Sabrina first to get engaged, while contestant Conor from Dublin also praises dating show Sabrina Egerton (Photo: Netflix) Conor Griffin (Photo: Netflix) A Love Is Blind participant from Belfast says the show gave her the chance to potentially meet her future life partner without the superficial elements of modern dating. Sabrina Egerton, along with Conor Griffin from Dublin, swapped dating apps for a less-conventional approach. The first four episodes of Love Is Blind: UK were released this week on Netflix.
Egerton was the first to get engaged in the series. She found love by talking to Steven, a gym owner, through a wall without having the ability to see him. “It is unconventional, but it really does take away all those blocks and barriers that come up in the real world,” she said.
“Everyone is on the same page as you, so suddenly it takes away a barrier from modern dating. “It is a surreal process..
. but it takes out all of the distractions and superficial elements of modern dating. “It’s very emotional watching it back.
There’s obviously so much going through your mind. “My mam started crying before we even put the first episode on. She said she was so proud of me.
“I did, like, a little viewing party with friends and family. “It was so nice to have everyone in the room, but it also meant I could answer everyone’s questions at once and not be bombarded. It was a little surreal.
“We had no idea how they’d edited it. There’s so many beautiful dates that Steven and I had that you don’t get to see. He gave me his grandfather’s ring to look after until we met in person.
It was so sweet. “We played Hangman, where it spelt out ‘you’re the one’. We painted together too.
” Griffin, who owns food truck Roots and ice-cream shop Spilt Milk, added that it was a “beautiful way to meet the one”. “There were people who I really haven’t spoken to in years that got on to me asking why I didn’t tell them when it was announced. I was like: ‘I don’t know you any more’,” he said.
“I just told close friends and family. “I think my dad is from a different generation, he was equally supportive and sceptical about the experience. “I think once you explain it to them, I think most people come around to think it’s a beautiful way to potentially meet the person you’re going to spend the rest of your life with.
“When I was in the pods, I got asked to repeat myself a little bit more than I was expecting with my accent. “Everyone identified my voice as soon as I walked into the room. For me, a lot of the English accents sounded very similar.
“There were a few times I was on dates, and I was talking to someone for like 10 minutes and I didn’t know who I was talking to. I’d be talking to the wrong person. “It was like when you meet someone in the street and you’re supposed to know their name, but you just dance around it for the whole conversation.
“I had an interesting love triangle that went on until the day of proposal. It was two ladies and myself. The Irish accent definitely helped me out.
“We discussed if we’re going to get married, the possibilities of coming to live in Dublin. “I was selling it — the craic, the people here, the pints of Guinness here, all that good stuff. I positively portrayed Dublin.
” Conor Griffin (Photo: Netflix) Egerton also said her accent caused a bit of confusion. “When I said ‘I’m going to go for a dander’ one day, all the girls didn’t understand. “I’d always say ‘Ack’, if I was giving out about something and they’d ask what I was on about,” she said.
“The girls actually admitted that they couldn’t understand me the first few days. “They were just smiling at me and had no idea what I was saying. “What most people probably don’t realise is that all the girls, all the guys, you will date everyone.
So, myself and Conor had one date. “It was the first day in the pods. We were just so excited to hear another Irish accent.
Then, when the whole experience was over, Conor and myself obviously never met, but then we accidentally bumped into each other in Dublin and I was staring at him thinking: is that Conor from Love Is Blind, is it not? “Then I messaged him on Instagram saying: ‘This is going to sound really weird but I’m the creep staring at you’. So he told me to go over and say Hi.” To that, Griffin replied: “I just thought she was really obviously checking me out.
I was thinking: ‘Whoa, she is forward’. The chances of that happening are tiny, though.” The first four episodes of Love Is Blind were released on Wednesday, and will be followed by three more on August 14, before the final airs on August 21.
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