Tom Stroud: The truth behind Netflix's Love Is Blind, masculinity, dating - and learning to forgive

Tom Stroud became one of the breakout personalities on the smash hit Netflix show Love Is Blind UK - but his most powerful story started well before the cameras rolled.

In this episode, Tom opens up about:

- Growing up with an absent father and how it fuelled anger, rebellion and a lifelong pattern of emotional avoidance

- The moment his dad walked out – and why that became a defining event

- Why he now believes what he felt on Love Is Blind wasn’t love, but intense infatuation shaped by unmet childhood needs

- The reality of being trapped in a high-pressure filming environment with no phone, no escape – and why so many men struggle with vulnerability in those settings

- How shame can keep men stuck for decades, and the moment he chose to forgive his father shortly before he died

- The power and complexity of male friendships - including the breakdown and repair of his relationship with co-star Benaiah

- What he’s learned about masculinity and boundaries

- Why avoidance might keep you safe, but never fulfilled

Tom’s story isn't just about reality TV. It’s about identity, fatherhood, healing, and what it really takes to understand who you are.

Honest, introspective and hopeful - this is the kind of conversation that makes you think about the person you are, the one you’ve been, and the one you still have time to become.

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We all want to be happy, healthy and fulfilled.

The question is: how?

Project Possible, hosted by me, Rich Leigh, explores this question with incredible guests from the world of business, sport, entertainment, health and psychology.

Between the second and third series, I made the decision to go full-time on this show.

I sold my successful 10 year old PR agency after my youngest brother Jordan took his own life. I realised that I needed to run towards passion, purpose and positive impact, and my dream of this being my career.

Possibilists, pull up a pew.

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