about an older Love Is Blind. People in their 50s and 60s, who aren’t necessarily familiar with all of the ins and outs of dating apps or who have gotten divorced or who have lost a spouse, they’re like, ‘We want our love story, too.’ So, Nick and I joke about: is there a Love Is Blinder?”
“Ultimately, 50 back in the day was like The Golden Girls. Now it’s Jennifer Lopez,” she quips. “It’s the older generation that really take to it. We love that they watch it with their children, but they’re also like, ‘We want to be on Love Is Blind.’ So, that would be a cool thing to see.”
In addition to sparking some good ideas, co-hosting the show together has also helped the Lacheys with their own relationship.
“I think it’s great therapy almost for us,” Nick explains. “We said this before that watching these couples and specifically in pods watching the way they connect, it’s a great reminder to never lose that communication in your own relationship. Never lose sight of what set it all off, the connection you felt, the emotions you felt in the beginning.”
Vanessa agrees, noting that longtime couples often find themselves taking frustrations out on “the ones you love the most.”
“We all get caught in that cycle, and that person should be the one that’s getting the best version of you,” she explains. “So when we watch Love Is Blind, we’re reminded of that new love that they have. ‘Oh, look how they’re talking. Oh, look what they’re doing for each other.’ It’s like, ‘Why did we stop? Why did we stop doing XYZ, or why did we start rushing through conversations and why did we?’ So, it brings it back to the beginning.”
Adds Nick: “It really is a great show to be around in that sense, and that is you’re watching love blossom. You’re watching love bloom in front of you and grow into this thing where people are willing to say, ‘I do. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.’ To be around that, it’s such positivity. It’s great for our love. It’s great for our relationship to see that and be reminded of that.”
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The first six episodes of Love Is Blind season 8 premiere Friday, Feb. 14 on Netflix.
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