General · EdgepediaOctober 3, 20265 min read

Love Is Blind, Habibi

Love Is Blind, Habibi (الحب أعمى، حبيبي) is an Arabic-language reality dating series on Netflix, adapted from the American franchise Love Is Blind, in which single Arab men and women get engaged to a partner they have only ever heard through a wall, then decide whether to marry after finally meeting face to face.¹ The first season premiered on October 10, 2024, hosted by the married Saudi celebrity couple Khaled Saqer and Elham Ali.¹^•² A second season, hosted by the celebrity couple Rym Saidi and Wissam Braidy, launches globally on November 12.³

Key fact	Detail
Format	Singles date in "pods" where they hear but cannot see each other; couples who connect over 10 days get engaged sight unseen, then meet on a resort holiday before deciding on a wedding⁴
Season 1	10 episodes on Netflix, October 10 to November 1, 2024, ending with the reunion special "The Reunion"⁵
Hosts, season 1	Saudi actors Khaled Saqer and Elham Ali, married in 2019¹
Filming	Primarily in Lebanon and the United Arab Emirates, with resort scenes at the EddeSands Hotel & Wellness Resort in Byblos, north of Beirut⁶^•⁷
Season 2	Launches globally on November 12; 13 men and 14 women from across the Arab world in a 10-episode season³
Season 1 outcome	At the reunion special, more than a year after filming, only one couple, Safa and Mohammed, had married⁷
Recognition	Nominated for an International Emmy³

Spoilers

Season 1 (2024)

Season 1 aired on Netflix from October 10, 2024, with episodes released through the season finale "Tying the Knot... Or Not?" on October 10 and a reunion special, "The Reunion," on November 1, 2024.⁵^•⁹ The cast drew participants from across the Arab world, including Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Syria, Morocco, Tunisia, Jordan, and Iraq.⁷

The season's outcomes were mostly separations. At the reunion special, held more than a year after filming ended, only Safa and Mohammed had gone the distance to marriage. Asma and Khatab never wed and subsequently broke up; Hajar and Simo called things off ahead of their wedding; when the reunion aired, Dounia and Chafic were back together, though they later confirmed a 2025 separation; and both Karma with Ammar and Nour with Mido likewise ended their engagements.⁷

Season 2 (2026)

Netflix announced a second season in October 2026, launching globally on November 12.³ The season brings together 13 men and 14 women from countries including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, and Tunisia, across 10 episodes.³ Moroccan media reported four Moroccan participants in the new season: Karima, Souki, Youssef, and Moustaine.¹³ Hosting duties move to the celebrity couple Rym Saidi and Wissam Braidy.³

Netflix has not confirmed whether structural changes have been made to the format for the second season, and had not released a standalone trailer ahead of the announcement, though the new season appears in the streamer's teaser for its 2026 Arabic content.⁷

Format

The show follows the Love Is Blind structure: unmarried men and women search for a life partner without ever seeing them, and commit to marrying that partner.² First, contestants hold blind dates in isolated "pods," speaking through a wall; a couple that builds a connection across 10 days of dates can agree to get engaged without meeting.¹^•⁴ The engaged couples then travel to a resort where they see each other for the first time and get to know one another in person, before a final decision at a scheduled wedding.¹^•⁸ In the Arabic version, the man presents the woman with an engagement ring as the first step after they meet, and the resort stage follows; six couples reached that second stage in the first season.⁸

A participant from the first season, Safa Al Juboori, described the show as honoring Arab cultural values including modesty, separate living arrangements, no physical intimacy, and family approval, calling it "a modern twist on a deeply traditional concept."⁶

Cultural adaptation and reception

The adaptation was announced with the expectation that it would portray conservative Arab cultures, where marriage is a family affair.⁶ The word "habibi," an Arabic endearment, was added to the title to give the show an Arabic character, and some details were modified to bring it closer to the culture and traditions of Arab societies.⁸ Netflix emphasized gender separation and prevented unnecessary mixing between men and women in a deliberate effort to distinguish the show from foreign versions and present it as authentically Arab.¹⁰

Coverage was mixed. A Jeem essay argued that Netflix reduced the Arab viewer to an image of a conservative, non-political audience, and noted that the popularity of Love Is Blind, Habibi and older Arab reality programs such as Star Academy (2003) shows that conservative compliance is not the Arab viewer's primary concern.¹⁰ A BBC Arabic piece observed that, unlike earlier Arab dating programs many considered "not suited to our Arab culture," the show drew wide followings while differing in two key respects: participants decide on marriage with partners they have never seen, and they must make that decision in under a month.⁸ An academic study of the show noted that localized adaptations like Love Is Blind: Habibi incorporate Arab cultural values and gender norms to produce a media product that feels modern while staying true to local identity.¹¹

Aggregated ratings sit near the middle of the scale: IMDb lists 5.4 out of 10 from about 840 user ratings, and elCinema lists 4.3.¹²^•²

References

Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026