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Many “Love is Blind” fans are unhappy with the share of screen time dedicated to people of color in the eighth season of the reality show, which features singles from across the Twin Cities. 

Minnesotans react to ‘Love is Blind’ Minneapolis season so far

But perhaps none more so than Sue Boreland, mother of participant Vanessa. 

“Love is Blind was a good show, but they dropped the ball on Minneapolis for sure. They really, really did. And Vanessa did have a good time. She made great connections with people, but it would have been really fun to see her connections in the pods,” said Sue Boreland. 

She revealed to MPR News that Vanessa had relationships — including a tearful breakup — not shown on Netflix. 

“She was like dating somebody throughout the pods all the way up until the end, before they go on the vacation,” said Sue Boreland, speaking about her daughter. “And then they had this dramatic breakup where they were crying and it was really a big deal. She was kind of surprised. She was like, ‘wow, with all that going on, I’m wondering why they didn’t show that.’” 

Sue Boreland said that “somebody” was Adam Bevis, 33, a fashion director and co-owner of Jaxen Grey, a contemporary men’s clothing retailer with four locations in the Twin Cities. She said the couple broke up because Bevis was not ready to get engaged, but they agreed to give things a shot in Minneapolis. The pair dated for a while before calling it quits. 

Beyond that, Sue Boreland said Vanessa also had connections with two others: Hugo Orieny and Daniel Hastings. The latter later got engaged to another woman. 

“I just feel overall it would have been a better show, not only for me as a parent, but for me as a viewer, to see like — they had 32 cast members. Let’s see what some of these other people did,” Sue Boreland said. 

She said she had encouraged her middle daughter, 31-year-old Vanessa, to apply for “Love is Blind,” even starting the application for her. She said it was hard for her daughter to meet new people in a small community like Minneapolis where “everybody knows each other,” but she wasn’t pushing Vanessa towards something she didn’t want. 

“When you’re a parent, you want your kids to be successful in the things that they want, basically. If she came to me and said I wanted to be single for the rest of my life, then I would not advocate for that. But I do know she wants a strong relationship, she wants a family, she wants to have kids, and I would love to see that for her,” Sue Boreland said, adding Vanessa ultimately completed the application to be on the show herself. 

“I really hoped that she would meet someone. Like this was not about, you know, clout or, you know, just going on TV. I really had high hopes that there was going to be some good options for her and that she would meet someone,” she said. 

Sue Boreland is recently retired from her job as a social worker where she worked with children and families. With her new free time, she has been vocal on social media with her thoughts on the latest “Love is Blind” season. 

She agrees with audiences criticizing producers for cutting out storylines with people of color. Sue Boreland’s husband is Jamaican and her three daughters are biracial. 

“Even being a white person … I’m used to seeing diversity in our communities. And I watch the show and I’m like, my gosh. Why did they do this? Why did they represent us like this? I mean, we’re the home of Prince for God’s sakes,” said Sue Boreland, who raised her kids in a south Twin Cities suburb before moving to Farmington. (Vanessa lives in Minneapolis.) 

After watching the first six episodes, Sue Boreland also expressed concern about the politics of the men on the season. 

“The choices are not great,” she said. “I know that there was one male cast member that said he doesn’t know how he feels about Black Lives Matter one way or the other. And that just doesn’t fly with me. At all ... If you’re dating a Black woman and you say you don’t know if you support Black Lives Matter, then you don’t support this lovely woman that you’re dating. Bottom line, that's it.” 

Asked if she feels the experience of being on “Love is Blind” is worthwhile, Sue Boreland said it’s good that Vanessa got to meet people, remarking that all the women on the show remain friends. “They are some of the absolute nicest people ever,” she said. 

Sue Boreland will continue watching the reality show, even without her daughter in it. 

“The only thing I would share is that Vanessa, you know, how do I put this? She’s single,” said she said with a laugh.  

“And if there’s any really nice guy out there looking for fantastic woman that, you know, is really interesting and adventurous, she’s single. You gotta go through me though.” 

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Sue Boreland is a retired social worker and fierce advocate for her daughter, Vanessa, who got little screen time in the Netflix reality show’s latest season. 

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Mom of ‘Love is Blind’ Minneapolis season participant reveals unaired romance

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