Every now and then a reality show couple comes along that we just can’t can’t take our eyes off. We become instantly infatuated, we can’t get enough of them and the entire Internet begins collectively rooting for them to succeed. Netflix Love Is Blind‘s stars Lauren and Cameron are that couple. In the words of my favorite tweet about them thus far, “They’re a national treasure and should be protected at all costs.”
No one saw their connection coming, but digital content creator Lauren Speed and her fianceé turned husband (yes, they made it to the altar!) fell in love through a wall in a matter of days, and appear to have truly found their soul mate in each other.
It’s been awhile since we’ve seen a reality couple so beloved by all, so of course Team ESSENCE had to get Ms. Speed on the phone. Today, fans will get to watch the couple say “I do” on the series finale, available on Netflix, but in case we don’t get all of our burning questions answered we decided to ask them for you.
How does it feel to be in a relationship that the entire world is obsessed with?
It’s overwhelming, to be honest. But I just feel so blessed and happy that everyone’s giving us words of encouragement and support, saying we inspire them. I’m talking all over the world.
I feel like me and Cameron’s story is so much bigger than race
Lauren Speed
Did you expect the world to react so positively, especially with it being an interracial relationship?
I wasn’t sure what to expect. That was in the back of my mind as it played it out on the show. I thought there may be some people who say, “I can’t believe she’s on here with this white man.” But honestly, [we have] received support from all over – Black men, Black women, white men and white women. I feel like me and Cameron’s story is so much bigger than race. People will see that we fell in love with each other outside of that. It just so happened that he was white.
Did you feel a sense of relief watching the realtime reactions from Black women supporting your relationship with Cameron?
I don’t know if relief is the right word, but I would say I was pleasantly surprised. Just seeing black women support me like, “Yeah, sis. This is your man. Like you better marry him.” It’s a conversation that Black women are having about being a Black woman at the forefront of a dating show and being desired. Black women are shown fighting or [being aggressive]. I don’t want to say the name, but on another dating show, they’re not really the object of the affection. It was really important for me to just be true and authentic to myself. I didn’t want to sugarcoat anything. I wanted to be real and true about my feelings and just hope that it will come across. [For example] the bonnet moment. I wasn’t taking my bonnet off because this is what Black women do. I need this to be represented because if you’re going to marry me, you have to accept this.
We got to see a lot of your one-on-one time with each other in the pods, but what was the actual moment where you decided to take that leap with Cameron?
I would definitely say the second day when Cameron and I were talking about our families and got so emotional we started crying. First off, I’ve never cried on a date with a man – especially when talking about my family and being so moved that we’re both in tears and connect in that way. As they showed, as soon as I walked out of the pods I was like, “Oh, I found one. This is serious.” From that moment, I couldn’t stop thinking about him.
Did you have a feeling Cameron was white before you met?
I really didn’t know what Cameron was. I felt like I was going to be thrown for a loop. It was hard to tell for me just from his voice. I kind of figured he was Caucasian, but I didn’t know for sure. I was ready for an element of surprise though.
Were you shocked at how fast your father accepted the fact that Cameron is white?
I wasn’t shocked because my dad’s main focus was me being with a man who treated me right. You could be with someone who’s the same race as you and be treated terribly. So for him, the most important thing was just like being with somebody who loves, respects and honors you. My dad and Cameron are very good friends.
We didn’t get to see what happened when you met Cameron’s friends and family. Can you describe the first meeting with his parents and what were your fears, if any, going in?
It’s always scary when you’re meeting your boyfriend’s parents, let alone your fiancé who you’ve known for this short amount of time. So of course, I was a little bit nervous. Lucky for me, parents tend to love me. So I walked in and the first thing that his mom said was like, “Oh, you’re right. She’s just as beautiful as you described.” We sat down and had a great conversation. We laughed. We cried. I mean, it’s really unfortunate that that didn’t make the cut, but it was beautiful.
You were the first to get engaged. How did the other women, especially your white castmates, react to the news?
Well, they all seemed to be very supportive from what I know. But when I walked back in, I just felt like it was such an emotional process for all of us. We laughed, cried and group hugged. There wasn’t a lot of cattiness just because we were all going through the same thing. At that point, we didn’t really want each other’s man during the engagement side. It was actually a pretty supportive environment.
No shade to Cameron because we love him, but were there any other Black men on the show that you felt some kind of connection to before him?
Unfortunately, there weren’t that many Black men to select from. So that was unfortunate on the casting side.
The show wrapped taping in 2018. Was it difficult keeping the love of your life from your friends and family and the world?
It was hard. This is the biggest secret I’ve ever had to keep in my life. Of course, my poor family and friends knew just because they’re involved in my life daily. But not going on social media has been very difficult. We were out and about before the show dropped and literally had people on the hunt trying to find out if Cameron and I are married.
Everybody wants to know about your iconic bob. Is that your signature look?
That’s my go-to. I love the bob because I have kind of a round face and for me it’s easy and it complements. I love to switch up my style, but that’s my go-to.
Everybody in the media industry says you look familiar. What were you doing before the show?
I used to be a vixen in my day. I’ve done some modeling in the past for sure. I guess I got a familiar face.