(Exclusive) “They were playing” — Love is Blind Mexico star Francesca chimes in on male participants’ behavior

Love Is Blind Mexico released its final episodes on August 15, 2024, and showcased many individuals who decided to take part in the unique dating experiment. In the show, participants are not allowed to see each other and must instead make an emotional connection in the pods. Once they get engaged, they come face-to-face for the first time.

One such participant who took part in the debut season of Love Is Blind Mexico was Francesca Oettler. 27-year-old Francesca is an indoor cycling coach and during her journey on the show, formed a connection with Willy, eventually getting engaged to him.

Since episode 1 of the show, Francesca showcased her confident and assertive nature and delineated her clear vision to the male participants during their dates in the pods.

In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda, Francesca talked about her journey in Love Is Blind Mexico where she shared about her personal life, and her career moving forward.

When asked about her strategy in the pods she explained that although the male participants were on board with the idea of finding love behind the walls, when it came to committing, they were unsure and tread around the topic. Francesca said:

"I wanted to go to find love and be the truest self I could be, as you can see. But most of the boys, I could say, they were playing. They were just trying to be, “Let's see, I want to know myself.” So, bro, you want to know yourself by making me fall in love. That was a harsh thing."

Love Is Blind Mexico star Francesca Oettler went through multiple auditions to land her part

Q. What motivated you to join Love Is Blind Mexico? Were you seeking love, adventure, or something else entirely?

Okay, in my case, I’m always a full believer in love. So, what happened was, “Okay, if I'm not finding the part of the marriage. Why not? Why not Love Is Blind”, you know? So, I was super wanting to try, experiment, from the perspective of love and wanting to make a family.

Q. What was the casting process like? Did you have to go through multiple auditions?

Yeah, I did have to go through multiple auditions. So, the first part, it was… let's say August, September, and mid-October, it was all casting. Like calls, or psychologists, or call back in the production office. So, yeah, it was a two-month-and-a-half casting process. It was a long, long process, but it was worth it.

Q. You mentioned knowing Chema from before the show. Did that prior relationship influence your interactions with other male participants in Love Is Blind Mexico?

Francesca Oettler of Love Is Blind Mexico (Image via Instagram/@franoettler)

No, girls and boys, we were totally in different parts, so we were never able to meet each other. Since the day one that the production found out that Chema and I, we knew each other, they were like, “Okay, stop. No one can know that you know each other.”

So, that's the secret we kept until Tulum, and that's when Silvia tells me, like, “What the hell? Why didn't you tell me?” I was like, “Okay, sorry, it wasn't in my hands.” But I think as friends, we were always supporting each other without spoiling it for the others.

Q. You seemed very assertive and clear about what you wanted during the show. Does this nature come to you due to a past trauma or have you always been this assertive?

My family is super free and super genuine. So, it was part of me growing up in this family. It was part of me, it was part of my family. I've been always like that, but here in the experiments, since everything goes bigger and you make yourself more vulnerable, I think it was a big exposure for me.

Let's say, if I was already a super tough girl, I was tougher. Everything went bigger and bigger and bigger, every emotion, every feeling because you were deep, deep inside yourself.

Another thing I would want to add to this is not everyone was fair playing. I wanted to go to find love and be the truest self I could be, as you can see. But most of the boys, I could say, they were playing.

They were just trying to be, “Let's see, I want to know myself.” So, bro, you want to know yourself by making me fall in love. That was a harsh thing. I was already super true and honest, and there I was like, “Okay, this is Francesca mad” because I've been played before.

Q. Did you catch that casual behavior from male participants early on and act accordingly in Love Is Blind Mexico?

No, in the pods, I was super in love, and they showed love. In the pods, I think I was feeling that everyone was trying to fall in love. This situation started happening the last night of Tulum, maybe the first day of the apartment.

Because you're starting to get to know really what's in the eye of the other person. You catch some words, so I was like, “Ah, I'm connecting the puzzle pieces.” There's a part when I say to him [Willy], “You were not here to fall in love. Why the hell you were here?” And like my case, it happened exactly with other couples.

Q. We saw your connection with Willy develop in the pods of Love Is Blind Mexico, do you think with your assertive nature you brought a balance to Willy’s life who was nervous about the process later in the journey?

I think it was supposed to be a good balance. If he had been trying to do it properly and fall in love with me, it would have been a proper balance. But since he did not even want to fall in love, it was impossible.

Francesca of Love Is Blind Mexico claims her 11-year-old daughter is her best friend

Q. What was it like balancing your role as a mother to Mila while participating in Love Is Blind Mexico? Did that impact your decisions in the pods?

Half and half, I was in contact with her, and then when I had my phone back, of course, I was talking to her all day. It was really hard because Mila and I, are super close. She's my best friend, she's my soul, she's the other half of my heart. It was hard not being there with her.

I had the opportunity to invite her. Even there's a part when I say to Willy, “I'm not bringing Mila. We're not on the same page.” I'm taking care of her. I don't want to get her involved because Mila knows that I was really, really trying to fall in love.

Q. Did Mila know about your involvement in Love Is Blind Mexico?

Yeah, I was always honest with her, since day one, she knew the audition, she knew the casting process, and she was so happy for me. We really have this communication where we're true to each other because you practice what you preach.

So, if I want that from her in return, I need to do it. My plan was for her to visit me in the apartments. But since I saw Willy’s indecision, I was like, “Okay, no, she's out of here” because I'm taking care of her, and he knew all the time.

Q. You formed strong friendships with Fernanda and Gerardo on Love Is Blind Mexico. Did you and Willy learn anything valuable from them as a couple? Did you guys know each other from before?

Francesca matched with Willy in Love Is Blind Mexico (Image via Instagram/@franoettler)

More than learning something from them, they were my biggest support inside. First of all, they were living this situation where even if I called my friend, they would not understand what was going on. Second, they had empathy with me, because they knew how hard I was trying.

So, I always felt supported. I felt someone close for sure. That connection was real. And Fernanda and I, we’re still super close. We're still super friends after the show, it’s been eight months, and we love each other. And we're supportive because no one else will truly get to understand what we leave inside.

Plus, we're really similar in so many ways. We're like yin and yang. We complement each other. When she's on the top, I put her in a stable piece of mind. When I'm super up, she makes me think and realize.

When I'm down, she pulls me up and likewise. So, that was a really, really beautiful connection. But more than learning from them, that was my support. I was like, “I'm not here alone.”

Q. Reflecting on your time on the show, do you feel that you were portrayed accurately on Love Is Blind Mexico? Is there anything about your journey that didn’t make it to the screen?

I was really accurate. I was always, “This is me, this is what you have.” I'm not pretending. I'm not faking, I'm not shy. It was very, very accurate because I always wanted to be my true self.

I don't think it was easy for all of them, because we had 10 cameras all the time following us in the bathroom, in the kitchen, everywhere. But I was really familiar with the cameras and with the people there, so I was like, “Okay, let's just be myself and it's okay.”

And part of what I really wanted to show there, was like, “It's not bad to be yourself. It's okay to let people know what you're feeling, and it's okay to get mad and it's okay to cry, and it's okay to be happy and it's okay to try.

This is me, and I hope when all of you see this, you find that it's okay to be yourself.” That part physically… I think that some of the angles of the camera were not good for me. I feel prettier when I'm in person, but I'm okay with that, too.

Q. Did you face any challenges or surprises during the filming of Love Is Blind Mexico, that you didn’t anticipate before joining the show as this was your first time in front of the cameras?

The first time, yeah. I was a theater actress since I was four years old, so let's say I'm not a shy person. I was never in front of the cameras before, but now, cameras are my best friends.

Q. As an indoor cycling coach, how did you maintain your fitness routine during the filming of Love Is Blind Mexico? Did it help you stay focused and grounded throughout the process?

Francesca from Love Is Blind Mexico works as an indoor cycling coach (Image via Instagram/@franoettler)

During all the sessions of Love Is Blind Mexico, it was really hard to keep up exercising every day. Because sometimes you were tired, sometimes you were like, “I just want to go into my bed and process all the information.” But for me, exercise is part of my life.

We always had the opportunity to go to the gym. It was just about asking, like, “Hey, can I go to the gym today?” And we were able to do that. But I wasn't exercising a lot during the show. I was more into my mind than into my body.

Being a coach of indoor cycling, it is like a triangle. It's a perfect complement between mind, body and soul. So, if they're all connected, you can feel what's in your mind, in your body, and what is your soul screaming. That's the part I love the most about exercise. But funny enough, I wasn't exercising a lot.

Q. Given your experience on Love Is Blind Mexico, are you open to participating in other reality TV shows in the future? If so, what type of shows would interest you?

I would. Definitely not a love reality show. It felt like it was 10-year therapy. So of course, I'm open to trying the situation. When I got pregnant with Mila that was the last time I did theater, which is super different from a reality show. But being there, reminded me how much I love the cameras, the dressing, the makeup, the doing of production, you know?

So, I was like, why not go into acting again? I'm really open, like, I don't want to follow the line of being a reality show star, but what I know is that I love what's behind the scenes of all that world. So I would definitely try going back into being an actress.

Q. Finally, what advice would you give to someone considering joining a reality TV show like Love Is Blind Mexico?

I think from the bottom of my heart, I would ask you and invite you to be truthful. Don't mess with people. If you're not sure, don't take that step because it's selfish. Just do it from the truth itself…

Q. Be yourself?

Yes, be yourself. Don't be scared of what people will think, of course. But more than that, since you're doing the casting, please rethink and be sure that that's what you want because people can get hurt. Take it seriously because Netflix takes it seriously.

Take it seriously because the production takes it seriously. There's a whole world of people taking that as a serious job, for someone to just go and play and explore what's going on. And once you're there, don't be scared. “Oh, people will not like me because I'm…” whatever adjective you want to say to yourself.

Trust, because if you're genuine, people will like you. There will be people who won't like you, but that's not the point. You’re there because you want to fall in love, so what the hell? Like, it's okay, it's okay.

Watch the season finale of Love Is Blind Mexico streaming on Netflix.

Edited by Ameen Fatima