"He's a fan of the show": Love Is Blind makers on why they brought NBA star Chris Paul to the reunion

Love is Blind season 9 just wrapped up, with the reunion streaming on Wednesday, October 29, 2025, on Netflix. The reunion revealed a series of bombshells dropped by the contestants, making it dramatic, fiery, and full of confrontations.

One of the most interesting things was the cameo of NBA star Chris Paul, who entered to add the athletic touch to the reunion by making Kacie and Patrick play a basketball match to decide who keeps the ring, which became a point of conflict.

Love is Blind season 9 reunion kicked off with another cameo of singer Myles Smith performing on the stage.

Ally Simpson, executive producer of the show, said that it was creator Chris Coelen's suggestion to incorporate an athletic element to the reunion. This also made the moment memorable for Kacie and Patrick.

Ally Simpson further told PEOPLE exclusively that it was the perfect appeal to the show viewers, noting that:

"It was cool that Kacie and Patrick had this basketball connection in the pods, and we could bring [Paul] in and he's a fan of the show, and that all felt very natural and organic to make happen."

The Love is Blind executive producer further gave insights about the reunion in an exclusive interview

Ally Simpson spoke about how the special guests ended up on the Love Is Blind stage and the kind of impact she hoped their presence would have on viewers in the interview.

She mentioned that with each reunion, the team aims to make it feel more like an unpredictable event where anything could happen, noting:

"When you think about pop culture and you think about the biggest pillars in pop culture, that's love and relationships, and music and sports, and it felt for us, like there's a really organic way to bring all of those things together."

Love is Blind scene featured Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul, the NBA star, hosting a lighthearted free-throw competition between Kacie and Patrick.

The match was organized to settle their ongoing dispute over who should keep the engagement ring after Kacie called off their engagement just days following the proposal.

Kacie ultimately won the game, and after some playful teasing, Patrick handed the ring back to her on stage.

Executive Producer Ally Simpson explained that, saying:

"It's this idea that there could be a woman sitting there watching Love Is Blind: The Reunion, and all of a sudden, Chris Paul’s there, and her husband's like, ‘Oh my God, is that Chris Paul?’"

He added that the moment was prepared to surprise viewers, and these surprising crossovers help expand the show's viewership, drawing in diverse audiences and adding the fun element to it.

Talking about Myles Smith singing Nice to Meet You as the main cast members were introduced while walking down a flight of stairs on the stage, Simpson says:

"The music performance last season was a big hit and we wanted to carry that through,” she says of the season 8 reunion where Alex Warren sang “Ordinary,” which went on to hit No. 1 on Billboard’s “Hot 100” shortly after."

She added that they were lucky enough to get Myles Smith on board to perform at the reunion, noting that,

"What was cool is, with the success of the last one, we really had the interest of virtually every major label coming to us saying, ‘Hey, can we give you some names and some possibilities?’ And Myles Smith, for us, it's a mix of both the artist and the song. I think we knew we wanted to do a big, exciting open with the music performance, and so he's just a really great guy and a really terrific artist."

She further continues that the song felt celebratory and was a great start to the reunion, expressing her gratitude to get Smith for the Love is Blind reunion. She says:

"It's a song that's actually been out a little bit and continued to rise in the charts, and so we're excited to see if giving it this platform is able to give it a real push that I think it deserves. So we were grateful to get him in the end."

Stay tuned for more updates.