OCTOBER 31, 2025 | OPINION | By Fiona Frankel
Though rampant across the country, from Congress to households, political polarization has arguably grown most prevalent within personal relationships. In a poll conducted by NBC, Gen Z men and women defined personal success drastically differently. Men who voted for Trump primarily ranked “having children” as first and “being married” as fourth, whereas women who voted for Harris ranked these categories as twelfth and eleventh, respectively, out of thirteen categories. When asked how anxious they feel about the future, 33% of women answered with “almost all the time,” as compared to 19% of men.
This gender gap in principles, goals and politics is undoubtedly a contributing factor to decreasing marriage rates among Gen Z and millennials. A Pew Research Center poll found that as of 2021, a record-high 25% of 40-year-olds in the United States had never been married, compared to 20% in 2010 and a mere 6% in 1980.
The dating scene has been similarly impacted, exacerbated by the rise in dating app use. Hinge has a specific section to demonstrate political affiliation, with options including liberal, moderate, conservative, and ‘not political.’ Tinder provides a ‘sticker’ feature to indicate political priorities and voting preferences. Even prior to the most recent presidential election, one in three American women said that they would turn down a date over political differences.
In the most recent season of the Netflix original reality show “Love Is Blind,” these issues arose to varying degrees. Dubbed the “MAGA season” by fans, the Denver-based cast did not hesitate to address issues alluding to politics, including religion, same-sex marriage, race and gender roles.
However, polarization was not an immediate theme among contestants. In the first episode, one woman voiced her appreciation for “traditional gender roles” during a date. Cast member Megan Walerius, who described herself as an entrepreneur and made the majority of her wealth in oil and gas, spent one date in the “pods” (adjoining rooms where dates take place without the ability to see one another) expressing her value for personal relationships far more than for her career.
In the same episode, Nick Amato and Annie Lancaster, who later became engaged, discussed gay rights.
“How would you react if at some point your child told you they were LGBTQ+?” Amato asked.
“Like, no matter what, I’m always gonna love my kids,” Lancaster answered. “I can’t tell you I would be the first person to be like, ‘yay!’ […] like, making sure they’re informed […] like, ‘do you know what you’re signing up for?’”
Amato nodded in agreement. “Do you feel like it’s a fad?”
“100%,” Lancaster said.
Though these moments were surprising, particularly from a population originating from a major blue city, they were not completely unexpected. Though a gender gap in voting patterns has persisted across election cycles throughout history, with the majority of men voting for the Republican candidate and women for the Democrat, the same cannot be applied to racial subgroups. White women represent the country’s largest voting bloc at roughly 59 million voters, with 53% identifying as or leaning Republican. Since 1968, white women have majority voted for a Democratic presidential candidate only once, in 1996 for former President Bill Clinton, at which point Clinton had already been accused of sexual harassment, later going on to have an affair with a White House intern 27 years his junior.
Still, this season of “Love Is Blind” did encapsulate some of the gender polarization seen across the country at the moment. Before getting engaged to Lancaster, Nick Amato simultaneously dated contestant Kait Nemunaitis, telling her he loved her only a few days after meeting her. Yet in a conversation in the same episode, Amato pressed her on religion after previously acknowledging her atheism.
“Being that you would be an important part of my life, do you think that you would be open to exploring your relationship with God or with religion?” he asked.
“Probably not,” Nemunaitis answered. “I have never been a religious person.”
Amato balked, repeating her words loudly. “Are you kidding me?” he shouted. “Are you serious right now?” Minutes later, the “couple” broke up for good.
This season was not the first to introduce politics as a hurdle to successful relationships. Though earlier seasons of “Love Is Blind” steered away from controversial topics, or at least did not air these conversations, they have become more prevalent recently as these issues have grown increasingly salient. Season eight saw two liberal women grow disillusioned by their fiancés’ political apathy and vaguely conservative viewpoints, later saying no at the altar and citing this disagreement as a reason.While season nine, the show’s most recent, seemed to break out of this gender-polarized climate, it exemplified both the trends of white women and the sacrifices seemingly required for marriage currently. In a nation growing increasingly symbolically conservative, with a male population becoming further radicalized by the right, abandoning one’s values as a woman in favor of marriage has become increasingly normalized. The same cannot be said for men, mainly because the political views of women are rarely at the expense of men’s bodily autonomy, social freedom and protection. As identity politics and radicalization move into mainstream politics, “Love Is Blind” offers a window into what the perilous future of marriage in America may look like.