Uche and Lydia aren't the only 'Love Is Blind' contestants who knew each other before the show, former cast members say

• "Love Is Blind" showrunner Chris Coelen said season 5 was the first time two people in the pods knew each other.
• But two former contestants told Insider that acquaintances and even exes have met in the pods before.
• They say those scenes were either cut or cast members were told they couldn't discuss it on camera.

On the third episode of season five of "Love Is Blind," cast member Uche Okoroha drops a bombshell: His ex from the outside world is also in the pods.

While on a date with cast member Aaliyah Cosby in the series' signature pods — two rooms separated by a wall, so the participants can't see each other — Okoroha reveals that he and another cast member, Lydia Velez Gonzalez, had dated on and off before filming the show.

The revelation leads to predictable drama: Cosby leaves the pods early, right when Okoroha planned to propose to her — a move that would have allowed them to leave the pods and meet in person for the first time. It's a shocking twist — one that "Love Is Blind" creator Chris Coelen says took even him by surprise.

Coelen told People that he and production had "absolutely no idea" that Okoroha and Gonzalez were exes when the two were cast. He said that he learned of their past while in the control room when a crew member flagged their conversation. (Insider reached out to Coelen and Netflix for comment along with Okoroha and Gonzalez, but did not receive a response.)

Since the discovery could undermine the show's blind dating premise, Coelen told People he initially wanted to eliminate them both from the experiment. But he allowed Okoroha and Gonzalez to stay on the show on the condition that they no longer interacted in the pods, or revealed to any of the other cast members that they knew each other or had previously dated (at least until an agreed upon later date, as seen at the end of episode three).

"The intention is that we have a pool of people that don't know each other," Coelen told People. While he said there had been a few instances where previous "Love Is Blind" participants of the same gender recognized each other from the outside world while in the living quarters, this was the first time, to his knowledge, that the show had two cast members who were exes.

"It's just mind-blowing that that was the case, and truly shocking on day one that that information was delivered to me," he said.

Hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey emphasized that point on Sunday's reunion episode. "This has never happened before on 'Love Is Blind,'" Vanessa said.

But how, exactly, does a revelation like this slip through the cracks? Insider spoke to three former "Love Is Blind" cast members who shed some light on the show's casting process — two of whom said this actually isn't the first time participants who knew or even dated each other previously have been in the pods together.

Contestants are asked about their dating history in the show's vetting process

According to Coelen, the show's vetting process is intense, though admittedly not infallible. "We do a very thorough vetting process across all kinds of criteria," he told People. "We really go to some great lengths."

Nick Thompson, a "Love Is Blind" contestant from season two, told Insider that he was asked about his past relationships during the show's rigorous casting process, which he said took months.

"They ask you for pictures of your ex-girlfriends," he said. "And then once you meet with the producers or your producer, they really start to talk to you about your past relationships."

Thompson, who has previously been critical of the show and its production company, Kinetic Content, said he believes production was trying to identify his ex-girlfriends. "They kept asking about it in interviews and I wouldn't give a name on any of them," he said, adding that he worried they might try to track one down to manufacture a surprise encounter on camera.

Bartise Bowden, a season three contestant, told Insider he was asked about his type, typical dating style, and what his exes looked like. "Everything's brought up in this two-hour conversation," he said.

It's not only long-term exes that get discussed. Kelly Chase, a cast member from season one, said she was single for years before shooting the show, so she told producers stories about "dating the wrong guys and prematurely hooking up with them."

In an Instagram Story on October 1, Okoroha confirmed that casting asked about his past relationships and said that he omitted Gonzalez's name because they "were never together."

If she considered him an ex, "she would have disclosed my name or photo," he wrote.

In a recent Rolling Stone interview, Gonzalez said she was asked in casting for photos of her with three different exes, but never included Okoroha because she didn't have any photos with him.

"Honestly, our relationship was more of a situationship," she said.

Producers also follow cast members' social media, former contestants say

In addition to directly asking about exes, production also extensively checks prospective cast members' social media history, Bowden said.

"They checked everything," he added. "They checked every social media I had. So Facebook, Twitter, Instagram."

Bowden noted that producers check every social media platform not just for your past romantic history, but to vet people for potential controversies and red flags.

Looking through Okoroha's public Instagram account, Insider reporter Libby Torres found posts from 2021 that were liked and commented on by Gonzalez.

"I couldn't believe that this slipped through the cracks," Bowden said of Okoroha and Gonzalez ending up on the show together. "They're definitely going through who you're following and all that stuff."

Based on a "Love Is Blind" Season 5 participation contract obtained and reviewed by Insider, the producers have the right to conduct an extensive background check on prospective cast members. The contract includes permissions for the producer to speak to current and former employers, family, friends, coworkers, roommates, educational institutions, government agencies, and credit reporting agencies.

Two past contestants say this isn't the first time people have recognized each other in the pods

Both Bowden and Chase recalled instances when they or other cast members on their respective seasons encountered acquaintances, friends, or someone they'd dated in the experiment.

Chase, who filmed season one more than a year before the series made its Netflix debut in 2020, said she discovered in the pods that she'd met fellow cast members Mark Cuevas and Matt Thomas through friend circles prior to filming.

"I started recognizing his voice," Chase said of meeting Cuevas in the pods. "I never said anything. And later on, after we were done filming and everything, Mark was like, 'Yeah, I knew it was you, too.'"

With Thomas, Chase said they discussed in the pods how they'd met each other in person before, but producers never approached them about the conversation and the scene never aired.

Those weren't the only familiar people who Chase encountered on set. Upon showing up for filming, she learned her friend Jessica Batten was also a contestant on the show — not that audiences would know from the version of the season that aired.

"If you go back and watch season one, it's never revealed that Jessica and I knew each other beforehand," she said. "So it just makes us look like we're just bonding."

Chase told Insider that she didn't think her knowing several people was intentional on production's part, as much as an oversight that's a byproduct of casting a bunch of singles already living in the same city. "For them to really do a deep dive in who you're following and who's following you and things like that, I don't think that that was a thing," she said.

Bowden said there was a similar incident with his Dallas-based cast two seasons later and production followed the same protocol. He said another cast member told him that they had previously gone on a date with one of the other participants outside of the show.

"It was like, 'Yeah, I've been on a date with so-and-so, but I can't talk about it on camera or they're going to remove both of us,'" he said. "So that's how serious it is."

How production missed Uche and Lydia's past relationship isn't the only question

For his part, Okoroha hinted on Instagram that he may not be happy with how the show presented his past relationship.

"Production forcing me to keep my past a secret, then editing out the part where I reveal I wasn't allowed by production to tell the truth was an interesting decision," he wrote.

However, he's been more focused on suggesting that Gonzalez followed him onto the show. In an Instagram Q+A, he said he "100%" believes Gonzalez followed him on to the show. At the reunion, which Okoroha did not attend, Gonzalez said that while she and Okoroha had a conversation about the show casting, she had "no confirmation that Uche was gonna be there."

Okoroha skipped the "Love Is Blind" reunion, saying on his Instagram Story that he was out of town on a business trip. He reassured fans that they "will not be left without answers."

Gonzalez, who went on to marry her match James Milton Johnson IV on the show, attended the reunion. When asked if she thought producers made the right call in allowing her and Okoroha to stay on the show, she smiled.

"I mean, I'm a little biased because I got married," she said. "I found my person."