\n Natalie Lee, Nick and Vanessa Lachey, Deepti Vempati.<\/span> Netflix (3)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
Pod family forever! Members of the Love Is Blind<\/em><\/a> family defended cohosts\u00a0Nick<\/strong><\/a> and Vanessa Lachey<\/strong><\/a> after a petition was created\u00a0to remove the couple from the reality series.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cLook, I know we\u2019re biased because of course we know Vanessa and Nick. We really considered them as Mom and Dad during filming,\u201d season 2 alum Natalie Lee<\/strong><\/a> said during the Monday, April 24, episode of her and Deepti Vempati\u2019s<\/strong><\/a> \u201cOut of the Pods<\/a>\u201d podcast.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThey played this role of mentors to us, providing advice as we were making our decision to say \u2018I do\u2019 or \u2018I don\u2019t\u2019 on our wedding day. I also agree with the criticism, but I also think it\u2019s unfair as well with how much backlash she\u2019s getting. It feels like a dog pile.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Nick, 49, and Vanessa, 42 \u2014 who have hosted the Netflix dating show since its premiere in February 2020 \u2014 first came under fire during the season 4 reunion after some fans felt<\/a> the duo were showing personal bias toward contestants and asking them invasive questions. The controversial episode \u2014\u00a0which experienced\u00a0technical difficulties, preventing many from being able to watch live on its original airdate of April 16 \u2014<\/span>\u00a0sparked an uptick in a\u00a0<\/span>change.org petition rallying for the hosts to be replaced. The document\u00a0currently has over 400,000 signatures.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n While both Natalie, 31, and Deepti, 32, agreed there were \u201ccertain moments\u201d during the April 16 reunion they \u201cdisagreed with,\u201d the duo ultimately felt backlash has been \u201cpushed too far.\u201d<\/a><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cPeople are being almost overly critical and she\u2019s taking so much heat<\/a> that I\u2019m like, I don\u2019t know that it\u2019s deserved,\u201d Natalie explained. \u201cIt\u2019s tough to watch because Nick and Vanessa are just really, really nice, great people.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Deepti, meanwhile, noted that the pair \u2014 who tied the knot in July 2011 and share children<\/a> Camden, 10, Brooklyn, 8, and Phoenix, 6 \u2014 \u201creally do care\u201d about the Love Is Blind<\/em> cast.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Despite their support for the Lacheys, the women admitted that there were various \u201cmissed opportunities to ask the right questions\u201d \u2014 particularly by Vanessa<\/a> \u2014 and topics were \u201ccut off\u201d in ways that left viewers wanting more.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t know if that was a miss from Vanessa\u2019s part or if she was just trying to keep things along because they were going over time,\u201d Natalie shared, adding that it was \u201cinappropriate\u201d of the former MTV VJ to ask the contestants about their plans to have children.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEspecially in this day and age when there are couples who don\u2019t want to have kids or can\u2019t have kids,\u201d the consulting manager continued. \u201cI couldn\u2019t tell if it was a subject that was being pushed by Vanessa or just the show itself. Hopefully, it\u2019s a learning lesson for the<\/span>\u00a0<\/i>Love Is Blind<\/em>\u00a0franchise, don\u2019t ask over and over again if someone\u2019s having kids.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Not everyone was as quick to back the Lacheys following the controversial reunion. Season 4 cast\u00a0member Paul Peden<\/strong><\/a>, who got engaged to Micah Lussier<\/strong><\/a> in the pods, went off on the Disaster Movie star during an interview with Entertainment Tonight<\/em><\/a> following the episode. The 29-year-old reality star felt\u00a0Vanessa\u00a0<\/b>took Micah\u2019s side when pressing the exes about why they didn\u2019t say \u201cI do\u201d at the altar.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was like, \u2018F\u2014k man.\u2019 They kept drilling, drilling it down on me,\u201d Paul told the outlet during an April 17 interview. \u201cI think I said my piece. I think Vanessa might have had a little bit of personal bias<\/a> in that scenario or at least I kind of detected that. I don\u2019t know. But that\u2019s just my assumption based on how she continued to drill into it after I gave my full rationale for why I felt the way that I did.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Netflix viewers who tuned into the reunion\u00a0<\/b>saw Micah, 27, get emotional when Vanessa asked a question about Paul saying he didn\u2019t see his then-fianc\u00e9e as \u201cmotherly.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI think it was extremely reductive in the way that they dismissed all nuance and complexity in why I said no,\u201d he told\u00a0ET<\/em>. \u201cIt was framed as, the reason that I said no was that she wasn\u2019t able to fill a mothering role and a nurturing atmosphere and whatever. That was one piece of the puzzle. It was incredibly complex, but that was the answer. That was the reason why. And that\u2019s just a fraction of the story.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Viewers seemingly agreed with Paul\u2019s complaints and subsequently flooded Vanessa\u2019s latest Instagram post with criticisms about the exchange.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>While the Philippines native has since disabled commenting on her social media posts about the show, Paul revealed that she sent him flowers to apologize<\/a> for their altercation the next day.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThanks for acknowledging the accidental misleading @vanessalachey,\u201d he wrote via Instagram Stories alongside a snap of the bouquet.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Love](\"https:\/\/www.usmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Love-Is-Blind-s-Natalie-Lee-and-Deepti-Vempati-Support-Nick-and-Vanessa-Lachey-Amid-Hosting-Backlash-382.jpg?w=700&quality=86&strip=all\")
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\n Natalie Lee, Deepti Vempati, Shaina Hurley.<\/span> Adam Rose\/Netflix<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n