Aaron Murrell, Milton Keynes restaurant owner and cast member of new UK version, Love Is Blind: UK, opens up about his experience, mindset, and of course, Milton Keynes, in an exclusive interview with MKFM.
The first four episodes of Love Is Blind: UK premiered on Netflix last Tuesday, August 7. Following the release, Aaron Murrell sat down with MKFM to talk all things Love Is Blind: UK.
Before getting into the deeper conversations, Aaron was asked how well-known MK is to others across the country. Aaron told MKFM, “Milton Keynes is on the map! Obviously, there were people talking about the roundabouts”, as he laughed. “Some of the guys you see on the show are in MK all the time. It’s a place people go with their friends.”
Before the life-changing experience, Aaron said he was searching for a long-lasting relationship, one that makes his parents proud, as they are a couple he has always looked up to.
Aaron said, “My mum and dad have been together for 44 years, married for 34, so for me as a youngster, I’ve seen them go through highs and lows and they never separated, they’ve always been together. For me, that explains love. In a family, it’s not all plain sailing, they’ve had their hardship. But seeing them navigate through things together, how my dad treats my mum and how my mum treats my dad, how they’ve treated us, that is something I have always admired.”
Aaron is the successful business owner of Wing Kingz in Xscape. He decided to open the restaurant in 2021 and it has been flourishing since. With a successful business and being single for a few years, Aaron felt he was ready for a successful relationship.
Aaron said, “I feel I prepared myself well enough to really break down things. I asked myself ‘Am I actually ready?’ and the answer was yes. Mum and dad have been together for years, my sisters are married, my brother is engaged, and businesses are doing relatively well, so for me I wasn’t scared.”
Aaron continued, “I’m quite a driven person. I’ve done a lot of research on self-development and how to handle certain situations so it was exciting, if anything, because I’m planning to meet somebody on a deeper level and in an experiment that is absolutely phenomenal. It was really just making sure I’m ready mentally and I’m doing it for the right reasons.”
The concept of Love Is Blind is for men and women to date one another for 10 days in purpose-built ‘pods’, where they are able to talk to one another but not see each other.
When asked about this and whether looks usually play a part in Aaron approaching someone he said, “To be honest with you, yes it does. That was one of my biggest downfalls since 2018 when I became single. That played a part as to why I chose to go down this route. I based things on looks and I was very picky. Even my family said ‘you can’t base it off that, you need to go off something that is more meaningful’”.
Aaron added, “Voice is massive. You’re taken away from your usual surroundings. There is no connection to the outside world, so the focus is on what the person is saying, you’re digesting that, and you’re having very deep conversations. It’s true feelings, true emotions and then you discuss everything. The fact that there was a wall between us made it more heartfelt.”
When asked what he has taken away from this experience, Aaron told MKFM, “I have changed as a person. This is real and is something I have never experienced. I am definitely more emotionally aware and available, not just in romantic relationships, but more so anything I do. I listen to people more and process what they are actually saying to me.”
As many may know, deciding where to live is an important conversation that needs to be had with your significant other. As someone who was born and raised in Milton Keynes Aaron said, “I was born in Milton Keynes, my business is here, I plan to open up more businesses here. I will always find it hard to navigate away from MK because I love the city, I love what it represents, I know a lot of people. I don’t think it is somewhere I would want to move from. If I’m in the UK, I’d like to spend my time in Milton Keynes as much as possible because I was born and raised here.”
To finish off a great conversation, Aaron was asked ‘Is love blind?’
He told MKFM, “Yes. This is real people, real emotions, it can impact you. For me, it changed my mindset that love can be blind because you can fall in love with somebody purely by a voice and connection and what you’ve got in common.”
The first four episodes of Love Is Blind: UK is available on Netflix now.
If you would like to follow Aaron’s journey, new episodes will be released every Wednesday, with the next four episodes available this Wednesday, August 14.
