Love Is Blind’s Jeremy Hartwell Was Awarded $1.4 Million After Suing The Show

In the years since the Netflix show Love Is Blind premiered, it has become one of the most popular reality TV series. The reason for that is the fact that fans care enough about the show to want to know what happened to the cast from season one and whether the couples from Season 4 will make it.

Since many Love Is Blind fans love the drama surrounding the show, they tend to know things like the fact that Cole Barnett has regrets about his time on the series. However, many of those same fans have no idea that a courtroom drama surrounding Love Is Blind resulted in Jeremy Hartwell being awarded $1.4 million.

Jeremy Hartwell Won A $1.4 Million Settlement From Netflix For Himself And His Love Is Blind Co-Stars

For fans who watch Love Is Blind, Jeremy Hartwell is an extremely easy to forget footnote in the show's history. A member of the show's second season cast, Jeremy got the chance to meet several potential partners without seeing them.

Unfortunately for Jeremy, he didn't find love in the pods, get involved with anyone, or get engaged. As a result, Jeremy got very little screen time during the second season, since he didn't really have an important story for fans to keep track of.

However, for the people who have starred in Love Is Blind and the people who will, Jeremy is an extremely important figure. The reason for that is the fact that Jeremy fought Netflix on behalf of Love Is Blind's cast members, and he was awarded $1.4 million.

In July 2022, Us Weekly published an article detailing the accusations that Jeremy made against Netflix.

That article revealed that Jeremy was actually making more than one claim about how Netflix mistreated their reality show stars.

Jeremy's lawyer, Chantal Payton of Payton Employment Law, PC, of Los Angeles, released a statement on the Love Is Blind star's behalf. That statement made several claims, including that the show's stars were barely paid and were manipulated.

“They intentionally underpaid the cast members, deprived them of food, water and sleep, plied them with booze and cut off their access to personal contacts and most of the outside world. This made cast members hungry for social connections and altered their emotions and decision-making.”

The statement also revealed alleged details about how much Love Is Blind's cast members were paid.

In March 2024, The Hollywood Reporter published an article stating that Love Is Blind topped the streaming charts between Feb. 12 and 18.

The statement did this by revealing that if the cast members quit the show, they'd be fined $50,000. The statement then claimed that the figure was ten times as much money as the cast members would be paid to star in a season of Love Is Blind. That means that the show's cast members were only paid $5,000 for a season, if the statement's claims were accurate.

According to Us Weekly's report, the statement also made an explosive claim about drinking on Love Is Blind.

In June 2024, Vulture published an article revealing there were a slew of reality show lawsuits going on at that time.

According to the outlet, the only drinks the show's cast were regularly provided with were "alcoholic beverages, soft drinks, energy drinks and mixers." The statement also claimed that "hydrating drinks such as water were strictly limited to the cast during the day." If that wasn't an alarming enough claim, the statement also alleged that cast members had to cope with a "lack of food."

Us Weekly's article revealed that Jeremy's lawsuit was designed to benefit more than just himself. The reason for that is Jeremy filed a class action lawsuit representing anyone who starred in a Kinetic Content reality show from 2018 to 2022.

In June 2024, The New York Times published an article looking at the history of reality show lawsuits. That article revealed what appears to be the ultimate outcome of Jeremy's lawsuit against Netflix.

The New York Times reported that Netflix and the production company behind Love Is Blind agreed to a $1.4 settlement to end Jeremy's lawsuit. However, the article stated that the settlement had to be approved by the court.

Love Is Blind's Producers Initially Claimed Jeremy Hartwell's Lawsuit Had "No Merit"

When Jeremy Hartwell initially filed his lawsuit against Netflix and Love Is Blind's producers, it didn't seem like a settlement would be reached. The reason for that is a statement released by the show's producers made it clear they were going to fight the matter in court.

In July 2022, Variety published an article detailing how Love Is Blind's production company, Kinetic Content, initially reacted to Jeremy's lawsuit. Kinetic Content released a statement to Variety in which they began by revealing that Jeremy was only briefly involved in Love Is Blind.

“Mr. Hartwell’s involvement in Season 2 of ‘Love is Blind’ lasted less than one week. Unfortunately, for Mr. Hartwell, his journey ended early after he failed to develop a significant connection with any other participant.”

Kinetic Content's statement then alleged that Jeremy's claims in his lawsuit were false, and they pledged to fight against his lawsuit.

“While we will not speculate as to his motives for filing the lawsuit, there is absolutely no merit to Mr. Hartwell’s allegations, and we will vigorously defend against his claims.”

Considering how definitively they stated that Jeremy's allegations were baseless, it is fascinating that a $1.4 million settlement was later reached.