Love is Blind UK has landed on Netflix, and it seems that legions of fans have been spending the weekend watching the romance unfold between couples who might end up married by the end of the show - but why is everyone particularly obsessed with a contestant named Sam?
For those uninitiated, Love is Blind follows a group of singles who have signed up for an unconventional dating show to choose someone to marry - without ever meeting them.
The synopsis reads: "Over several weeks, the newly engaged couples will move in together, plan their wedding and find out if their physical connection matches their strong emotional bond developed in the Pods.
"When their wedding day arrives, will real-world realities and external factors push them apart, or will they marry the person they fell blindly in love with? Hosted by Emma and Matt Willis, this series will uncover whether looks, race or age do matter, or if love really is blind."
On the show, Sam has been the contestant that everyone has been talking about, as he caused havoc right from the pod chats including asking women whether they work out, calling Jasmine "ridiculous" and suggesting that "to him" Nicole is gorgeous, adding that he "doesn’t care what anyone else thinks".
Taking to X, formerly known as Twitter, to discuss, one person said: "Sam saying about Nicole, apropos of nothing, 'I don't care what anyone else thinks, to me she's fricking gorgeous' is one of the most backhanded, unpleasant, side-eyeable, negging 'compliments' I've ever heard. That man is vile. Bring on the fall from grace."
Another person posted: "Nicole's reaction said it all just moments after the proposal after hearing 'I think I love you' and realising she had [expletive] up big time and ruined everything. Sam is the reddest red flag and J was the greenest green flag."
A third person added: "No Sam from London has been on my screen for 5 minutes and I’m cringing pls this 'I'm just a big kid that looks like a [expletive] boy (no u don’t) who wants someone to love is that so hard' chat would have me in the bin."
Sam suggested that the editing of the show made things worse than they might have appeared. Speaking on his Instagram Stories, he said: "The show was intense and high-pressure, and the editing hasn’t really worked in my favour. But my connection with Nicole in the pods was genuine and she’s an amazing person."
He also addressed the "awkward" reveal where the two met one another for the frist time, explaining: "My nerves got the better of me." He also shared a viral clip of the Australian break dancer who went viral at the Olympics, joking: "Me in my head during the reveal."