"Getting blown out of proportion"— Love Is Blind star Dave chimes on the reactions to him prioritizing his sister’s approval

Love Is Blind Season 8 contestant Dave Bettenburg's sense of humor and strong bond with his sister became major talking points among the viewers, since the show's premiere on February 14. In an interview with Vulture, published on February 28, 2025, Bettenburg acknowledged his sister's influence on his relationships, stating that he would always seek her approval in any relationship he pursued.

His friends and family were also concerned about his relationship with Lauren O’Brien, and it led to their eventual breakup.

He also commented on viewers' reactions to their dynamic, noting that it was "blown out of proportion". He added that seeking a family's approval on the show for their partner was a recurring theme for most of the contestants. However, for some reason, he didn't understand why the viewers were pointing out his sense of approval from his sister.

"Any relationship I have, I’m gonna want my sister’s approval. And the crazy thing to me is, like, that’s getting blown out of proportion. If you watch every other participant or cast member that goes through this process, family is a huge thing for them. For some reason, everyone’s just pointing at me and my sister," he said.

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Love Is Blind star Dave Bettenburg comments on his family's reaction to his relationship with Lauren O’Brien

Love Is Blind stars Dave Bettenburg and Lauren O’Brien connected based on their similar personalities and sense of humor. However, as they went along in the show, Dave's friends and family didn't approve of Lauren, so much so that they had to call off their wedding and break up.

In his interview with Vulture, Dave was asked if his sister's opinion on Lauren had changed after watching the show. He responded that as his sister continued watching, it became difficult for her to see how challenging the experience was for his former Love Is Blind fiancée, and how much it weighed on her.

Dave added that his sister felt bad about how things unfolded for the former couple. For him, it was also difficult to relive those moments while watching the show.

Before this breakup, Lauren had given Dave a letter to give to his sister, hoping that it would help in improving their relationship. However, later in the show, she found the letter in Dave's pocket, and believed that he hadn't given it to his sister.

Dave commented on the incident and revealed that he did give the letter to his sister. However, he added that he didn't know if she had read it or not.

"I mean, the letter did get to my sister. I don’t know why Lauren thought that. She said she found it in my jacket pocket. [Laughs.] I don’t know why she’s going through my jacket pocket, but that’s a different story, I guess. I gave the letter to my sister. Whether she read it or not was up to her. If she thought it was relevant at that time, that was her call," he said.

The Love Is Blind star later weighed in on the importance of his sister’s approval in his relationships, revealing that he had never been in a relationship she hadn’t approved of.

Dave further addressed his family and friends' views on Lauren, clarifying that they never "disapproved of her as a person" but rather took issue with the format of the show.

"It’s not that they ever disapproved of her as a person. They disapproved of the process. The goal was to get married in two weeks, and that was not okay with people," he said.

The Love is Blind star continued:

"And it wasn’t okay with me either, to have a relationship with someone else that close to getting married. I knew the timeline going into the pods, but I didn’t know that people were having three-month relationships going into it."

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Love Is Blind season 8 episodes 1-12 are available on Netflix.