Last week, some of the cast members from OWN’s “Love Goals” participated in a virtual screening of the relationship reality series’ penultimate episode of the freshman season, followed by a roundtable with select journalists. A number of subjects including DNA compatibility tests, toxic reality shows and, of course, the quarantine, were all on the menu.
“Love Goals” chronicles the efforts of licensed therapist Spirit, over a two-week period, to assist each couple in overcoming the challenges, both individually and as a couple, that threaten their relationship. In what has now become a trope of many unscripted programs, the four couples all live together in a house for better or (usually) worse, for the duration.
The screening captured the heartwarming moment when couple Sundy Carter and Breyon Williams and his three adult brothers all met each other for the first time. The four couples (including rapper Coolio, NFL star Dwayne Bowe, Salt-n-Pepa’s DJ Spinderella and their significant others) all had their DNA tested for an intriguing new genetic test that purports to gauge the compatibility of couples. The sequence where the results of that test were read took a somewhat comedic turn as some cast members found the results harder to accept than others.
Spirit, Spinderella and her partner comedian Quentin Coleman, and Dwayne Bowe and his wife Theresa participated in the roundtable and revealed that their relationships have been tested by the coronavirus quarantine. “Quarantine,” declared Spinderella, whose wedding this month to Coleman was delayed due to the pandemic, “is a whole other level of a relationship!” Added Colemen, “We know we love each other but with the pandemic, because it’s such a confined space, we’ve found out there’s a lot of stuff we don’t like about each other, which is not a bad thing.”
The quarantine has also led Coleman to discover that Spinderella has a certain skill at coaxing him to do things that he wasn’t as aware of before. “My grandmother used to tell me a woman can get a man to do anything if he loves her and yes, there’s a superpower she has over me sometimes.”
Being on “Love Goals,” where they were sequestered in a house, albeit with three other couples, somewhat prepared Dwayne Bowe and his wife Theresa for the unexpected cloistering. Theresa Bowe explained, “We adopted what we did for the show to our regimen [in quarantine].” What she’s learned from being on the show about the importance of timing in bringing up thorny issues has been of particular benefit. “I’ve learned that when he wants to listen is not normally when the action is happening, so I take my time. Most people. when there’s a problem, they want to fix it right now, but I feel like we have forever, so I can be patient.”
DNA tests, whose sometimes life-altering results sparked explosive reactions from participants, have been part of unscripted TV for many years now. The DNA test administered on “Love Goals” was very different and quite novel in its use.
Combined with a psychological assessment, the Instant Chemistry DNA test measures each individual’s biochemistry for traits such as a tendency toward worrying and how they deal with conflict. The results are simplified into archetypes like “warrior” which means they handle stress well and aren’t inclined to dwell too much on negative circumstances. “Worriers” tend to do just that—worry. Explained Spirit, “If I’m a warrior I may look at stress kind of like ‘bring it on,’ and the same kinds of things may not stress me out or cause me to have such a big fight or flight or freeze response.”
Each couple received an overall compatibility score and though they all had great scores, Spinderella and Coleman’s were the lowest, something that brought out a bit of their competitive spirit. Coleman laughed, “We had some issues with that 74%! We love each other and we were expecting 100, 110, and then it was 74!” Also laughing, Spinderella interjected, “I didn’t understand that, I still don’t understand that!”
Other reality show depictions of African Americans had jaded both Spirit and Coleman and they each revealed they were hesitant to participate initially because of a fear of how bad unscripted shows can be. Spirit declared, “I never want to be a part of anything that is not uplifting and that is not really feeling people, but once I had that commitment from the producers and the understanding about what the intention for the show was, that’s what made me sign on. It was the opportunity to really show people what quality therapy can do, especially for our people.” Coleman admitted, “I thought it was going to be like ‘Love and Hip Hop’ or one of those other reality shows; Black folks on TV fighting and embarrassing themselves is nothing I ever want to be a part of.” He’s relieved and excited that the tone of “Love Goals” is much different. “This is a really good show.” Commenting on the meeting of Breyon Williams and his brothers that happened in the episode that was screened, he said, “I’m in it and still got goosebumps watching.”
The season finale of “Love Goals” airs Saturday, May 9 at 9pm ET.