Love Is Blind season 2 alum Nick Thompson has lashed out at Netflix in a shocking interview in which he claims the streaming platform “ruined his life” and left him on the brink of homelessness.
Thompson, 38, made the claims in an interview with DailyMail.com, and said that he’s in danger of losing his home after struggling to find a job following his appearance on the dating show. Thompson, who appeared in the second season of the hit Netflix show, left the series married to his co-star Danielle Ruhl, although the couple divorced a year later, in August 2022.
The former reality star criticized the streamer for “exploiting” him and his co-stars by paying them small salaries and no residuals despite the show’s resounding success. He told the publication that he was paid $10,000 overall for a combined 10 weeks of filming — $7,000 for the main show and $3,000 for the “After The Altar” special. According to Thompson, that came out to $7.14 an hour as cast members filmed for 18 to 20 hours a day. He felt like he couldn’t leave because of contractual obligations that would have meant paying up to $50,000 in damages if he quit, he added.
“When you think about the amount of money that’s being made, and the way that it’s the path for future seasons, and the fact that anyone can go on and watch me… and I’m going to be homeless,” he revealed. “I lost my job last November. I’m having an incredibly hard time finding [a new] one. I burned through my savings that cashed out my 401(k). I’ve got two months left in the bank to pay my mortgage. I can’t get a job because people don’t take me seriously.”
Thompson, who worked as a VP in software for several years, said he has a lot of experience in the field and was a valuable employee, but that hasn’t helped him to find a job since his stint as a reality star.
He also criticized the filming schedule, which he described as brutal as reality stars are “held captive like prisoner[s].” In addition to long filming hours, Thompson revealed that competitors are almost always on a microphone, and in their off-hours are “locked in a hotel room” with no money, key, or IDs. “You literally are held captive like a prisoner and there is absolutely no reason that you shouldn’t be considered an employee when you’re technically under the control of your employer for 24 hours a day,” he pointed out.
Thompson now hosts a mental health advocacy and wellness podcast called Eyes Wide Open and also co-launched the Unscripted Cast Advocacy Network (UCAN), a foundation with the goal of providing legal and mental health support and resources to current and former reality stars. “It’s a brutal, brutal, brutal industry,” Thompson told DailyMail.com about the reality TV industry. He said the show “ruined [his] life completely,” and that he wishes he could go back to his life before the show.