It took less than one full episode for the official Love is Blind season 6 villain to emerge. Every season of the Netflix reality series offers up at least one character fans love to hate, and this season it’s Matthew Duliba.
Season 6 of Love is Blind dropped its first six episodes on Valentine’s Day, and within a single episode Matthew had established himself as the season’s official bad guy, after he not only treated several dates disrespectfully, but outright toyed with the two primary women he matched with. Thankfully, women talk, and AD and Amber quickly figured out they were being played. That doesn’t change Matthew’s twisted attempt to game the system, however, and it won’t save him from the judgement of Love is Blind fans.
Who is Matthew Duliba, and what did he do?
Thirty men and women came together to enter the pods and search for love in season 6 of Love is Blind. Among them was 37-year-old senior financial advisor Matthew Duliba, who quickly reminded longtime viewers of the similarly intelligent and occasionally awkward Paul Peden from season 4 — at least, until his true colors shone through.
Matthew Duliba brands himself as “emotionally guarded,” but that feels a bit generous considering how he acted in the pods. His work in finance has led him to live a comfortable life, but ahead of the show’s premiere he was branded as a guarded but love-lorn 30-something looking to finally find a connection. Good luck with that, Matt.
Matthew stood out immediately, after he entered the first round of dating with a prepared list of questions. Knowing which details are important to you is all well and good, but demanding that the women answer your questions without asking any in return? That’s just rude.
Then there was his date with Sarah Ann, which ended abruptly when Matt just walked out of the pod, without warning, as Sarah Ann was speaking. He tossed one of those pre-written questions her way, and as Sarah Ann was dutifully answering, he decided they weren’t a good pair. Instead of telling her this, or just gritting his teeth and smiling through the date, Matt just up and walked out, leaving Sarah Ann to deliver the last portion of her answer to an empty pod. Classy.
The biggest shocker came after Matthew actually managed to find a connection. The ever-patient AD managed to look past Matthew’s initial awkwardness and, once she got him to open up, they found a genuine connection. Genuine enough that, within the first episode, Matthew was gushing about how he couldn’t get her off his mind. How he wanted to run away with her, and that “the only reason I’m here is for you.”
He even told her he wanted to ask permission from her father before proposing, something he couldn’t do since AD’s father recently passed away. But the sentiment was there, and AD was touched. That is, until she had a chat with Amber, and realized that Matthew didn’t just pre-write his questions. He apparently pre-wrote every sentiment he shared in the pods, including all the romantic words he tossed her way. As Amber shared her own experiences with Matthew, it quickly became clear that he was using the exact same tactic on both women, down to repeating precise phrases.
It was a shock for both women, and — despite his attempts to walk it back — Matthew was quickly in the hot seat. He lost out on both AD and Amber, and — after ruining two separate relationships and breaking two hearts “on national TV,” — he even had the gall to promise he was headed to “go get Amber” following his departure from the pods. Good luck with that, bro.
If you were hoping to find Matthew over on social media, where the vast majority of Love is Blind participants share updates, tidbits about their lives, and occasionally dish about their time on the show, you’re out of luck. Likely realizing how bad he would look when the show officially dropped, Matthew’s made his Instagram page private, allowing him to dodge the inevitable pushback his behavior would have prompted.
Thankfully, AD and Amber were both always too good for Matthew — they just didn’t realize it at first. They both managed to dodge a massive bullet when they discovered his dishonesty, and his cowardice in fleeing from the series freed the pair to pursue genuine connections rather than honeyed words concealing crummy actions.
