From ‘Conveyor Belt Of Love’ To ‘Dated & Related’–5 Of The Worst Reality Dating Shows Of All Time

Okay, I can’t lie that I am a little addicted to cringey and trashy reality dating shows.

They’re definitely a guilty pleasure of mine, but I also know that there are many people with the same vice. The massive obvious red flags, the drama, and the heartbreak shouldn’t be so entertaining to watch but something about it is! Maybe it’s because these shows make some of us feel better about our dating situation, or maybe it’s a toxic voyeuristic social norm that just happens with the rampant social media reign. Either way, I am so here for it. However, there have been some dating shows that I just can’t get behind. They’re the worst, and not in a good entertaining way. Maybe you’ll want to check them out purely to add to your reality dating repertoire, but just be warned! Here is a breakdown of 5 of the worst reality dating shows to curse our screens. 

Conveyor Belt Of Love

Alright, we’re starting off really strong with Conveyor Belt Of Love. This dating show was hosted on ABC in 2010 and is just really something special. Five women are meant to choose a date from a group of 30 men that are presented to them on a conveyor belt. Each man on said conveyor belt has 60 seconds to impress the woman that is choosing them before the belt continues rolling. It’s like speed dating but for man-sushi on a rotating belt. The worst part of it is what the men find “impressive” to showcase to the woman, like coming out wearing a speedo and holding a dog. It was just a little too much. 

Momma’s Boys

I can kind of see the why behind this one, but ultimately Momma’s Boys is just a little too matriarch based for me to give it a good rating. The premise of the show is young eligible bachelors share a bachelor pad with their moms and young, single women. In order to get a date with the man of their choice, the woman must impress the mother. The show gets a little dicey when it feels like the single women are competing with the moms for the affection of their sons. I don’t think any mothers should describe their sons as sexy and that definitely happens. 

MILF Manor

Everyone deserves love, but it gets a little predatory when the age gap can be anywhere from 20 years to 40 years. In MILF Manor, single 40 to 60 year old women mingle with men in their 20s at a retreat in Mexico. Not only does it feel a little predatory, it also fetishizes either older women or younger men in a very weird way. I don’t even want to get into the Oedipal complexes running rampant on this show but it’s just a little too out there for my enjoyment.

Dated & Related

I think the biggest red flag of this show is honestly the name. When I heard Dated & Related, my mind was like, “Is this incest?!”. The show is not about that, thankfully, but it still already sets a very strange tone for the rest of the show. Dated & Related is about contestants competing alongside their sibling or cousin to find a date. Whether the sibling or cousin helps their counterpart find love or stands in the way is unsure, but I guess they’re there for support. It’s another show where family gets in the way of dating and it’s a little cringe. 

Cosmic Love

The premise of Cosmic Love is honestly solid and I’m surprised there aren’t more astrologically related dating shows with how much everyone loves to say, “That’s such a Gemini thing to do.” Cosmic Love follows four people, each representing an element of the Earth, who are matched with someone based on their birth charts. The goal is to build relationships with the matches and eventually decide to date and marry one of them or leave single. This show is a little too much like other shows, such as Love Is Blind considering they are both supposed to end with a marriage in a short period of time. Cosmic Love isn’t necessarily the worst, but it is incredibly boring without many unique offerings.