Why The Ultimatum Doesn't Check The Couples' Social Media During Casting

After Love Is Blind's vetting process was questioned following Tyler Francis' secret children drama, some fans are now curious about the screening procedure of its sister Netflix show, The Ultimatum: Marry or Move On. Both hosted by the recently criticized Nick and Vanessa Lachey, the dating experiments have been alleged of casting clout-driven contestants.

For instance, LIB Season 7's Hannah Jiles found an entry in Nick Dorka's notebook saying he wanted "to be the most famous person on" the show. Fans also weren't pleased that The Ultimatum Season 2's Roxanne Kaiser kept talking about being a businesswoman, seemingly using reality TV as a promotional platform. Here's how producers of The Ultimatum tend to miss these things.

The Ultimatum Producers Don't Go Over The Cast Members' Social Media

Yes, The Ultimatum producers don't check the couples' social media during the casting process. Reacting to speculations that The Ultimatum: Queer Love's Lexi Goldberg wanted to be an influencer due to her presence on Instagram, TikTok, and even OnlyFans, executive producer, Chris Coelen told Variety he had "no idea about [the cast's] social media... I've never personally been on any of their social media."

Ultimately, I think my job and the team that I work with is to tell the story that the cast is participating in. If somebody accuses Vanessa (another Queer Love alum) of being there because she's an influencer, then show that.

As to why they're not thorough with social media vetting, Chris explained to E! News that even though they "obviously do everything that normal casting teams do in terms of being out on social media," they "try to dig deep into the community and talk to people and go out to community groups and bars, and anywhere you can go in this time." Like with Love Is Blind, geography also plays a huge part in casting The Ultimatum.

That blind approach makes for good TV, anyway. It's interesting to see how social media—which has become a huge part of modern relationships—could affect couples, especially under such unique circumstances. At the end of the day, viewers are entertained by both the mess and success of the trial marriages. That's also why producers don't "make any rules that [they] can't enforce."

Chris explained that "there's no rule" regarding intimacy during the trial marriages, although it's "odd" because the cast members originally came there with their partners. The show creator acknowledged that "some people are more controlling... and it's really interesting to see come out, especially when they all go in the same way, saying, 'Hey, we're breaking up, and so you're gonna go off and live your life.'"

The Ultimatum Producers Vet Cast Members By Speaking With Their Friends And Family

While producers don't vet the cast members' social media presence, they speak with their community, friends, and family to verify their relationships. Still, Chris also told E! News that "you can never completely get inside the mind of someone, on any of these shows" and "ever be sure of what someone's truest, purest intentions are." That's where their long experience in the industry comes in.

We certainly have enough experience to try to suss out if people are inauthentic, and we spend a lot of time talking to them.

Part of their efforts to produce an organic show is to go "loose and not format-heavy," compared to LIB. "It's really just set up for them to create some guard rails in which they then can figure out the answers to the questions that they had," Chris said of providing cast members the space to make authentic decisions throughout the eight-week experiment.

That's also why trial marriages take place in "neutral" apartments provided by the show. "It was just cleaner if we did what we did, which was provide them with a neutral place where you can get a fresh start at this trial marriage without the baggage of, like, 'Oh that is your ex's whatever?'" Chris recalled after Season 1. He noted that they don't film 24/7 as they "are not keeping [the couples] in a bubble."

The Ultimatum Producers Don't Really Care About The Couples' Outcomes

Shows like The Ultimatum are often accused of rigging the outcomes of the couple for drama. But Chris assured fans that it's all the cast's doing. They couldn't care less about whether the couples get engaged or move on. "The truth is that you come in as a couple and I personally say this to them at the beginning of the process, I do not care how they leave," said the showrunner.

I am not biased to whether or not they decide to marry their first partner or they choose someone else or end up by themselves, the thing that I care about a lot is that they each make the right decision for themselves.

Even those group hang-outs were arranged by the cast members themselves. "It was something they chose to do on their own," Chris told E! when asked why the couples hung out a lot. He added that since the cast members work in the same area, it's natural for them to organize gatherings at a local bar or restaurant, especially after work. It's just bonus that drama often starts there.

"We don't police people," Chris emphasized. "If you're going to do that, you're going to do that." That comes from someone who genuinely "[loves] shows about love, love shows about relationships and what makes people tick in relationships and strive to be as representative of every kind of story that we can tell when it comes to love."