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Why Chafic believes love is blind

Reality TV star is now engaged to a woman he met while shooting a 'social experiment'

Chafic Yactine is not your typical reality TV show hero or influencer. There is no cocky grin or sense of superiority reeling off him; instead it seems like he’s happy and grateful to be able to talk about his journey into (and since) the Love is Blind, Habibi, edition, which is available for streaming on Netflix.

The premise of the international show is simple: You will talk to a member of the opposite gender every day for a certain period without being able to see their face, proving that you are in the relationship for the deep, meaningful things rather than indulging in shallow exchanges. You do so by checking into a pod. The so-called social experiment is hosted by celebrity couple Khaled Saqer and Elham Ali.

Chafic, who is at the Khaleej Times office, is quick to call the show an unscripted, authentic representation of the people who take part in it. “I think Netflix did a good job, to be honest, because the show was a success and is super genuine. There is a good and bad side for everything you are going to do in life and in work, but the bad side doesn’t affect me that much, to be honest,” he laughs.

Chafic and Dounia almost married at the end of the show but decided to instead stay together and see where it would lead them. We are happy to say this decision to stay close has resulted in another (grander) development – a proposal by Chafic. “I feel that everyone proposed in the show in the same way, from behind the wall and then go to the stage. She deserves the best. I said, let me make it special,” he explains.

The Lebanese trading entrepreneur, who was born and raised in Senegal, explains the choice to star in a reality TV show. “I heard about the reality show in the beginning of July. The show was in August. I was the last to be cast. And to be honest, we all went first for exposure. Then we lost our own game, because you don't control the thing,” he says.

But while it is an unusual choice of matchmaker, he says, he was never anything but excited about the way the show would turn out. His family, while surprised about his tele choices, were quick to accept the notion. “When they heard it’s in Arabic and it’s being made in the UAE, they knew it’s something that’d be super classy and respectful like the country. There wasn’t a worry about the content or what’s going to go out into the world,” he says.

Reel work

He is pleased with the result of the show. Which is why he wouldn’t mind going on another one that’s been making waves in the city: Dubai Bling. “I have few friends, like Ebraheem Al Samadi, who is a super genuine guy, like amazing Danya Mohammed and her husband, who are on the show. They are super genuine. So why not?” he says, adding that he’d also perhaps like to try his hand at Survivor, where participants are stranded in a remote location and must undertake challenging tasks to win prize money.

Chafic is an entrepreneur/model, who decided to take a step back from his import business, which he ran alongside his brother and uncle, to focus on more individual pursuits such as partnering with big brands, modelling and running his social media accounts, where he regularly posts updates from his life.

Unlike many stars who crumble under the weight of a watchful fanbase, Chafic is calm. “When you pretend to be someone else, for sure, you have pressure, because you always have to be classy,” he says, talking about the power of just being yourself. “Whatever I do, whether I’m at the gym or not, people need to see the real me.”

He is also passionate about charity – something that was inculcated into him when he was young. “When I was 16, my mum and my aunt took me to a hospital in Africa, where they treat kids with cancer. But when they got the chemo, their heads were really swollen. I was shocked.

“I used to go every Friday, give them [the sick kids] breakfast in the hospital. But I was young. I was 16. Then, I started to do it by myself, but not in the hospital, because I didn't want to see this [illness].

“When I moved to Dubai, I starteddoing it in 2021. I get judged for something that I started on in 2021,” he shrugs talking about how the news of his charity endeavours had elicited negative remarks. “But I feel peace when I see a smile on the face of certain people, and because life is short, better for me to do what I want to,” he says.

One of the things he really wanted to do was to make the wedding proposal for Dounia special. He worked with his manager to surprise her with a beach proposal complete with the gentle sunset working its magic on undulating waves. She, of course, said yes.

But the couple hasn’t yet set a wedding date. “I think we have lot of stuff to achieve together first, because a wedding is not a joke. We also don’t believe in divorce. If we marry, we marry for life. I will take my time. She has a professional career. I have something that I'm working on. We're just waiting for the right time,” he adds.

No, this isn’t a typical reality star – this is someone who knows what he wants and will make it happen.

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