‘Pop The Balloon’ Creators Say Their Show Exposes What’s Really Wrong With Modern Dating

Since launching their show “Pop The Balloon or Find Love” in 2023, Congolese-American content creator Arlette Amuli and her husband, Bolia Matundu, have hit the YouTube jackpot with their viral dating show. The series, which often draws millions of views, has had many viral moments while exposing one reason why the modern dating landscape is so rocky — and Amuli and Matundu are speaking out about it.

In a recent interview with CNN Africa, the couple highlighted what they believe is the main reason dating is so tricky these days: folks have become too superficial.

“People are living in unrealistic expectations. It’s not realistic to stop acting as if you’re going to find somebody that is perfect,” Matundu said. “Dating is superficial; that’s what’s wrong with the dating scene.”

Adding to her husband’s point, Amuli noted, “People don’t really try to look at the person internally, like, they’ll just look at you and answer, ‘Oh no, his socks, yeah…’ But they’ll say, ‘Everything else is great. Like, everything you said, you know, you’re attractive this and that, but your shoes, I can’t do it.’ So I just wish people would try to look past the outside a little more.”

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If you’ve watched one episode of the dating show, you know the couple’s comments are no exaggeration. One clip that went viral on TikTok was a Black man popping his balloon on a Black woman because he didn’t like her natural hair. In return, the woman said that he wasn’t her type either because he was too short.

Clips like that have touched a nerve online, sparking fierce debate over the anti-Blackness playing out on screen by contestants. In the TikTok comments, one user wrote, “This show had potential but now it’s evolving into something that’s toxic and counterproductive.”

“The anti-Blackness in our community is very crazy,” added another.

“This is literally just roasting each other,” joked a third user with a laughing emoji.

In the CNN interview, criticisms such as these were presented to the husband and wife, as some folks have said that they don’t watch the show because it highlights the worst stereotypes about Black people.

But the couple brushed the critiques off their shoulders. “At the end of the day, we’re all human,” Matundu said. “Even if I did this show in other nations with other races, it’s going to be the same thing. This is just what they’ve seen. But our main goal is let’s solve the problem. We’re showing people this is the problem. How are you going to fix a problem if you don’t see it?”

Furthering Matundu’s response, Amuli added, “We bring people from all walks of life. So, we get doctors, we get students, we get servers, we get lawyers, like, we’re bringing all types of people on this show, from 21 to 50 and up. And it’s like, we can’t determine what kind of character they come, and they put on the show.”

In the TikTok comments, folks added their two cents on what the show highlights about the current dating landscape and whether they think Amuli and Matundu are doing a good job at fixing the issues.

“They are not solving the problem but they definitely bring the problem to light,” wrote one user.

“They’re exposing how messed up dating has become in the black community, I think it’s good,” added another.

However, some folks feel that the couple’s real goal is to profit off of the messy dating scene.

“They’re not solving the problem? They’re sensationalizing it,” commented one user.

“They made this show for entertainment and views,” added another with a laughing emoji. “That’s it, that’s all.”