This past fall, the entire region was a buzz when the latest season of Love Is Blind, which was based in the DMV area, hit Netflix. One of the 30 contestants this season was Fredericksburg native Garrett Josemans-Krause, who met his wife, Taylor, on the show. We chatted with the reality star to talk everything from online trolls to spearfishing spots to his style.
How are you dealing with fame?
In person, it’s all positive and it’s great, like no one comes up to you and says, ‘I hate your style’ or ‘I hate that you did this on the show.’ … It seems filtered. It seems a little fake, but social media is also fake. People just harass you just to entertain themselves. I don’t mind engaging with people who have issues with how something was portrayed on the show or have questions about why we decided not to move to San Diego. I love these conversations … and I love to engage in them, but online is just not an appropriate place for that it seems like.
Do you have favorite places to go with Taylor in the region?
Fahrenheit 132 is by far the best restaurant in Fredericksburg, in my opinion. We went there for our anniversary dinner. In DC, we like Ciel Social Club and Mercy Me. Dupont Circle and Mount Pleasant are the neighborhoods we’re considering moving to.
Where do you like to go fishing?
Virginia Beach is one of the world’s premier fishing destinations. It really is, and it’s kind of untapped. I love it. I’ve been going there since I was a kid. My parents used to own a place on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, [in the] Cape Charles area. We would go spend our summers there, and the Outer Banks. I spent a lot of my summers there fishing and spearfishing.
What’s behind your style transformation since being on the show?
My whole hair thing — I started to get serious recession in the temples, and I didn’t like how my hair was looking shorter. I never put a whole lot of attention into my aesthetic mostly because I wasn’t meeting women, that wasn’t my goal. I was just focused on business and spearfishing and hanging out with my friends and family. I had one aesthetic my whole life. I always appreciated different textiles and finer materials and well-made goods and things like that, so I shopped at places like Taylor Stitch and Buck Mason in Georgetown. But I didn’t really focus on the aesthetic and how it came off. Taylor is also someone very worth wanting to look good for, so she’s inspired me in that sense. I’ve enjoyed exploring this side of myself and being fashionable with her; it’s more fun as a couple than by yourself.
Any tips for single people living in our area?
Get out of your comfort zone. Take more risks. Don’t put yourself in a box, and be open to more experiences. … And grow your hair out.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Feature image of Garrett Josemans-Krause courtesy Netflix
This story originally ran in our January Issue. For more stories like this, subscribe to Northern Virginia Magazine.
