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Although the world of reality dating shows<\/a> focuses overwhelmingly on heterosexual couples, there are some series that have challenged that norm.<\/p>\n Season 8 of MTV\u2019s Are You The One?<\/em><\/a> featured an entirely LGBTQ+ cast, including trans-masculine nonbinary contestant Kai Wes<\/strong>. The show\u2019s executive producer Sitarah Pendelton<\/strong> spoke to Entertainment Weekly<\/em> in 2019 about how the AYTO<\/em> production team knew it was time for a change.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you\u2019ve produced a show that has multiple seasons, and in this day and age everything changes every day, we really wanted to make sure that we were continuing to be reflective of our viewers and true to how people were dating,\u201d she told the outlet.<\/p>\n The reality television producer continued, \u201cWe\u2019re like, \u2018Wow, this younger generation looks at love and dating and their relationships with a completely different prism than maybe generations of the past.\u2019 And again, with MTV always wanting to be reflective of our viewers and understand where those stories lie, it just was an organic path to follow. Like, of course we would do this \u2014 if not us, then who?\u201d<\/p>\n By contrast, the Bachelor<\/em> franchise<\/a> has stuck to heterosexual relationships since it premiered in 2002. Before longtime host Chris Harrison<\/strong><\/a> left Bachelor Nation<\/a> in 2021, he made comments about why there would probably never be a gay bachelor.<\/p>\n \u201cThe question is: Is it a good business decision? \u201d Harrison told The New York Times<\/em> in 2014. \u201cI just spoke at U.S.C. the other night, and I explained it like this: Look, if you\u2019ve been making pizzas for 12 years and you\u2019ve made millions of dollars and everybody loves your pizzas and someone comes and says, \u2018Hey, you should make hamburgers.\u2019 Why? I have a great business model and I don\u2019t know if hamburgers are going to sell.\u201d<\/p>\n Chris Coelen<\/strong>, the showrunner of Netflix\u2019s wedding-centric dating show Love Is Blind<\/em><\/a>, has also expressed hesitance about an LGBTQ+<\/a> season. In a 2020 interview with Metro<\/em>, Coelen said, \u201can LGBTQ+ version of [the show] has some logistical difficulties in the current setup. \u2026 This is not a show that is particularly about sexuality.\u201d<\/p>\n However, even within the confines of Love is Blind<\/em> and Bachelor Nation, some LGBTQ+ contestants have been open about their sexuality; Demi Burnett<\/strong><\/a> came out as bisexual during season 6 of Bachelor in Paradise<\/em><\/a>, Jaimi King<\/strong> was openly bisexual on Nick Viall<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s season and Alexa Caves<\/strong><\/a> from Peter Weber<\/strong><\/a>\u2019s season identified herself as sexually fluid. On Love Is Blind<\/em>, Carlton Morton<\/strong> came out as bisexual to then-fianc\u00e9e Diamond Jack<\/strong> and ended up leaving the show soon after.<\/p>\n \u201cI wish I hadn\u2019t let my emotions get the best of me. But as soon as I began telling her that I was bisexual, I felt so much anxiety,\u201d Morton told Women\u2019s Health<\/em> in 2020. \u201cOur entire relationship just flashed in front of me. I could see it falling apart. I began to self-sabotage because her reaction didn\u2019t seem 100 percent positive.\u201d<\/p>\n Although Love Is Blind<\/em> has yet to intentionally explore LGBTQ+ relationships, Netflix\u2019s second season of The Ultimatum<\/em><\/a>, which debuted in May 2023, featured an all-queer cast.<\/p>\n \u201cThe gravity of being a part of a queer show \u2026 knowing that I never got to witness that representation as a kid growing up, maybe I would have figured out who I was sooner [if I\u2019d had that],\u201d season 2 contestant Lexi Goldberg<\/strong> told Pride.com in June 2023.<\/p>\n