CINCINNATI — If you've dated in Cincinnati (or anywhere for that matter), you know just how hard it can be to find love.
Elissa Finley understands. The Villa Hills native has spent just about her entire life in Greater Cincinnati and knows the local dating scene well — much to her chagrin.
"There's a lot of ... guys out there that don't like really want to get to know me," Finley said. "I'm looking to ... have some guy not just take me home, but take me home to mama."
Tired of dating people she felt cared more about her looks than her values, Finley jumped at the chance for a different opportunity when she happened upon an Instagram ad some two years ago.
"I just applied on Instagram, and next thing I know, I'm getting (a text)," Finley said.
That text was from a casting agent for the hit Netflix series "Love Is Blind" — a reality show focused on dating and getting engaged without seeing your partner's physical features.
Watch: We sat down with Elissa to talk about her experience on the show
After that text came a phone interview. Then a couple of other calls, some Zoom interviews and finally the official approval confirming Finley as a cast member on the show's 10th season — focused entirely on Ohio residents.
"For months, I'm like waiting on edge," Finley said. "I can't tell anybody, keeping it a secret because you have to. And then you get a call like a couple weeks prior, like, 'Alright!'"
Once she got that call, the part-time ICU nurse, part-time aesthetic nurse injector packed her bags, took a leave of absence from both of her jobs and flew out to find her happy ever after.
Of course, Finley says she knew what she was getting into. "Love Is Blind" isn't some plucky matchmaking startup guaranteeing people the love of their lives. But "why not try something different?"
"It really is hard to date in Cincinnati, and just in general, and I thought maybe doing it where like you're not seeing the other person, somebody could really get to know me," Finley said.
So a year ago, she and 15 other women made their way to the "pods" with the hope of finding love. (For die-hard fans wondering, yes, the women all flew out together and stayed in the same living quarters fully separate from the men.)
What happens next is mostly captured on camera: the women meet Cincinnati native Nick Lachey (whom Finley said gave her a 'who dey!') and his wife Vanessa, before talking to the men through, essentially, a wall.
Finley said the pods were unlike anything she'd ever experienced.
"Your other senses come in ... you're listening to their voice and listening to what they're saying," Finley said.
There, she said she was able to ask the "deeper questions" most couples wouldn't get to until much further down the road. Finley said she steered away from any talks about physical appearance, minus one important question about height.
"I'm 5-foot-9, so that was one thing that I asked ... I can't be dating somebody that's 5-foot-5," Finley said.
Unlike in previous seasons, all of the contestants this year were over the age of 28 — something else that was important for Finley, who was 38 when they filmed.
"That was definitely a thing for me, being one of the older girls," she said. "We are, as a whole, as women, we were excited that there were older men."
Being older, she said, was something that was "a little bit" harder for her to throw out there. ("I'm trying to get that out of my head about that being so bad because, hello, there's Botox these days that fix those things.") But Finley said she was excited to learn that everyone she met "was in it for meeting somebody" — not just for some camera time.
Obviously, the group was being filmed the entire time (the bathroom, Finley said, was their only true source of privacy), but Finley said it felt normal pretty quickly, except for one small moment where a cameraman rolled directly in front of her and another girl as they talked on the couch.
We won't spoil whether Finley finds love in the pods, but there's no denying she found love in the women's quarters.
"The girls were the best part of it," she said. "There was no cattiness, there was no drama. I made serious friendships with (the) women ... still to this day, we hang out, talk all the time."
Fans of the show know things can get awkward between the women when they happen to like the same guy, but Finley said that despite talking about the men "nonstop," they had a great time together and tried to avoid talking about who was with whom until the final few days.
"They are just amazing women, so I'm excited for the world to see the friendships built," Finley said.
Those who have already watched the first batch of episodes, released Wednesday, may know Finley had a bit of a medical emergency while filming in the pods. That wasn't her only mishap. She said right before filming began, she tripped while walking in and cut her leg so badly that they had to use skin glue to help close the wound.
No matter the negative comments or jokes made at her expense, Finley told us she tries not to "live life so seriously."
"I have already tried to roll with it and make fun of myself because I'm pretty humble when it comes to things like that ... I can laugh at myself," she said.
Finley said she hopes that people watching see a genuine person on their screen — and consider the premise of the experiment.
"Maybe (they'll think) men and women shouldn't judge by looks, and get to know somebody first," Finley said. "I think that's what's so great about all the women. Every single one of them were drop-dead gorgeous, but getting to know them made them that much more beautiful. So maybe people should really get to know people like that instead of behind your phone, just going by looks."
The first six episodes of this season of "Love Is Blind" are out now on Netflix — and Finley's not the only Cincinnatian involved. Check out who in the cast is from our area here.
