Halfway through the Love Is Blind Season 2 reunion, the vibe shifts. Season lightning rod Abhishek “Shake” Chatterjee is naturally in the eye of the storm. After a half hour trying to share his “freakin’ opinions” to the chagrin — or highly vocalized pain — of his fellow cast members, Chatterjee is given the floor. He takes the opportunity to defend his requirement for a “certain physical body type” in a long-term partner and his distaste for a “big weight discrepancy” in said potential spouse. The stone-cold faces of Love Is Blind hosts Vanessa and Nick Lachey — themselves a happy couple — tell you everything you need to know about the rapidly souring mood in the room. 

“I sat there watching him speak about the entire cast in such a way that made all of them uneasy,” Vanessa tells Tudum. So she did something about it. Rather than allowing Chatterjee’s remarks to go unchecked, Vanessa tells the 33-year-old vet he picked “the wrong show” if he wanted to be on a series where “looks” and a “connection” share equal value — and then reminds him that marriage is a long, unpredictable road. “What if [your wife is] mangled in an accident? What if she gains weight? What if she loses her hair, her legs and her arms? Are you not going to love her anymore?” Vanessa asks.

The relief is palpable after she questions Chatterjee’s perspective on women’s bodies — and stands up for his “berated” ex-fiancée, Deepti Vempati. That feeling only gets stronger the longer Vanessa speaks to the cast, making her the unquestionable MVP of the reunion. It’s an exciting evolution for Vanessa, who, along with husband Nick, had previously stood as Love Is Blind’s pillar of reserved stability. Despite the emotional release she provided for viewers everywhere, Vanessa says she never intended to become the star of the reunion. She couldn’t, however, remain silent — she was “triggered” by the scene that unfolded. 

Outside of being the host of Love Is Blind, did you bring any opinions to the reunion that you’d developed while watching the season unfold? Of course. The reunion has its set questions and beats, but there’s always room for going off the cuff. That’s why I love hosting. I enjoy talking to people and getting to know them. I like hearing their stories and having real conversations. Then, when we get way off track, we go back to the questions the fans want to know.

You’re a pretty even-keeled host. What about Shake’s comments brought out your passionate reaction during the reunion? It’s hard not to get involved with all of these people. We have watched their love stories unfold. I feel the need to emotionally defend them, even if it’s with another cast member. There’s a lot of trauma we all carry, especially with the physical world. I am no different. I guess you can say I was triggered.

Later in the reunion, an inoffensive question about Shayne and Shaina turns unexpectedly awkward. What was that experience like during filming, and how do you deal with those hesitant emotions from the cast? It’s always hard having to broach certain subjects and change topics sometimes dramatically. There was no easy transition into this one. I knew it would be hard since Shayne is an emotional guy. He was extremely emotional at that moment as everyone was talking about his and Natalie's love. He was just hurt, and it was all brought up again. The last thing he wanted to do was go backwards. But Shaina cleared up any speculation and told it how it was. They met up in a group. Nothing is going on. Period.

Did you predict filming would get as intense or emotional as it did? I have no doubt Love Is Blind will continue to be exciting, intense and emotional. Finding love in this way is extremely vulnerable — from no contact to the outside world to relying on the emotional foundations you built first without ever seeing each other, you are going to have some real, genuine emotions that can’t be faked. That’s what’s going to continue to propel this show. When people are raw and open — it’s an international language we can all understand.

Adam Rose/Netflix

How did listening to the cast during the reunion make you think about your own marriage? In certain moments it felt like you fell in love with Nick all over again. I always fall in love again with Nick when we get to work together. It reminds me of our partnership. Honestly, marriage is also “work,” but it’s one of my favorite jobs next to “mommy.” So, I don’t mind putting in the effort. But yes, seeing everyone find love — or not — makes me continue to love and appreciate my own. I found my one, and I will continue to do all I can to constantly nurture our love story.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.