Nick Thompson and Danielle Ruhl.Photo: JC Olivera/Getty
Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson found love in an unconventional way — in a social experiment aired on Netflix.
The couple participated in the streamer’s hit reality showLove Is Blind, meeting during season 2, which premiered in 2022. Ruhl and Thompson hit it off immediately, becoming the first couple to get engaged that season. On June 8, 2021, the couple tied the knot the Chicago.
However, after over a year of marriage, Ruhlfiled for divorcefrom Thompson in August 2022. A few months prior to their breakup news, the couple opened up toPEOPLEabout their experience with couples counseling, with Thompson saying, “We’re in couples counseling and we have been now, for almost the entire time since we’ve finished [the show].”
Then, in May 2023, the pairsparked reconciliation rumorswhen they posted a very cozy photo together on Ruhl’s Instagram Story.
From the first meeting in the pods to their pending divorce, here’s everything to know about Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson’s relationship.
Spring 2021: Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson meet in theLove Is Blindpods
Danielle Ruhl Instagram
Ruhl and Thompson met on season 2 of the hit Netflix show, which was filmed in spring 2021 and aired in early 2022.
“I’m ready to be married to him tomorrow,” Ruhl said of Thompson. “I am not going to let anything get in the way of this.”
Spring 2021: Nick Thompson proposes to Danielle Ruhl
Thompson was the first person to propose to his partner in season 2 of the show.
“The fact that I already feel like the luckiest girl in the world, how can I not be attracted to him?” Ruhl asked the cameras after she accepted a proposal from Nick.
Spring 2021: Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson get into an argument during a trip to Mexico
During the couples' trip to Mexico, Ruhl and Thompson got into a heated debate. Aired during episode six of the show, the row started when Ruhl was bedbound with food poisoning. Thompson decided to go for drinks with the other pairings alone, and when he returned, the couple got into a fiery argument that left Thompson branding Ruhl’s outburst as “toxic.”
“There are a lot of inaccurate assumptions as to why I had a panic attack in Mexico. I do understand that there are times that I can project insecurities and anxieties onto others and take accountability for my actions, and am learning to continue work on not letting my past experiences shape the way I view the world or others,” Ruhl wrote in anInstagram captionafter the episode started streaming.
June 8, 2021: Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson get married
Nick Thompson Instagram
On June 8, 2021, Ruhl and Thompsontied the knot.
“This is the last thing I thought would happen. It happened,” Ruhl said as they exchanged vows. “We love each other and we care more about each other than we could ever express to anyone.”
“I have no question whatsoever that you are the person I’m supposed to be with,” Thompson added. “I’m glad that I found you, and I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life being better together.”
February 11, 2022:Love Is Blindseason 2 premieres on Netflix
Season 2ofLove Is Blindhit Netflix on Feb. 11, 2022.
“With no distractions from the outside world, the singles talk to a stream of potential love interests and when a meaningful connection is made, they propose and then lay their eyes on their fiancé for the first time,” a synopsis from Netflix stated. “Engaged and back in the real world, as the couples plan their wedding day, they will quickly discover whether they can turn their emotional connection into a physical one before the fast-approaching ceremony.”
In acast reveal videoposted to Netflix’s YouTube channel, Ruhl said that she was “terrified” she would discover her personality “isn’t enough.”
Thompson told the camera that he was most excited about getting rid of the “distractions of the real world.”
March 4, 2022: Nick Thompson says thatLove Is Blindwas a “beautiful foundation” for his marriage to Danielle Ruhl
A month afterLove Is Blindaired, Thompson posted a series of photos with Ruhl on Instagram, sharing a heartfelt caption about his time on the show.
March 2022: Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson open up about couples counseling
Adjusting to married life away from the show, Ruhl and Thompsontold PEOPLEthat they’re continuing to grow and learn more about each other daily through couples counseling sessions.
“We’re in couples counseling and we have been now, for almost the entire time since we’ve finished [the show],” Nick told PEOPLE at the time. “We’ve put frameworks in place for communication. We’ve had to force ourselves through some conversations [about] what we actually need in that moment and [have] worked on being able to articulate that.”
“Sometimes that means walking away for a little bit or sometimes that means, ‘Let’s table it and drop it and forget about it,’ " he explains. “There are so many different things that we’re applying to our communication [style] that has really given us a good step to move forward.”
Echoing her husband’s thoughts, Danielle said, “A lot of couples, when they’re dating, have the opportunity to naturally learn one another’s language as you would if you’re trying to learn a language outside of English. Learning that in such a short period of time is very difficult and takes a lot of patience, love and understanding from both sides.”
May 5, 2022: Danielle Ruhl posts behind-the-scenes notes she wrote during her time in the pods
Ruhl gave fans a behind-the-scenes look at the private notes she had written about Thompson during her time in the pods, detailing her thoughts and feelings throughout the experiment.
She noted that the day before the proposal, Thompson had sent her a ring pop to reassure her. He also told her that he was waiting to say “I love you” in person.
“Can’t stop getting emotional, crying at everything, watching Mother’s Day videos wishing I could call my mom and sis and tell them how excited and happy I am,“she wroteduring reveal day.
June 8, 2022: Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson celebrate their first anniversary
Thompson marked the couple’s one-year anniversary with a sweetInstagram post.
“One year ago today, on a much sunnier and hotter day in Chicago, Danielle and I said ‘I do’ in front of a bunch of family, friends, crew, and cameras,” he wrote, sharing a photo from the wedding day. “Crew and cameras followed us around for most of the day while we worked, got ready, and decided what we would say at the altar. While it’s tough getting married under those circumstances, here we are a year later putting in the work to get to know each other and learn how to be partners for one another. All in real time. I’m proud of us.”
He added, “I wanted to share this one picture today because we took it at the end of our crazy wedding day after all the crew, cameras, and most friends and family went home. It’s one of my favorites. It was just us. Happy anniversary and I love you.”
July 27, 2022: Danielle Ruhl posts photos of her embracing Nick Thompson
In July 2022, Ruhl posted a carousel of 10 loved-up photos with Thompson to herInstagram account.
“Which one is ur fav?!” she asked her followers in the caption.
August 15, 2022: Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson file for divorce
August 22, 2022: Danielle Ruhl has a girls' night out withLove Is Blindcostars following divorce news
In an Instagram Story video,Love Is BlindalumNatalie Leecaptured a night out with Ruhl,Deepti VempatiandIyanna McNeely— the latter of whom announced her divorce the same week as Ruhl and Thompson.
September 21, 2022: Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson address their split on Instagram
After filing for divorce in August 2022,the couple decided to release separate statementson social media.
“It has taken some time to publicly speak about my marriage ending, as emotions are still raw,” Ruhl wrote. “I’ll always care about Nick and appreciate our time together. As a wise woman said — choose yourself.”
Nick shared: “I am heartbroken my marriage ended. I know in my heart that I did the best I could and gave it everything I had.”
Both Ruhl and Thompson noted that they’re looking forward to what the future holds.
September 30, 2022: Danielle Ruhl shares details of her divorce from Nick Thompson
Ruhl revealed that therewasn’t a singular reasonwhich led to her filing for divorce from Thompson. “Everyone’s wanting some sort of big story when that wasn’t necessarily the case,” she said. “It was hard to speak about it at first because of how raw the emotions were and still are. But also, it’s not that interesting of a story. It was just two people decided that it was best to go their separate ways.”
“There was no catastrophe that had happened,” the reality star continued. “And a lot of people had also assumed that there was some sort of incentive for the couples to stay together for a year and that wasn’t the case.”
Ruhl also denied that she and Thompson were “faking anything” for the show. “We didn’t stay together for a year because it was fake — we truly love each other, and that’s why this breakup was incredibly hard, it’s why it’s taken us so long to talk about it,” she said.
October 17, 2022: Nick Thompson says he created “a boundary” with Danielle Ruhl
Thompson revealed he and Ruhlaren’t on speaking terms. “For my own mental health and healing, I had to create a boundary with her that I’m not engaging anymore,” he toldUs Weekly.
He confirmed there wasn’t one thing that ended the marriage. “There wasn’t a big catastrophic event,” Thompson said. “Just over time, these things started building up … I don’t wanna speak for her, but I know I wasn’t feeling like I was getting the partnership I needed to be successful and to kind of move forward with the relationship.”
He added that, after the cameras were gone, their relationship wasn’t what they imagined. “As we moved forward and we started integrating our lives together, you start to see sort of some cracks that you don’t see [right away] based on the way that we met,” Thompson continued. “And, you know, we were still building our connection, but you go from being completely scheduled to kind of being out in the world to fend for yourself.”
November 1, 2022: Nick Thompson defends himself after Danielle Ruhl claims he has taken “no accountability” for their split
In aninterview withE! News, Ruhl claimed that Thompson has taken “no accountability” for the end of their marriage.
“I wanted to make sure that it was noted that it takes two, but unfortunately, with every interview, he is putting all of the blame on me and this isn’t new. This was something he did the entire relationship,” she told the outlet.
TheLove is Blindstar added: “As I have stated before, I implemented a boundary to not engage in communication with Danielle for my own mental health because I did not feel like our communication was trustworthy or yielding positive outcomes. In good conscience, I will not share private matters or my experience in our relationship publicly because it’s not in my character to disparage people. I am and have been ready to stop living in the past and move forward.”
May 7, 2023: Nick Thompson and Danielle Ruhl spark reconciliation rumors
Danielle Ruhl/Instagram
Nearly a year after filing for divorce,Thompson and Ruhl are hanging out again. They shared the news on Ruhl’s Instagram Story, where she posted a very cozy photo of the couple and wrote: “Sup.”
May 9, 2023: Danielle Ruhl says she “regrets” acting “immature” on social media after divorce from Nick Thompson
During an appearance on theIntimate Knowledge with Meghan Kingpodcast, Ruhl revealed that one of her “biggest regrets” was how “immature” she acted on social media after splitting from Thompson.
“The way that I acted right after the divorce,I was kind of a looney tunebecause [of] not having closure,” she said, explaining that the couple decided to divorce via text. “Not being able to have a conversation, just getting divorced publicly without even being able to talk to him, I didn’t act the best.”
The reality star then toldMeghan Kingthat she’s open to reconciling with Thompson.
“I still think that there’s love there, there’s hate there too, but it’s just like, how am I going to have his family accept me again? How am I going to have his friends accept me again?” Ruhl said. “I think that the ball is in his court … I’m going to respect his boundaries right now and wait to see until he’s ready to have a conversation.”
May 30, 2023: Danielle Ruhl appears on Nick Thompson’s podcast
Ruhl was a special guest on Thompson’s podcast,Eyes Wide Open.During theconversation, the exes revealed that May 7 (the same day they posted the cozy selfie on Ruhl’s Instagram Story) marked thefirst time they’d had a “legit conversation” since September 2022.
Ruhl shared that she went over to Thompson’s Chicago apartment and the pair proceeded to chat for “eight hours” about their traumatic experience onLove Is Blind.
“It felt like no time had passed, but a lot of time had passed. It was a weird feeling,” she said. “We lived through all of it together, but no one else in the world, even my friends — everyone else that was on the show — none of them had the experience that we did. And that’s why it was so hard to not be able to find comfort with anyone. No one else can relate to this but you and I.”
Thompson responded: “I’ve been feeling so stuck because there’s so much unfinished business with us.”
June 6, 2023: Nick Thompson and Danielle Ruhl talk about how hard it was to navigate their relationship in the spotlight
Adam Rose/Netflix
On an episode of Thompson’sEyes Wide Openpodcast, Thompson and Ruhl spoke about some of thechallenges they facedbecause ofLove is Blind’s popularity.
Thompson recalled that, when the show first started airing, they were told they weren’t allowed to be seen in public together. “We couldn’t be seen in public. We couldn’t go anywhere. We couldn’t go out to dinner,” he said.
“You’re not used to having hundreds of thousands of people commenting on you, your relationship, your family, your behaviors, your job,” Thompson added.
source: people.com
