Zara Rasul, 10th Grade, Staff Writer
Many of us are reluctant to admit that we have once been hooked on the bingeable reality shows like “90 Day Fiancé,” “Love is Blind,” and the infamous, “The Bachelor(ette).” It’s great fun to see who gets together and to cry alongside the people on the other side of the screen, but many of us can’t help but wonder: is this real? What happens after the screen fades to black and the ‘happily ever after’ is fulfilled?
The harsh reality is that most of these too-good-to-be-true couples do not last in the long run. It’s an incredibly upsetting reality when you see all the couples you’d think would live together forever end their relationships.
Despite dating shows having on average 75% of couples get together by the end, only 1.2% of these couples last. Out of 13 dating shows, all but one dating show (90 Day Fiancé) have a success rate of 50% or lower.
Many speculate that the unfortunate reason behind the couples not lasting is that there are just circumstances they can’t get through off-screen.
These couples go from seeing each other in idyllic bubbles to sometimes living thousands of miles apart, and it’s likely that the shows omit a lot of disagreements. However, from what we know, we can say that most relationships developed from these shows don’t work out because they are simply not real.
Another reason for two people not adding up together on these shows could also be the camera. Yes, just the camera in general. We all have the experience of wanting to look good on camera.
Whether it is you wanting to fix your hair for a photo or changing your outfit for an event in which photos will be taken, whenever there is a camera involved, we all want to look and act our best.
The same goes for these shows. The people on these shows want to display the best versions of themselves not just for their potential partner(s), but also the viewers back at home. This makes the lack of chemistry once the cameras are gone, unfortunately, inevitable.
While most of these shows display fake relationships and dates, as well as fake personas and personalities of the members on the show, there’s no doubt that these shows are great entertainment and leads most people to looking for what’s going to happen next. Let’s just hope that in the near future, we’ll get to see a true dating show with real dates and real personalities.