Shaina and Kyle in ‘Love Is Blind’

As I was about to interview Shaina Hurley and Kyle Abrams about Love is blind Season 2I found myself searching for a more polite way to phrase the question audiences are sure to have after witnessing the pair’s puzzling romance: What are they thinking?!

The reason Shaina and Kyle won’t work out on paper seems pretty obvious. He is an atheist, and she is a Christian whose beliefs do not include evolution. There is also the small fact that Shaina seems road more on another guy from the show: Shayne Jansen, who left the cover of his engagement to Natalie Lee. In fact, shortly after getting engaged to Kyle, viewers observe Shaina confessing her deep feelings to a frustrated, emotionally confused Shayne. Again I ask: Um… What?

“I will never judge a reality star again,” Shaina told The Daily Beast in a recent interview. “When. ”

“I’m sure that when you look at me, people will think I’m like this villain,” said the hairstylist, “which I hope I’m not… But again, people. will evaluate. They have their opinions. I just learned from this experience, don’t judge anyone.”

Something Shaina didn’t expect from her Love is blind experience? How hesitant she was during the process. “I think people think I’m really extroverted and that I’m loud,” she says. “And I was shocked at how shy I became when it came to real intimacy.”

On the other hand, Kyle seemed to rush in to confront Shaina. Despite the couple’s opposing views on big topics like religion and meat eating (Kyle broke a years-long vegetarian diet on their first night), the construction worker said their relationship He and Shaina are very strong because when they say, “I don’t have to do an act. ”

“On other dates, I felt like I wasn’t the right fit. I feel like I’m not as sharp or as smart as they’d like,” he continued. “And with Shaina, it’s always like playtime… We’re just friends on the playground, and I don’t have to do any tricks.”

Kyle also reiterates a point he’s made about Shaina throughout the season: that she reminds him of other family members, especially his mother. “They are both very charismatic and likable,” he said, “and that is what really attracts me, the endearment factor.”

Unfortunately, Shaina and Kyle’s spark went out as soon as they left the shell—especially when they landed in Mexico, where Love is blind asks couples to enjoy their honeymoon before deciding if they ultimately want to leave the show as husband and wife.

Things didn’t look good when Shaina decided they should sleep in private suites and then go to bed around 7:30pm. The message seems pretty clear. But Kyle chased her to Chicago, and somehow the two patched things up with green juice just long enough for him to meet her deeply skeptical family.

Extremely awkward when that sit-down appeared on the show, Kyle said he really had a great time with Shaina’s family – all of whom told him they had arrived at the get-together. to hate you.

Kyle said: “I jumped in knowing they were going to ask me some controversial questions. He recalls Shaina’s brothers telling him, “We thought you were going to be a scammer, but you’re actually someone we could hang out with.”

“That’s a huge compliment to me,” he said. “I felt really good afterwards.”

Sadly for Kyle, Shaina hasn’t felt it yet. And so is one of the inevitable separations of reality TV: He wants to move in, she wants to break up. “I want a man who can guide me mentally… Mentally, I will need more,” she said. And then there’s Kyle’s scariest “G”: “There will be no one greater than God in my life.”

Shaina mentions being indecisive when it comes to her relationships on the show, an issue she says has plagued her for most of her life.

“I kept going back and forth… Making people happy and again, not being true to myself [or] more forthright. “

“I definitely wish I had been more forthright in the first place,” she added.

OK, but what about the beach conversation with Shayne? As she put the quotes in the air around his relationship with Natalie and said to her old flame, “If you guys think you two get along, that’s funny.”

That… seems pretty direct!

Shaina describes that flirty confrontation as she finally told her truth. “Like, owning it.” Though she tried to make excuses for it on the show, Shaina now admits that it’s probably not the best idea to text Natalie saying that if she and Shayne aren’t okay, she She knows another guy who might be interested— “something I should never say”.

At the same time, she added, “Shayne and I are friends too, you know what I’m saying? Other than that we didn’t end up together on the show. ” Yes, the conversation was messy and emotional — and yes, as Shaina put it, “I think I should probably ask instead of assuming.” (Natalie, I guess, would probably agree!) Still, she insists, the encounter was “mainly me seeking and caring.” [Shayne]. ”

When asked how it feels to be part of this season’s two love triangles, Kyle has to ask who the other corner is — even though he has an idea. “I assume it’s about Shayne?”

“I don’t know,” he said. “So she’s good. She’s good… She’s got me. “

In this case, love did not conquer all. But at least both were Learn something about dating from this televised social experiment? What would they do differently, if given the chance?

Shaina reiterated that she would be more forthright. And as for Kyle?

“Choose someone else? I do not know.”