Interview by Lori Bizzoco. Written by Marissa Donovan.
Television producer SallyAnn Salsano and famous matchmaker Patti Stanger have teamed up to create a new reality TV show on WE tv called Love Blows, which follows the drama of a Chicago family’s matchmaking business. In our exclusive celebrity interview, Salsano and Stanger chat about their show, previous television projects, and today’s dating world.
Read and listen to this celebrity interview from the masterminds behind the matchmaking reality TV show Love Blows!
SallyAnn, we last spoke about Martha and Snoop’s Potluck Dinner, so I have to start off with saying congratulations because that’s a tremendous success and your first Emmy nomination! How does that make you feel?
Salsano: I’m super proud of that. They are such power houses, superstars, and household names worldwide. Working with them — there’s almost nothing they won’t do. They are super dedicated 24/7 and on set with you morning, noon, and night. And creatively, it’s really fun. We really had a great time.
You’ve said that there are a lot of commonalties between them, even though people may view them as so different. Do you think that played a role in the show’s success?
Salsano: There’s all this hullabaloo now in our world about different people and people being against each other. If the country was more like this show, we’d be in a better place. If you like someone, nothing brings you together more than a good meal and good conversation. Just get together and have a good time! It doesn’t matter where you’re from, where you’re raised, or what you’re like. At the end of the day, we all like to eat, laugh, and have fun. That’s basically what this show’s about.
Absolutely – great point. Patti, last month, you were on Hollywood Medium with Tyler Henry, and you shared that your adoptive mother was really good at giving you advice. What was that experience like?
Stanger: It’s not so much what he says and how he says it. It’s more like, when you’re in the room, there’s a strong energy. You feel the presence of your loved one. He’s a guy that brings in the energy of your loved ones, and you feel loved. My mom died a really horrible death of lung cancer, and at the end, she was in a lot of pain. So knowing that she was okay was important to me. And then my biological mother showed up — that was all really nice. I never met her, but I felt a presence. You can’t tell that though the television though.
Now, let’s talk about Love Blows. This is just an amazing collaboration. Who came up with the idea?
Salsano: Patti!
Stanger: I came up with the idea. I wanted SallyAnn involved because she did Jersey Shore, and I envisioned this show to be in the same style. I just thought she was the perfect powerhouse to go into Chicago and turn it upside down. Chicago didn’t have it’s own reality TV show, which was really important.
These are people I work with — I’m like the head affiliate for matchmakers around the world. I’m the one generating leads, giving them advice, and training them. So Lisa used to fix me up — we were like sisters. One day, she told me the story about her husband who cheated on her with her best friend — and she stills works with both of them! Their kids are now training to take over the business. I was like, “Oh my god, this is a reality TV show.”
I originally sold the show in a different format to Bravo, but when I left Bravo, I took it back. SallyAnn reformatted it and came up with a better concept than what I had. It was just going to be a pilot at first, but of course, given the powerhouse that she is, she made it go straight to series. We’re super excited. It’s going to connect to viewers like The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills and Vanderpump Rules. It’s a show you can keep watching for two hours straight.
So you knew Lisa before you started developing the show?
Stanger: She’s someone I work with on a regular basis. All matchmakers work with me; we all work with each other. What’s great about this show is that you’re going to see this unveiling of the industry. You’re going to see behind the scenes of matchmaking, which is a real business that you cannot major in at college. The only place you can get certification is through my old assistant who owns the Matchmakers Institute in New York. You train with matchmakers. You shadow them, like other matchmakers have shadowed me. It’s cool because it’s always handed down generation after generation — the way Lisa plans on handing it down to her daughter Annie.
A lot of crazy things happen in these episodes, a lot of cliff-hanger drama. And I’m appearing in a lot of episodes, which is fun.
SallyAnn, you’ve produced a lot of shows about love and relationships. What do you think makes this one different?
Salsano: It’s actually real. There’s something about a family dynamic that you can’t change. If you combine the young and beautiful people on Vanderpump Rules with the drama of Flipping Out and the family dynamic of Cake Boss, then you get Love Blows — this show has it all. And it’s all coming from a place of helping other people find love.
Mixing Patti’s star power and expertise with their family dynamic is a recipe for success. Still, there’s a lot of disastrous moments behind the scenes too. It’s the stuff that reality shows are made of — and it’s completely authentic.
Shifting gears, let’s talk about digital matchmaking versus traditional matchmaking. Do you think singles are ready to get back to true matchmaking — where a matchmaker (instead of a website or app) sets them up on a date?
Stanger: Personal attention will never be defeated by an app. Ever! With a matchmaker, you have someone selecting potential partners for you and talking to you on a daily basis…versus an app that has no information! You don’t even know how tall they are, how many kids they have, if they’re divorced. That’s why matchmaking is older than prostitution — it’s as old as time.
Do you think the show could help bring back the matchmaking industry?
Stanger: I wanted to make it a major in college — where you could actually major in it and open your own business. The industry is really going to change in the next 10 years. We’ve already passed the two billion dollar mark — internationally, not just in the United States.
We’ve never been able to use FaceTime matchmaking because people want to hide their looks, their voices, their age, their height, and their weight. So that’s the next frontier: Will you FaceTime with somebody? Will you show them who you are in broad daylight without makeup on and your hair up?
That’s brilliant! Getting back to the show, Patti, we’d love to know a bit more about your role on-camera.
Stanger: You see a little bit of a softer side of me. I come in to help Annie, and I have to shut Lisa down because Lisa’s more of a screamer than I am in this particular season. On top of it, I go on three dates.
I’m still going to lose my cool because I’m Patti, but I’m not in charge, so it’s a different side of me. It’s hard because I’m used to calling the shots. I’m more like the therapist that comes in to fix the problems in the family.
Related Link: Celebrity Interview: ‘Ex Isle’ Executive Producer SallyAnn Salsano Talks Reality TV
I have a couple additional questions for you, SallyAnn. The last time we spoke, I asked you if there would be a reunion for the Jersey Shore cast…and then Reunion Road Trip happened!
Salsano: That had nothing to do with me. Oh my god, I would kill to do one — with the entire cast and have them talk about the past.
As you probably know, Ronnie Ortiz-Magro and Pauly D have both been on the show Famously Single. Have you watched it?
Salsano: Of course. I watch this show and everything those cast members do. We have a group text going, and we always support each other. They’re like my children. They call me “Mom.” It makes me feel 900 years old, but it is what it is! There’s something different when you know somebody before anyone else did. I think you just kind of have a different bond with them and different insight into who they are.
Any final words about Love Blows?
Salsano: Just watch it!
Stanger: You need to watch it live. We have this expression on WE tv: “Live or Die.” You’re going to get tips about what to do if you want to open your own business, if you’re dating someone and it’s not working out, if you want to get back in the game after a divorce. People date on Saturdays or Sundays, so they need to tune in on Friday night! They need to have these tips in their arsenal. We can basically be your dating coaches.
Check out the buzz for yourself by watching the premiere of Love Blows on WE tv TONIGHT at 10/9c!
