When it comes to reality TV, romance is a staple. As far back as 1965 we had The Dating Game and what’s followed are reality TV classics like the UK’s Blind Date and others like Temptation Island, The Bachelor, The Bachelorette, and now Love is Blind. The last one in particular is what changed the life of Venezuelan contestant Giannina Gibelli after she participated in the first season in 2020. And with the 5 year anniversary of the show arriving just in time for Valentine’s Day, Remezcla caught up with Gibelli.
A quick recap of her Love is Blind journey.
Love is Blind followed in its predecessors footsteps and put a twist on the whole blind date experience. Singles were put into pods where they couldn’t see each other, but they could hear each other. The test at the heart of it was: is love truly blind? By the end of season 1 Gibelli got engaged to Damian Powers. Ultimately, it didn’t work out. And it was for the best because Gibelli met Blake Horstmann, a contestant from season 14 of The Bachelorette and season 6 of Bachelor in Paradise, on the set of All Star Shore in 2021.
Four years later and Gibelli couldn’t be happier. She’s engaged to Horstmann and welcomed their son Heath Orion in March 2024. And when Remezcla met up with her in NYC, it’s clear that she’s living her best life, with a partner who loves her in equal measure and wants to explore this life by her side while raising their son.
Looking back at her experiences in Love is Blind, she’s still adamant that yes, you can find love on reality TV. “I personally didn’t find love [on Love is Blind]. But I saw other people fall in love, find literally the loves of their lives, get married, still married to this day. Then I went on a reality TV show 2 years later and I found my fiancé slash baby daddy on there. So yes, it’s possible. You just don’t know where you’re going to find it.”
Even though it’s been 5 years since the first season of Love is Blind, Gibelli still keeps in contact with her castmates. The inaugural season saw Giannina get engaged to Damian alongside other couples like Lauren and Cameron, Amber and Barnett, Jessica and Mark, and Kelly and Kenny. She revealed that she keeps in contact with Jessica and Kelly. But it’s in keeping in contact with Lauren and Cameron that a bromance sparked.
“Lauren and Cameron, we just did a T-Mobile commercial together. And they’re fantastic. They’re just as dreamy in real life as they are on camera. They’re just so in love,” Gibelli shared. The commercials were for Metro by T-Mobile and featured Amara la Negra for a show titled Nada Yada Island. “Blake, my fiancé, he and Cameron were bro-ing out the entire time behind-the-scenes. They just became a little bromance. It was really cute. I love them a lot.”
Looking back at where she was five years ago, Gibelli always felt like their was a bigger calling for her. And the show helped her find that. “My life made a complete 180 since Love is Blind. I was single and living in Atlanta. I was working in big corporations and doing fun things but I also felt I had a larger calling that I never knew how to put my finger on it. But I was always searching for that thing.” And it was a DM from Love is Blind casting that started it all even though she wasn’t sure if anyone would watch the show. We did.
Even checking out her life on social media it’s clear how it’s changed. She’s traveled the world, met a bunch of different people, and has grown into herself as an woman, partner, and mother. Reflecting one last time before we dive into the fiancé of it all, she said, “I look back at the 25 year old bleach blonde, and it just feels like a whole lifetime ago but in the best way possible.” She also added that Love is Blind contestants of today are at a disadvantage because they know too much about the experience. So “if you want to go on Love is Blind, don’t watch previous seasons.”
Now onto the romance of Giannina Gibelli and Blake Horstmann.
Instantly, she was emotional, calling herself out because talking about her fiancé reminds her of how he’s the one. “I’ve always been very drawn to him,” Gibelli said, diving into how they share they just get each other, have great chemistry, and sense of humor, “It’s really fun to be able to hang out with your best friend and I have a baby with my best friend.”
Spending every moment with your best friend means they get to know all parts of you. And one part that Gibelli is proud to say about her fiancé is that he appreciates her culture, language, and food as a Venezuelan. “So he’s starting to pick up on Spanish, which is amazing. And I didn’t push that on him. It was so cute how one day he’s on his phone and it’s in Spanish. And I’m like, “What are you doing?” He’s like, “I’m on Babel. I’ve been on Babel for months, learning Spanish.”
Gibelli also shared that learning Spanish isn’t something limited to her fiancé. It’s something that’s important to share with her baby Heath. And Horstmann? Oh he does it too. “He’ll talk to the baby in Spanish, because I only speak to Heath in Spanish so he can be bilingual like me and have more opportunities and feel more connected to his culture.”
This is about the time that we got into Venezuelan food and Horstmann returned to the hotel room Remezcla was doing the interview with Gibelli. While putting his things down, she asked him about his favorite Venezuelan food. He was quick to answer with what they had for breakfast, arepas. (The look of pride on her face was everything.) “She makes fire arepas.” He also love pabellón, a traditional Venezuelan dish that is considered the national dish. “It’s just an explosion of flavors. It’s so good. My whole white family is like “What is the recipe for this?!”
Backtracking on what Gibelli said earlier, we talked about how he’s picking up Spanish. “I’m getting better at it, doing the Babel thing, and our au pair only speaks Spanish so like if I want to understand what they’re saying [I have to learn.]” Gibelli followed that up with the revelation of what Heath’s first were, really emphasizing how important it is for him to be bilingual. His first word was “mama.” And the second was “agua,” which they both said in tandem, because they are absolutely in sync as soon as they’re in a room together.
Cute babies first words, aside, we did ask what Horstmann’s favorite word in Spanish has been so far. By the delighted look on Gibelli’s face, she knew before he answered. “Coño su madre. It’s funny because now I don’t even have to think about it. Sometimes I’ll answer in Spanish. Or instead of being like “Fuck!” I’ll be like “Coño!” I don’t know why but it sounds so good. “Fuck” is so rough. And “coño” is just so… “coño.”
As we started wrapping up our interview with Giannina Gibelli and our new guest Blake Horstmann, it was clear that they’ve built a life together that they’re proud of. They still have their individual dreams; Gibelli literally was walking a lingerie runway show the night before our interview. And they come from two very different backgrounds, her a Venezuelan with Italian heritage and him a white mountain boy. Nevertheless, they found love. And it was thanks to reality TV.
Love is Blind season 8 premieres Friday, February 14 on Netflix.
