The first season of Love Is Blind: Germany is in full swing. Now we see the reality TV show couples take their connections to the real world.

In Episode 5, the cast’s vacation time in Greece continues. For some, however, conversations with former pod matches create some complicated feelings.

The Couples Weather The In-Person Party

We pick up with Hanni and Ilias at the group party. Ilias is in hot water, realizing how much he’s still into Hanni even though he’s now engaged to Alina. Back in their hotel room, Ilias seems anxious, knowing that he’s being “unfair” to Alina with his complicated feelings. Alina asks him what it was like to see his other matches in person that evening, and he covers up his true emotions, saying he’s securer than even in being with her. (Hearing this made me so sure this would come back to bite him later in the episode.)

Meanwhile, Daniel appears confident in his relationship with Hanni even though she chatted with Ilias. Hanni’s pleased to see his reaction, as it was partially her intention to “test” her fiancé to see how jealous he is. Though I don’t normally condone trying to test one’s partner, given that changing connections is such a large part of the experiment, I could understand where she was coming from.

Pretty suddenly, we get what may be the first breakup of the season. Shila tells Tolga that she wants to leave the experiment, unhappy with their connection. Tolga tells the cameras that she’s actually little more than a stranger at the end of the day.

As the couples’ vacation continues, Daniel and Hanni celebrate the security they find with each other, going on a romantic date on a sailboat. Shella and Pascal take a scenic drive and end with a picnic, where Shella picks his brain about the other couples. She tells the cameras that she’s worried about things moving too slowly with Pascal.

Pascal says he’s still a little thrown about the experiment’s timeline; though he’s very into her, saying she’s the type of woman he’d date in real life, he’s candid in saying he’s unsure if his feelings will eventually amount to love:

I appreciate conversations like this on the show because it’s a reminder of the somewhat ridiculous expectations of the experiment. Though it’s possible couples could declare their love in such a short span of time, it’s always bothered me that agreeing to get married comes as the definite symbol of that love, as if it isn’t considered to be real otherwise.

Ilias Switches His Story

Later on, Ilias admits to Ilina that he’s “still interested in talking to Hanni again.” Alina, understandably, tells the cameras that hearing this confuses her and makes her feel insecure about her connection with Ilias. Meanwhile, Tolga and Shila have another conversation, remarking that while their personalities feel compatible, things aren’t aligning on the romantic front, and they agree to officially split.

Shila says she wants to “stay friends” going forward so that there aren’t any ill feelings between them. As they begin to pack their bags to return home, Tolga tells the cameras that it was still a very valuable experience for him:

After their departure, the remaining cast members gather together for a pool party. As the men chat together, Pascal divulges that he worries what his daily life with Shella will look like, and his friends agree that things shouldn’t feel “forced.” On her end, Shella tells the women that if she feels her efforts aren’t being returned, she’ll “shut down.”

Jen has her own gripes, telling her friends that she feels like she has to pull back on her personality so Marcel doesn’t get overwhelmed. It seems like more than one couple is grappling with a change in their dynamic from the pods to being in person. I was surprised to learn that almost none of the couples had slept together yet, the one exception likely being Hanni and Daniel. This is definitely a major difference from the American version of the series.

I continue to feel for Alina, who’s tormented over not knowing Ilias’ true feelings. In a real girls’ girl moment, Hanni volunteers to talk to Ilias to figure out whether he’s trying to keep his options open. He admits that he still wants to explore things with Hanni, knowing that he feels more than friendship with her. Hanni’s surprised that she doesn’t even have to prompt him to get him to admit these things — the guy is unabashed!

Just then, Tolga comes to the pool party, saying that after their breakup, Shila flew home and that he’ll be doing the same the next day. Hanni tells him that Hannah would’ve been a much better connection for him, which gives him pause. He tells the cameras he knows he’s not ready to meet Hannah yet, but it gives him a lot to think about.

I was shocked again when Pascal interrupted the conversation to say that he was in a similar situation to Tolga and Shila, that his compatibility with Shella just wasn’t lining up. It seems like Pascal feels inspired by Tolga’s courage to end his relationship, and he might be contemplating having a similar conversation with Shella later.

Back at their hotel room that night, Pascal indeed ends the relationship, saying he can’t offer Shella what she wants. So far, it appears that while cast members seemed to be very confident and direct in the pods, now that they’re in-person, their feelings are flying in every which direction, and suddenly they find it much harder to be upfront about their emotions.

At the end of the episode, Alina confronts Ilias about feeling like his “safe option,” which she doesn’t want to be. She encourages him to be honest about his feelings with the Hanni situation, for she feels like their own relationship is stuck because of it. For as articulate as Alina is, Ilias still appears tongue-tied, and all he can manage to say is “I don’t know” before the episode ends. Men!

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Love Is Blind: Germany

Release Date

January 3, 2025

Main Genre

Reality

Cast

Steffi Brungs , Christian Wackert

Seasons

1