How Brett Brown From 'Love Is Blind' Went Emotionally Deep in Front of Millions
Being emotionally vulnerable takes bravery for any man. But being emotionally vulnerable in front of the entire nation on one of Netflix's biggest shows? Well, that's another whole story.
This may be an exceedingly uncommon experience, but Love Is Blind star Brett Brown has been there. And the lessons he's learned through being boldly open with his feelings and hardships may just inspire you to do the same—even if that radical honesty is on a radically smaller scale.
Brown recently appeared on the Men’s Health Instagram Live series Friday Sessions to discuss his personal journey with mental health and. In conversation with host Dr. Gregory Scott Brown, the Love Is Blind season four star discussed the importance of embracing emotions as a man, challenging the common stoic stereotype of masculinity.
During his Friday Sessions appearance, Brown shared a turning point in his own mental health journey that predated his Love Is Blind appearance. Brown pointed to 2020 as a defining time in his mental health journey, especially coping with the Covid-19 pandemic and the murder of George Floyd.
"I've always considered myself really introverted. But there was something about that time where there was so much talk about Black vulnerability, and there was the want to hear Black stories and our experiences," he said. "In some way, it really just affected me subconsciously and I just naturally started to be more open—even on social media as far as my thoughts and things like that."
Brown recognizes his personal struggle to get in touch with his emotions doesn't exist in isolation. As with many men, his struggle with vulnerability has generational roots that he's still actively working to undo.
"Growing up, my dad wasn't raised in an environment where being open and talking about [emotions] was the norm," Brown said. "And I think there's just probably certain traits and kind of habits that just kind of pass down. You just grow up in an environment like, 'This is how things are because this is how I was raised and my family didn't do this.'”
He added, “I feel like for Black families and Black men specifically, [surpressing emotions] is continuing a trend of the environments that we were raised in. It takes a lot of work to say, 'I understand this is where I came from and how I was raised, but I'm gonna make a conscious effort to change that'...But it takes work. It doesn't come natural."
Brown, who has been married to his Love Is Blind co-star Tiffany Pennywell Brown for more than a year, said starring in Love Is Blind was a further exercise in radical vulnerability. Not only did he have to be emotionally open with his now-wife while on the show, but he had to do so on one of the most popular shows on Netflix.
Though the events of 2020 already encouraged Brown to confront his emotional well-being, the show pushed him even further.
"You're put in an environment where all you can do is talk, all you can do is share and it's accepted to go deep pretty fast. That's why you're there," he said. "In normal life, it's like, ‘Oh hold up. We ain't there yet. You're asking too many deep questions.’"
But being so open on television paid off for Brown. Not only did he meet his wife, but he served as an inspiration for others to embrace emotional vulnerability.
"People were—and have been–really supportive because I feel like most people that knew me as somebody who maybe didn't share a lot," he said, referring to the reaction of friends and family to the show. "I think their perception [before the show] was like, 'Oh, he's a little quiet. He doesn't say a whole lot.' But now, I've had a number of people after the show say, 'Hey man, I've seen your evolution and growth and it really inspires me to be comfortable with sharing.'”
To hear more about Brown's personal mental health journey, watch the full conversation here:
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