"He Seemed Set In His Ways": Love Is Blind's Brittany Dodson Reveals How Sharing Her Authentic Self With Devin Buckley Led Her To A Different Kind Of Love

Love Is Blindseason 8 brings a whole new group of singles into the pods hoping to find the love of a lifetime, and while some move onto the next phase, others like Brittany Dodson make a lasting impression in just a few short episodes. Brittany, a 35-year-old Partnership Executive, brought a bright, sunny energy into the pods from the beginning of her appearance on Love Is Blind season 8. Though she was hoping to find a loving relationship on the show, Brittany’s connections with the guys on the Love Is Blind season 8 cast didn’t materialize into anything lasting.

Even so, seeing Brittany present herself in the pods was exciting to watch for viewers, who often see people struggling to convey their authenticity on the series. While they’re talking to a wall without seeing direct judgment, many still have trouble being open, vulnerable, and raw with the people they meet on the show. Brittany presented herself for who she is easily, which made her fascinating from the start. In her connection with Devin Buckley, Brittany found herself able to relate to her fellow Love Is Blind cast member from the jump after realizing they had a shared passion: basketball.

While the Love Is Blind pair were quick to find pockets of themselves that fit together for a strong connection, when Brittany opened up about her sexuality, Devin recoiled a bit too much for her liking. When the couple met up next, they both agreed it was time to move on from one another, and Brittany wound up leaving the series without meeting a match. Though she didn’t find love on Love Is Blind, Brittany sat down with Screen Rant and chatted through her pod squad experience, including the red flags about Devin the show didn’t include in the edit.

Screen Rant: Brittany, it’s great to chat with you! To jump right in, you shared that you grew up in a more sheltered environment in the pods. What led you to sign up for Love Is Blind?

Brittany Dodson: I think just not finding my person or my person finding me. I've dated all kinds of guys, all kinds of girls as well. So I think really understanding that I wanted to have this time away from, like, phones and everything and like this concentrated environment, and obviously they've picked people that could, you know, possibly be our matches, you know, so they had all these questions that we answered. So I thought it would be a really good way to kind of filter out everything else and possibly find someone that I'm actually interested in.

Screen Rant: Totally understandable! I think the intensity of being with people so frequently is probably really helpful in building that bond. Speaking of that, can you walk me through what it felt like to go on a date in the pause, especially early on? Did you have any kind of expectations going into it?

Brittany Dodson: I think I tried to eliminate any expectations. My mindset was just like being open. Obviously, we don't know what anyone looks like on the other side, so really asking good questions that could really [help me to] understand the depth of the person, as opposed to, like, all the other superficial things that we may be attracted to someone for on initial interactions.

Screen Rant: So when you would go into your first couple dates in the pods. How were you able to present yourself so well, because you did a really great job of being yourself in there.

Brittany Dodson: Oh, wow. Thank you so much. I think I was just being myself. You know, I think I'm confident in who I am, and I have a good group around me, I have my community, so I just was 100% myself. And I think again, trying to ask questions, to get, you know, a little bit more detail about the other person. I didn't feel really nervous, and it was just like, what's for me is for me, and if it's not, then, hey, the door is right there. I can leave at any time, and I can also find a deeper connection.

Screen Rant: That’s true - and it was wonderful to see somebody so confident in themselves, like really present. In the pods, you connected really quickly with Devin. Was there anyone else that you were talking to that we may not have seen?

Brittany Dodson: Yeah, that was a couple more. Adam [Bevis], he was really fun – talking to him in the pods was fun and we got pretty far, actually. He’s just a really good guy, all in all, we still kind of chit-chat and everything. I think I had however many dates you can have, like, each day. My roster was filled, I would chat. I like talking and getting to know people, and the producers would give us questions sometimes to help guide us. But, I mean, I don't think I even really looked at the questions [laughs] so it was a lot of fun.

Screen Rant: What's one thing that we wouldn't know about the Love Is Blind experience from watching the show that you got the chance to really dive into?

Brittany Dodson: Food. [Laughs] I made a grocery list and everything, like – I know past seasons, it's probably been different, I don't know what other people's experiences are, but as the show progresses, it gets better. Anything I could ask for, I got, and I was on set cooking macaroni and cheese, spinach dip, anything you can think of. So that was like one thing – I was like, oh, wow, they're giving me the world, everything I can ask for. It was a ton of fun, just being around everybody, even the producers on set.

Screen Rant: I love that, sounds incredible. Circling back to Devin, what drew you to him at first, outside of the very similar basketball connection that you guys had?

Brittany Dodson: I think his love for his family, like he mentioned early on that his mom had adopted children, and my mom has adopted my cousin – she grew up as one of my sisters really. So his love for his family really drew me to want to understand more about him just outside of basketball, right? Because, again, I felt like I kind of had seen this guy before, but also, you know, some things that he was saying, I was like, oh, okay, this guy. A little bit deeper than I thought. So the basketball was already like a check mark, but then as he started, like going in on family and you know what he values, and I thought that that was something that I could really align with what I wanted in a husband.

Screen Rant: You opened up to Devin about your past relationships and obviously, the reaction that you got seemed to be not quite what you expected. What did you expect to hear just kind of going into something so deep?

Brittany Dodson: I think I was more so expecting to hear some more comforting words, but also see some confidence in himself. Like, “okay, that was your past. I'm here now, and we're moving forward with each other.” [I wanted to hear him say he didn’t] care what I was doing back then, because I'm here now. I love a confident man that can think about our future, you know?
It seemed like he was staying in this space so that he would be less than, if that makes sense. And I know everybody, we don't get to see all of everything, but it didn't feel like this sense of confidence, like, “oh, okay, well, whatever – I'm here now and, you know, we're going to be together.” I wish I would have heard that on the other side, because, I mean, even other guys that I've dated and disclosed that too, if we were getting serious, and it was just like, “okay, who cares?”

Screen Rant: It’s all a spectrum.

Brittany Dodson: It is 100%! [His response] was just giving little man, or something

Screen Rant: Do you think that reaction is really what turned you off from the connection, or was there more to your decision to step back?

Brittany Dodson: I certainly think that was a major factor. I think I was kind of picking up on other little things, you know, throughout the time that we were talking. I was kind of picking up on the idea that maybe he could be like a mama's boy, like he could do no wrong in his mother's eyes or his family's eyes. [It came off] like he was this prized person, you know? Which is fine, I can understand that to a certain extent. But I like a man with humility and a guy that is willing to, like, learn and grow. He seemed to be kind of set in his ways, and although, again, everything probably isn't shown on camera – but even after knowing him after the show I'm like, okay, yeah, this would have never worked out.

Screen Rant: Well, it's good to know that you made the right decision for you. What was the most unexpected thing that you discovered during your time on Love Is Blind, either about yourself or about the show in general?

Brittany Dodson: I think, even in the moment of disclosing my sexuality to Devin, like, I don't think I really had any idea it was [a big deal]., I never looked at it as, like, this big thing that I needed to tell people as a coming out story. So I think now discovering that, okay, well, you could possibly have a platform, and you may be able to help someone else feel more comfortable or confident in who they are or what they're doing. I never thought of it as a big deal, and it seems to be a little bit of a bigger deal than I thought – not just based on Devon's reaction, but yeah, it just seems to be a little bit bigger of a deal than I realized.

Screen Rant: It was truly great to see you really be able to be open and feel super confident and comfortable in yourself and in your sexuality in that way, so that's great to hear you take it seriously. My last question for you – if you could describe your Love Is Blind experience in three words, what would they be?

Brittany Dodson: Three words, oh my gosh. Out-of-body experience. I felt like I was looking in on myself, watching myself – and I'm sure I'll feel like that once I'm actually watching the show. But yeah, I felt like it wasn't a real experience. Like, when I got home, I had to sleep for a few days, it was emotionally draining and physically, obviously, you know, the hours that we were sleeping [while filming]. I think it was definitely an out-of-body experience, for sure.

Love Is Blind streams new episodes each Friday on Netflix until its finale on March 7.