Battis Calls Love Is Blind Without Mental Health Care

Bartise Bowden isn't thrilled with the "Love Is Blind" series' approach to mental health care for its cast members, but he's letting people know.

Love Is Blind star Bartise Bowden has expressed concern about the team's approach to mental health care, and he's not afraid to speak out. Bartise found temporary blind love when she met and proposed to Nancy Rodriguez in Love Is Blind season 3. The two were filmed developing an emotional connection, as the show intended, until Bartis started making comments about Nancy's appearance. Towards the end of their journey, both have expressed doubts about their relationship. When it came time for their wedding day, Battiste was the one who said no at the altar.

Love Is Blind's Bartise Bowden knows he's likely to receive some unwelcome social media backlash at some point, like many other reality TV stars. In an interview on the Level Up podcast, Battis discussed his thoughts on Love Is Blind's efforts to help actors deal with social media and mental health, saying, "I wish they'd worked harder to prepare us , like using psychological tools...I wish we could do that.” Bartise explained that Love Is Blind is looking for people who don’t already have a large following on social media, so it’s difficult for him to learn from "Normal Battis" shaped millions of people's perceptions of him. He further explained what the Love Is Blind season 3 cast received from producers as a mental health protocol, adding, "[They] probably had a 30-minute phone call saying, 'You have to ignore Stuff you see online.'"

Bartise Bowden Received Backlash For Love Is Blind Behavior

Bartise dated Nancy and Ravenrose in the pods, but eventually developed a deeper emotional connection with Nancy, which led him to choose to propose to her. The whole premise of Love Is Blind is to be able to differentiate based on "blind" connections created in pods, so he's off to a good start. However, when Batis saw Raven's appearance after accepting the proposal, his mind seemed to change. He begins to comment positively on her appearance, while expressing to Nancy that he is suddenly not optimistic about their physical connection. After all of this, Nancy forgave Battis for her behavior in "Love Is Blind" and still offered to marry him, which was ugly.

Due to the way Battis' relationship ended in Love Is Blind Season 3, he received a lot of comments about how he treated his fiancé. That's what he was referring to when he publicly stated that he received widespread social media attention. Social media has become a space for commentary on Battis' behavior, which many have unanimously deemed inappropriate and mean. Reality show crews are required to implement mental health protocols to protect their cast members. Batis may be the villain of Love Is Blind Season 3, but he still deserves more when it comes to navigating social media and how it affects mental health.

Times are changing and social media is not going away. As the backlash against reality TV stars continues to affect cast members' mental health, shows like Love Is Blind need to step up. Batis said he's learned to harness his focus and mental health on his own, but made it clear that "Love is Blind" won't help with that. Many other actors will likely agree with his position. However, he must not feel too hurt considering he's still working on other TV work, but he might want to take note of what can be done better one. Batis realizes he ruined his relationship with Nancy, but that doesn't stop him from his mission to find true love.

More: Why Love Is Blind Season 3 Fans Are Surprised by Bartise's Decision