'Love is Blind' star Deepti Vempati says there was over 30,000 hours of dating footage fans didn't see

• "Love is Blind" star Deepti Vempati says fans only saw a "sliver" of the dating footage.
• While promoting her new Tazo tea partnership, she said there were about 30,000 hours of unused tape.

While filming the season two finale of Netflix's "Love is Blind" a year ago, Deepti Vempati could never have imagined she'd have one million followers on Instagram by the summer of 2022 all because she wanted to find love on a reality show.

"I cannot believe that it's reached a million," Vempati told Insider while promoting her new partnership with Tazo tea. "Sometimes I'll sit there and read comments and I'll just be in tears because it's so moving and inspiring that people have been so affected by my words or my actions on 'Love is Blind.'"

But if there's one misconception people have about the show, Vempati said it's that some people don't believe you could care about someone after just talking with them void of physical contact or sight.

"There were over 30,000 hours of footage combined for all of us," Vempati said. "People see such a small little sliver of the entire thing. There were so many hours that we talked to whoever we were dating on the other side of that wall. It's more intense than people perceive it to be."

Deepti became a fan-favorite after she walked away from her fiancé on their wedding day

Vempati, 31, wound up accepting a marriage proposal from Abhishek "Shake" Chatterjee in the opening episodes of the show. But then she said "no" on their wedding day, choosing herself over her fiancé, who exhibited major red-flag behavior. People responded with overwhelming support and began following Vempati on social media in droves.

"It's wild how much my followers actually care about me," she said while reflecting on her new "influencer" status. "And I want to reciprocate that same effort back. I don't wanna just do something random that doesn't make sense to me."

It's why Vempati partnered with TAZO to launch #TAZOSummerBucketList on National Iced Tea Day, which is Friday, where thirsty fans can win grand prizes (by entering on Instagram) that will give them once-in-a-lifetime experiences.

"When I partner with products and companies, I really look for what they value and what kind of products they're giving their consumers," Vempati told Insider. "So I'm really excited to partner with Tazo. This upcoming summer is gonna be a really fun, adventurous time."

While balancing her evolving relationship with her followers, Vempati is also trying to figure out her post-'Love is Blind' love life

After a surprising confession during the show's reunion, Vempati has now been spotted with fellow former contestant Kyle Abrams. When asked if she wanted to give her fans any update on her love life, Vempati replied with a simple "no" and a laugh.

"I'm trying to be the best version of myself and that's what I'm working on," she told Insider. "So you have to stay tuned."

Vempati said the added scrutiny that comes with a massive social media following does make things more difficult sometimes.

"Relationships are tough enough," she said. "And when you have people watching you and so many judgments and comments on things like it just makes relationships even tougher."

Vempati always wants to encourage people to approach each other with "compassion and kindness and no judgment."