Netflix's Love Is Blind Season 8 features 32 new contestants, including rising reality TV star Daniel Hastings.
Premiering on Valentine's Day 2025, Love Is Blind Season 8 unveiled a brand-new cast of singles. The series' contestants hope to fall in love before they even see each other in person, communicating inside pods while building a romantic connection.
This new cast of singles includes 30-year-old Daniel Hastings, who works as a sales account executive.
4 Things To Know About Love Is Blind's Daniel Hastings
Daniel Was Inspired by Parents’ Marriage to Do Love Is Blind
While Daniel Hastings has been in the spotlight before (he was a Gerber baby model), he was inspired to take a run at Love Is Blind after seeing his parents' long-lasting marriage.
As shared on Tudum, Hastings hopes to build his own family after seeing his parents achieve an incredible level of success and longevity in their relationship. He wants to find somebody who appreciates his sensitive side and can handle the occasions where he puts his foot in his mouth.
Speaking often on the show about his personal experience with marriage in his family, he is willing to do what it takes and learn how to make a relationship work.
Daniel’s Favorite Holiday of the Year Is Christmas
In a calendar filled with holidays from January to December, Hastings' personal favorite is Christmas.
As recapped by Betches, Hastings and potential love interest Taylor Haag opened up to one another about their shared love of the Yuletide on Love Is Blind. Before their proposal, their final gifts to each other were a Christmas stocking and a Christmas ornament.
Also of note is that Hastings' Instagram is filled with posts celebrating Christmas, including a yearly December 25 photo of him enjoying the colors and themes of the holiday season.
Daniel Was at the Center of Love Is Blind Drama
While Hastings and Haas' love affair has been reality TV gold, it has not gone by without a hint of controversy in Season 8.
Following what seemed to be their first interactions on the show, Haag confronted Hastings after realizing that their reveal to one another was not the first time he saw her. She was "fairly positive" that he followed her on Instagram shortly before joining Love Is Blind, remembering the Christmas pictures on his feed.
While this may not seem like a huge deal to many, it would mean Hastings already had an idea of what Taylor looked like before getting to know one another, making their connection much more superficial than she thought.
Due to hearing specific details from her social media profile, she felt Hastings knew exactly who he was talking to during all of Season 8.
When asked directly about it in the pods, Hastings did not remember following her, admitting that he had a "weird memory when it comes to Instagram handles."
Although nothing can be proven about that point, it was a major talking point for both the potential couple and fans, as it raised questions about the integrity of the show.
Daniel’s Height Has Been an Issue for Him in Dating
Part of Hastings' dating struggles stems from his height, which is only 5'8", making him one of Season 8's shortest male contestants.
The reality star admitted that today's dating world "is just really shallow" and that people are "very picky and choosy" about what they want in a partner. In fact, one of the biggest factors in him being single for so long was his height, as he is one inch shorter than the average height for men in America (per Cleveland Clinic):
"The dating world today is just really shallow, and people are very picky and choosy about things that don’t really matter. I’ve been single for 10 years…in that span, height has been one of the biggest factors."
How To Follow Daniel Hastings Online
Those looking to keep up with Daniel Hastings' everyday adventures on social media can do so through Instagram.
Love Is Blind Season 8 is streaming on Netflix.
