Why The Internet Says Everything About Love Is Blind's Kwame Is Fake
Netflix’s premier reality dating show, Love is Blind, has been a hotbed of drama since its 2020 debut. Apart from their messy theatrics in the pods, Love is Blind contestants have also gained notoriety for their post-show drama, with at least one contestant from each season coming under fire after their time on the show. As expected, the show’s latest season, which made its streaming debut in March, was no different.
From Irina, who upon meeting her fiancé, Zack, for the first time claimed he looked “like a fictional character… like something out of a cartoon,” to Bliss' father Shah, who, just minutes after meeting her fiancé, confessed to her daughter that she was headed for divorce, season four’s cast didn’t exactly hold back when it came to making questionable choices and attracting controversy. It, therefore, came as no surprise when, earlier this month, internet sleuths narrowed in on Portland native Kwame Appiah, accusing him of lying his way through the show. We take a look at the controversy surrounding the 33-year-old sales development manager, including all the reasons fans are convinced he’s completely fake.
8 Kwame Appiah And His Name For Love Is Blind
Kwame Appiah, a former footballer from Portland and one of the romantic hopefuls on Love is Blind’s fourth season, has been rubbing fans the wrong way since he admitted to wanting to change his name to ‘Alex’ for the show. Speaking to marketing manager Micah in the pods, the 33-year-old disclosed that he’d deliberated going by ‘Alex’ instead.
His reason, feeling "like Kwame just puts [him] in this very specific area," sent the internet into uproar. “Not even 5 mins into the new season of Love is Blind, and this Ghanaian man is telling us that he was considering using the name 'Alex' instead of Kwame,” one frustrated viewer wrote on Twitter. “I'm regretting this already.”
7 Why Love Is Blind's Kwame Appiah Was Heavily Criticized For Wanting To Go By A Different Name
Kwame Appiah suffered heavy backlash for wanting to go by a different name, with some critics accusing him of trying to downplay his African heritage. Some outraged fans even resorted to terrorizing Appiah in his DMs, a turn of events that the Portland native didn’t take too kindly.
"Opinions are, they're a given, right?," he said in a video after allegedly receiving multiple hateful messages. "But there's definitely a level that should not be breached, and that's when the opinions that you have go toward deepening levels of hate, racism or bigotry."
However, it is important to note that Kwame's real name, as revealed in the reunion episode of Love is Blind is Alex Kwame Owusu Ansah Appiah. So, going by Alex would not have been a lie.
6 Kwame's Love Is Blind 'Phone Call' With His Mom
Kwame attracted skepticism yet again when a phone call he’d made to his mom on the show fell under suspicion for appearing ‘staged.’
“We've never heard a one-sided conversation like that without even the other person's voice,” one Redditor pointed out. “Maybe his mother didn't consent to her voice being used, BUT at one point it looks like you can see his home screen while he's 'on the call.'"
5 Kwame’s Interactions With His Sister, Barbara On Love Is Blind
Before he could make it to the Love is Blind finale, Kwame’s interactions with his family fell under suspicion one more time. This time, TikTokers were convinced that his vivacious sister, who’d become an absolute fan-favorite since appearing on the show, might actually be a hired actor.
“TikTok is saying Kwame hired a random Ghanaian woman to play his sister and tbh that wouldn’t surprise me,” one viewer wrote on Twitter.
However, this fan theory quickly unraveled when Twitter user Ruth Etiesit Samuel did her own sleuthing, and confirmed that the twosome was actually related. “Unfortunately false,” Samuel said of the theory on Twitter. “I just went down a rabbit hole locating family photos — but would love this if it were true.”
4 Did Kwame Appiah Really Lie About His Family On Love Is Blind?
While it remains uncertain whether he actually staged the phone call with his mom, Kwame’s family doesn’t appear to be fabricated. Chelsea Griffin, who said ‘I do’ to Kwame on the show’s finale, met the family post-show, which is definitive proof that they actually do exist.
"We went to the family for Thanksgiving. His mom welcomed me with open arms," she admitted to People in a recent interview. "It was a wonderful first visit. It was such a beautiful experience. I really bonded with his nieces. ... It was a wonderful start to a beautiful journey of our family together."
3 Love Is Blind Fans Also Believed That Kwame Is Not Actually In Love With Chelsea
Among the many things fans are not buying about Kwame Appiah is his relationship with his wife, Chelsea Griffin. Fans have questioned the 33-year-old’s chemistry with Chelsea, pointing to his flirtatious relationship with Micah as proof that he doesn’t really care about his wife.
Though Kwame apologized for his on-camera antics during Love is Blind season four’s reunion special, claiming that he’d let his “ego get the best of [him] in that moment,” fans are still not convinced that he’s found his happily ever after in Chelsea Griffin.
2 Fans Discovered That Love Is Blind Isn’t Kwame’s First Reality TV Appearance
Things took yet another mucky turn when one eagle-eyed TikToker spotted Kwame on season 10 of Married at First Sight, proving that Love is Blind season four wasn’t Kwame’s first attempt at finding reality TV love.
"I had zero idea! I saw that online too, and I was like, 'What? That's bizarre!' I texted our team about it," Love is Blind and MAFS producer Chris Coelen told Variety of the revelation. “It made zero sense to me. After his soccer career ended, I guess he was living in D.C. for a while, and he had gone in. He was never featured on the show [as one of the married couples], of course, but he was one of the people in there."
1 Has Love Is Blind's Kwame Appiah Denied Or Confirmed Ongoing Rumors?
While Kwame hasn’t responded to any of the fan theories about his family, he was quick to dispel rumors that his relationship with Chelsea wasn’t authentic. The 33-year-old sales development manager recently posted some adorable snapshots of himself and his new wife on Instagram, presumably in a bid to prove to critics that his marriage is rock solid.
"Just a quick response to anyone saying 'they have no chemistry' or 'they don’t even love each other,’” he captioned the post, “based on what you saw, I don’t blame you for thinking that. But actually, we had the MOST fun together falling in love!"
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