• "Love Is Blind's" Nick Thompson launched a charity to give mental health support to reality stars. 
• Thompson said he was inspired to help others because of the "awful experience" he had on the show. 
• He compared being on the show to a cult and said producers took his passport and phone.

"Love Is Blind" star Nick Thompson spoke to Insider about his "awful experience" on the show — and shared the steps he's now taking to transform reality TV for the better.

Thompson appeared in season two of the Netflix series alongside his then-fiancée Danielle Ruhl, and the pair got married in the finale. They parted ways just over a year later with Ruhl filing for divorce in August 2022, People reported at the time.

The terrible reality TV show experience led to Thompson cocreating the Unscripted Cast Advocacy Network Foundation (UCAN) in April to provide mental health and legal support to former, current, and past reality-TV contestants.

UCAN's other cofounders are Dr. Isabelle Morley, a clinical psychologist who specializes in couples therapy, and Jeremy Hartwell, a former "Love Is Blind" contestant who is currently suing Netflix and Kinetic Content for "inhumane working conditions" and paying cast members less than minimum wage, Insider previously reported. Kinetic denied the allegations in a 2022 statement obtained by Variety, saying there was "absolutely no merit to Mr. Hartwell's allegations." 

Thompson said he was inspired to set up the foundation because of his time on the show

"It was overall a pretty awful experience," Thompson told Insider about appearing on "Love Is Blind."

The Chicago native said he was inspired to launch UCAN after experiencing and witnessing "extreme exploitation" at the hands of production, who he said expected the cast to film up to 20 hours a day and often denied them sufficient food and water. According to Thompson, the experience caused him to lose 15 pounds in three weeks while filming.

Thompson went on to compare the show to being in a cult, as he said producers took away contestants' passports and phones. 

"I recently met someone who was in a cult for 10 years, and this is like that. This is what they did to her," he said, adding that the person's ID was taken from her. 

Kinetic Content and Netflix did not respond to Insider's request for comment about Thompson's allegations over the filming schedule, food and water access, or taking away contestants' passports and phones.

It isn't the first time a cast member has spoken out against production. Back in April, Thompson and Ruhl were among a handful of former contestants who spoke to Insider's Katie Warren, alleging troubling working conditions and a lack of mental health support on the show.

Contestants told Warren that they experienced physical exhaustion and that producers often preyed on their anxieties and insecurities during interviews. 

In a statement sent to Warren, Kinetic Content wrote: "The wellbeing of our participants is of paramount importance to Kinetic. We have rigorous protocols in place to care for each person before, during, and after filming."

The way reality stars are edited could have a lasting impact on their lives, according to a PR expert

On Thompson's podcast, "Eyes Wide Open with Nick Thompson," the disgruntled reality star once spoke about how reality shows often edit scenes to manipulate storylines. 

"There's one scene in the pods, where I'm like, 'I definitely did not say that to that person, that's a totally different conversation with a totally different person,'" Thompson said on June 23 podcast.

"It's so out of context," he added.

Evan Nierman, the founder of PR company Red Banyan, told Insider that the way reality stars are edited could have a "lasting effect" on their future career and life prospects. It's especially true for those who have to return to their regular lives without the resources that most celebrities have at their disposal, such as a PR team. 

"When you allow producers to shape how millions of people see you, it's a very risky thing. And so I completely agree that these people are completely unprepared for all the blowback that comes," Nierman, coauthor of "The Cancel Culture Curse," told Insider.

Thompson also had a grievance over the contract he said he was required to sign as a condition of joining the show.

"You literally sign a contract that says you can be misrepresented, you can be defamed," Thompson told Insider of his experience on the reality show.

He said that anyone who seeks assistance from UCAN will have free access to an entertainment lawyer who will be able to provide legal guidance on contracts and non-disclosure agreements.

Thompson added that "multiple" reality stars have privately supported UCAN, telling him they've been "terrified" to break non-disclosure agreements they've signed to participate in their shows. Non-disclosure agreements appear to be common in the world of reality TV; cast members from shows such as "Bachelor in Paradise" and "The Biggest Loser" have previously said they were required to sign such contracts.

Thompson wouldn't rule out working with Netflix in the future

Thompson told Insider that, despite his troubled time on "Love Is Blind," he wouldn't rule out working with Netflix if the streaming service approached UCAN for assistance in the future.

"I would 100% welcome anyone who wants to be on the front lines of this movement because we are going to force change," Thompson said.

"You are not going to exploit people forever. And change is coming and it's coming fast. So if you decide that you want to be a part of doing the right thing, then, of course, we welcome anyone from Kinetic, Netflix, any other production company or distributor that wants to be a part of this movement," he added. 

Disclosure: Mathias Döpfner, CEO of Business Insider's parent company, Axel Springer, is a Netflix board member.

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