‘I hate modern dating after hosting one of Netflix’s biggest ever shows’

In a world of reality TV showmances, wannabe influencers and frustratingly toxic men, Love Is Blind UK hosts Emma and Matt Willis are a breath of fresh air amid the deluge of dating shows.

I was completely charmed by the celebrity couple last year when I interviewed them for the first season of the long-awaited UK spin-off of one of Netflix’s most popular reality shows.

They were endearingly nervous about their debut as a married couple helming a show about finding love, shared playful quips about what to order for lunch and had a quiet confidence that proved their real-life and on-screen chemistry.

When I met up with them again this year for Metro to discuss season 2, which launches today, the nerves had evaporated, but all the charm had, happily, stayed.

For those not in the know, the premise of the hit reality show is all about proving that lasting love is so much more than skin deep.

So, 30 people ready for marriage date each other in ‘pods’ for a week, getting to know each other from behind a wall without seeing each other, and the lucky couples who make a connection get engaged.

By the end of the experiment, after meeting one another in the flesh and spending time together in the outside world, they must decide whether they will say ‘I do’ at the altar.

Throughout the process, our trusty co-hosts jet in and out to guide them through from one stage to the next.

As we kick off our chat about their return, the 17 years of marriage between the Big Brother presenter and Busted star shines through when I point out their matching blue clothes.

‘Last year, we were quite nervous. This year, we were much more relaxed,’ Emma says about returning to the show.

They were well aware of the tough task ahead of them when launching the latest spin-off (there are currently eight international versions).

‘We really wanted the UK one to be as good as all of the others and I think it surpassed our expectations, because it had everything.

”It had heart, it had a very British sense of humour,’ the TV host adds, with hopes that season two meets the high standard season one set for fans.

The British power couple, who share three children, have had their ups and downs over the years, but if hosting Love Is Blind has made them ‘grateful’ for one thing, it is that they met in the early 2000s before online dating took off.

‘The one thing I’ve taken [from hosting the show] – and it’s not so much a reflection on our relationship, but a reflection on the world of dating generally – is, I’m really glad I’m not single,’ Emma says.

‘I wouldn’t want to be on dating apps. I know a lot of people on them, and they just moan about them all the time. I think I’d get so frustrated with doing everything on a device.’

The idea of meeting organically (a more and more foreign concept for Gen Z) is what attracted them to this show in the first place.

‘I think that is a whole world better than trying to navigate [the] beginning of a relationship through a phone, which must be so difficult,’ Emma adds.

Matt agrees: ‘Absolutely, I think messages can get so misconstrued.’

When I ask them about their dating app green and red flags, we briefly go on a side tangent about the turn-off factor of posting a photo of yourself holding a fish (it’s a whole thing) to a completely baffled Emma.

As such, Matt decides a fish picture ‘doesn’t sound cool’ while Emma ponders hers would ‘probably be an overly posed picture’.

‘I think if it were someone in a pair of shorts and nothing else… I’m getting the ick just thinking about it,’ she jokes.

So, naturally, I ask if the show had been around when they were single, would they have gone on it – and their answers explained a lot about why they are such a perfect fit.

Emma called the process ‘fantastic’ but had one caveat.

‘I don’t know if I could get married after six weeks because I’m a chronic overthinker and I like to know everything,’ she admits with a wry smile.

Matt, on the other hand, is ready to leap headfirst, joking, ‘I could. I’d be like, “Let’s do it.”’

He shares: ‘I think it’d be really fun to see what that experience is like, talking to someone and doing the experiment. I think it’d be such an exciting thing to do.’

Lucky for them, neither has to worry about getting hitched to a near-stranger in six weeks or navigating the treacherous world of Tinder.

They’ll happily watch on, however.

Season one saw plenty of highs and lows, with fan-favourite couple Bobby and Jasmine recently announcing they’re expecting their first child.

It’s clear both Emma and Matt are delighted, with the former recalling that the loved-up pair were ‘hook, line and sinker from the beginning’, and she could tell they were ‘totally smitten’ right up to the reunion.

Matt adds he’s ‘so stoked for them’.

Of course, the premiere season also included some controversial characters, not least Sam, who was briefly engaged to Nicole (now married to Benaiah), who became the latest ‘toxic’ reality TV man to spark concerned fan discourse.

Viewers can expect different things from the new episodes, Emma teases.

‘I think they’re a really likeable cast. There’s not really any divisive characters, I don’t think. Obviously, Sam last year was quite a divisive character. I don’t think we have a Sam,’ she says.

Love Is Blind marks the latest show the pair have jointly tackled in recent years, in addition to their candid therapy docuseries, Change Your Mind, Change Your Life.

While working together might be out of the question for some couples, that’s not the case for these two.

Matt explains: ‘[I love] everything about [my] job, but then I always have to be away from Emma, away from the family. So the chance to work with her is brilliant.

‘I’ve always been jealous of her job. I’ve been in a sweaty tour bus with stinky boys. This is way more fun, got a glam squad now, love it.’

As for what’s next, Emma is clearly enthusiastic about the future of their professional partnership, saying they’re ready to do ‘eight more seasons’ of Love Is Blind.

But they have other ideas brewing as well.

‘I’d like to do something adventurous. I don’t know if it’s a travel show – just some kind of adventure. I love shows like Race Across the World. I think that’s so much fun, but there’s a point to it,’ Emma says.

As in sync as ever, Matt agrees.

Who knows what’s next for this dynamic duo, who are proving themselves to be a formidable force on British reality TV.

For now, however, they have a brand new cohort of unlucky-in-love singles to welcome to the pods. So, let the blush-inducing courtship commence.

The first four episodes of Love Is Blind UK season two are out now.

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