Love Is Blind’s Alex Henderson Reveals Truth About His Real Name & Job

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Alex Henderson is setting the record straight.

The star of Love Is Blind recently explained what’s been happening in his life since season 10, when viewers questioned who he really was and what he did for work.

Okay, let’s talk about Alex from the show! A lot of viewers, and honestly, even his fiancĂ©e Ashley Carpenter and her dad, were left wondering what he actually does for work. He mentioned being a former Division 1 soccer goalie – a pretty impressive background! – but his knee injuries ended that career, and he didn’t really explain what he’s been up to since. It was a bit of a mystery, and understandably, people were curious!

Adding to the mystery surrounding his background, Alex—a soccer player who attended Wake Forest University and was drafted by Minnesota United in 2017, according to Netflix’s Tudum—used to go by a completely different name.

Both the official Wake Forest team list and an article from Minnesota United identify him as Alec Ferrell.

What really happened? Alex admitted to Us Weekly that they were also confused, saying, “To be completely honest, it’s confusing to me, too.”

After my soccer career finished in Denver, I joined Merrill Lynch, then moved to Chicago where I worked at BMO, a Canadian bank, for three years. The COVID-19 pandemic unfortunately ended my career there, but I received a severance package that allowed me to travel the world – even though it was a challenging time to do so.

Alex then told Ashley he went to Australia—something he’d already mentioned while they were in the pods—and worked several different jobs there.

I did a few random jobs in Australia’s Northern Territory, including working as a fisherman. Later, I managed a gym and then worked as a casino dealer.

Alex said returning to America for a wedding made him seriously consider what he wanted to do with his life.

He explained he was trying to decide on his next steps, but things kept happening quickly. It was a constant stream of new opportunities: ‘First, go to Florida and do this, then head to Arizona and do that.’

According to People magazine, the former athlete later worked in sales for both Hibu, a digital marketing firm, and Block, a financial technology company located in Scottsdale, Arizona. Currently, he lives in Cleveland where he works as a day trader and coaches youth soccer.

Honestly, trying to explain our relationship to people, especially when marriage came up, was SO hard. I mean, it felt like walking a tightrope – I didn’t want to overwhelm anyone with everything we’d been through, but how could I not give them the full picture? He told Us Weekly he really tried his best to explain it all without, like, unloading a ton of baggage, and I think he did. It was the most honest way he could put it, I swear!

Alex clarified the confusion around his name by explaining that he was legally adopted by his stepfather, John Ferrell, after his biological father, Will Henderson, wasn’t involved in his life. Later on, before he began traveling in 2020, he decided to legally change his last name back to his original one.

He announced on his podcast, Play Life Beautifully, while speaking with his mother, Kristen, that he was going back to using his birth name. He explained that it wasn’t about honoring his biological father, but about embracing his origins and building his future with the name he was given at birth.

He explained he didn’t want to be associated with his past identity, or defined by who he used to be. He wants to get back to his true self, and feels this is a crucial step in honoring a significant period of his life.

Fans might be interested in more than just Alex’s story on Love Is Blind. Here’s a look at some behind-the-scenes secrets from the popular Netflix series.

Contestants on Love Is Blind do receive payment for their participation. According to former cast member Matthew Duliba, they each earn $5,000 specifically for the ‘pod’ portion of the show.

Most of the financial gain from the show comes from sponsorship deals after filming. For example, Deepti Vempati and Natalie Lee, both from season two, each earned around $500,000 as social media influencers within two years of their episodes airing in 2022.

During the first season of the show, contestants slept on cots in trailers located near the lounge areas. However, for season two, Netflix provided hotel rooms for better comfort. Staff members always accompany the cast to and from their rooms to prevent any unauthorized contact between them.

In a 2025 TikTok video, season four’s Micah Lussier revealed that the dating show isn’t filmed in a real location. She explained that the contestants actually stay in a hotel, and the ‘pods’ are just a set built in a studio. The bathrooms, she added, are located in trailers outside the studio.

Oh my gosh, you won’t BELIEVE this! So, the contestants on the show? They don’t even have their phones while they’re in the pods! Can you imagine?! It’s not until after they’ve had their dreamy tropical getaway – you know, the part we all die over – that they finally get their phones back. It’s pure genius, honestly, forces them to really connect!

Shayne Jansen shared of their vacations, “You don’t have your phone or anything on you.”

The ‘pods’ part of the experiment typically lasts around 10 days and starts with 40 to 50 people looking for love. However, not everyone makes it through the entire process, as some singles are eliminated along the way.

To give the most promising contestants more attention, we narrowed down the group during filming,” explained Chris Coelen, creator of Love Is Blind. “We were left with around 20 to 25 people in the pods at that stage.”

Initial dates were organized like a speed-dating event, giving each person eight to ten minutes to get to know everyone of the opposite sex. After that, participants were free to talk to whomever they chose, for as long as they wanted, but all conversations had to be arranged by the show’s staff, as direct communication outside of designated areas wasn’t allowed.

Sal Perez, a contestant from season two, revealed that singles receive suggested topics and questions before their dates, though they aren’t required to stick to them.

Kyle Abrams explained in an interview with TopMob News that they had some pre-planned conversation starters. He said that when the conversation slowed down, they could use a small notebook to find new things to talk about.

Despite appearances, the show wasn’t scripted. As contestant Kelly Chase explained to Business Insider, the cast wasn’t given a script, which she admitted was hard to believe even for herself.

Kelly mentioned that the food provided to contestants while filming was a highlight. They weren’t limited in their choices and had a lot of different options available in the pods.

She explained that for the first ten days of shooting, the crew had a wide variety of catered meals to choose from, including grilled fish, chicken, steak, plus vegetables, pasta, rice, and fruit.

Although some proposals appear earlier in the show for pacing, all of them actually occur on the same day.

According to Kelly, a unique tradition happens where everyone proposes on the same day, followed by a short, supervised meeting the next day. Couples only get fifteen minutes with their newly-engaged partners before separating and returning home, not seeing each other again for several days. She describes the whole process as quite unusual.

9. Where do the engagement rings come from? 

The creator explained to Entertainment Weekly in 2025 that once the rings are given to the recipients, they are a permanent gift. Recipients don’t have to return them, even if the relationship ends, and they’re free to say they purchased the rings themselves if they choose.

10. Hosts Vanessa Lachey and Nick Lachey are no longer allowed to be at the reveals. 

In a 2025 interview with Parade, Vanessa explained that she and Nick used to be present at the premieres. She described how they’d be on the red carpet with the whole team – hair and makeup artists, costume designers, and the sound crew – all together to greet everyone.

But it ended up being “probably 50 people” in the room, which detracted from the romance.

It became too chaotic, Vanessa explained. After that, organizers limited access to the reveal, allowing only the couple and camera crew to be present so they could have a private moment.

Okay, so get this – the producers were hoping for a few engagements, like maybe five tops, for the first season. But then, not only did the six couples they were already following get engaged in the pods, but two more proposed! It was insane! They just
 couldn’t film everything, apparently. Like, they weren’t prepared for that much love! I wish I’d been a fly on the wall – can you imagine the chaos? It’s just
 everything!

Coelen explained that they really wanted to showcase a variety of relationships. It was amazing to see so many people find what felt like lasting love, but unfortunately, the show didn’t have enough time to tell all of those stories.

Rory Newbrough and Danielle Drouin were one of the engaged couples on the show. While the other couples filmed in Mexico, Rory and Danielle spent a week in Miami. However, shortly after returning to Atlanta, they broke up on good terms. Danielle realized she still had feelings for another cast member, Matt Thomas, and decided to explore that connection. Unfortunately, Danielle and Matt’s relationship didn’t work out either, according to Rory in an interview with People magazine.

Another relationship that formed during the first season, but wasn’t shown on TV, was between Westley Baer, who talked about the challenges of dating as a shorter man, and Lexie Skipper. They dated for three months after filming in Atlanta, but Westley later told People magazine that a major career change led to their breakup. He explained that he decided to sell all his belongings and move to Asia.

In addition to one couple from season two, Caitlin McKee and Joey Miller, and Kara Williams and Jason Beaumont, also became engaged, though their proposals weren’t shown on the show.

14. Are constants allowed to talk when there’s not cameras around?

Micah explained that filming isn’t happening when contestants are in the ‘pods.’ There are always cameras running during those conversations. Even in the lounge, the producers prefer silence when the cameras aren’t on, to avoid missing important parts of the show’s story if people are chatting.

She said the experience in Mexico is similar. 

She explained that they wouldn’t have any private moments or conversations away from the cameras until they were left alone together for the first time that night. That’s when they’d finally be able to talk freely, off-camera.

But when they go home, there’s more freedom to speak without being filmed.

She explained that because filming happened almost every day, the cast and crew had plenty of downtime to bond with each other away from the cameras.

15. Who pays for the wedding dresses?

Micah explained that the production team covers the cost of the dress. He recalled a time when they had a selection of dresses already included in the budget to choose from, and there were plenty of options available.

They could have chosen to pay extra for a nicer dress, but the season four cast member said that, as far as she knew, no one ever took advantage of that option.

Regarding wedding costs, a Netflix representative told Women’s Health that while the show provides some basic supplies, the couples are responsible for any additional expenses and covering costs if they exceed a certain amount, as these are their actual weddings.

Even though some people doubted the marriages were real, they are legally binding. Lauren Speed from season one confirmed to Refinery29, “This is a real, legal marriage—not just for the show. This is our life.”

The order in which people say “I do” or “I don’t” at the altar isn’t decided by chance; Micah explained that the production crew actually decides who goes first.

Micah explained that it isn’t up to the person leading the ceremony. He believes they’ll ask the person they think will say ‘yes’ first, so they can get an immediate answer from both people involved.

If that doesn’t happen, she explained, you miss out on the excitement of hearing someone accept right away.

Were the reality show contestants required to actually go through with the weddings? According to producer Coelen, the answer is no. He explained to TopMob News that cast members were free to make their own choices on the wedding day. He admitted that, knowing the participants and their personal lives, he had no idea what anyone would decide.

So, why do people often wait until the actual wedding day to decide whether or not to commit? Although the contestants aren’t obligated to get married, many still go through with the ceremony, even if they end up rejecting their partner.

Micah explained on TikTok that participating in ‘Love Is Blind’ wasn’t necessarily about getting married. It was about fully experiencing the experiment. Since the show is designed to test connections, you can’t know if it will work unless you go through the entire process. That was her reasoning for participating.

It’s becoming increasingly rare for couples on Love Is Blind to get married. After only one wedding in season eight, executive producer Ally Simpson explained that finding genuinely nice men willing to participate is proving difficult, largely due to the influence of social media. Chelsea Griffin, a former contestant, has now joined the casting team to help address this problem.

I remember when rumors started swirling online about Mark Cuevas, the youngest guy from the very first season. People were saying he actually had a girlfriend while filming, which was a shock! He ended up saying it wasn’t true, but it definitely caused a stir among us fans at the time.

He explained on the Be There in Five podcast that he hadn’t been in a relationship at all. He was single before, during, and after being on the show. He hadn’t dated before and didn’t see how he could have had a relationship while participating in the experience.

Kelly and Kenny Barnes revealed they never intended to get married after season one finished filming. Kenny told People magazine that their engagement was simply a way to continue participating in the show, and they both agreed to that. Kelly also thought they would just keep dating, as they had discussed. However, Kenny confessed on their wedding day that he wasn’t ready for marriage emotionally. Kelly said she felt hurt and confused, as it went against what they had previously agreed upon.

Jessica Batten, known as the most controversial contestant from season one of Love is Blind, recently revealed in an interview that she asked to leave the show, but producers wouldn’t let her.

I really had no choice but to stay on the show,” she explained to EW. “I did consider leaving, but it just wasn’t possible. On top of everything, my dog got very sick and almost died while we were filming, and I was dealing with a lot of other personal things as well.

She explained that it was incredibly frustrating because she suspected Mark and she wouldn’t succeed. She tried to leave several times, having conversations about it, but couldn’t manage to do so.

The weddings featured in the first season were filmed in the fall of 2018. This meant that the two couples who got married—Lauren and Cameron Hamilton, and Amber Pike and Matt Barnett—had to keep their relationships a secret for a year and a half before the show finally aired.

26. Love Is Blind could go on and on, with Coelen telling TopMob News, “I’m thinking season 15.”

Ever recognize Carlton Morton? He appeared on The Real Housewives of Atlanta in 2014 as Cynthia Bailey’s assistant. If you’re a Bravo fan, you might remember he had a memorable argument with Kenya Moore when she first joined the show.

Many viewers have wondered about the gold cups frequently seen on the show. While some thought they were used to conceal the liquid level for easier editing, creator Coelen explained the cups were actually selected for their visual appeal.

He told Variety that the show has a distinct style. While it genuinely follows the lives of the people featured, he enjoys how it connects with those stories in a fun and approachable way.

Deepti explained to TopMob News that they always serve their drinks in gold goblets, calling it a tradition that holds special meaning for the company.

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2026-02-27 04:49