The Biggest Off-Screen Drama Of Love Is Blind Stars
This feature discusses mental health issues, suicidal ideation, transphobia, and biphobia.
Netflix's "Love is Blind" premiered in 2020 and quickly became a pop culture phenomenon. The series, which is based on the concept that two people can find their true soulmates sight unseen, plays out in a series of "dates" in separate soundproof pods over the course of 10 days. If they do find love, they agree to get hitched. If they don't, they get the boot. The show is one of the streamer's biggest hits, mainly because it's jam-packed with juicy reality TV drama.
Nearly every season of "Love is Blind" has its share of heartbreaks, cheating allegations, love triangles, and on-and-off again romances that don't typically end well. The series itself has been under the microscope lately as well, with some cast members claiming "LIB" didn't support them when they were struggling emotionally. "I joke they don't want you to be too crazy, but just crazy enough," Danielle Drouin, a former cast member whose story never aired, told Insider.
When the show debuted, The Ringer wrote, "One of Netflix's first forays into the reality television universe is chaotic and full of unannounced rules. Somehow, it still manages to be captivating entertainment." In the first four weeks of its fourth season, more than 30 million subscribers watched the series' novel approach to seeking a companion. But some of the juiciest stories didn't even happen on-screen. Here's your inside look at the biggest off-screen drama of "Love is Blind" stars.
Jessica Batten drove a wedge between Amber and Matt
On the first season of "Love is Blind," Amber Pike and Matt Barnett were one of two couples who walked away as husband and wife. Jessica Batten, who got engaged to Mark Cuevas in the pods, also had feelings for Barnett, which she made very clear in Mexico. In a teaser for the 2020 reunion special, Pike called Batten out for throwing herself at Barnett. "B***h you're shiesty, you're so fake, coming to my face like we were cool, you were so fake," the former tank mechanic said (via ET). "... You were engaged to another man that you were leading on."
For the cast's 2021 reunion party, Pike and Barnett did their best to avoid any uncomfortable confrontation. "We made it really clear that we wanted nothing to do with the drama. That's not our life," she told Insider. Without naming Batten specifically, she added, "It just seems awfully bold to go to a party celebrating a couple that you tried to break up."
In 2020, Batten found love the old-fashioned way — sort of. After watching Batten on "Love is Blind," Benjamin McGrath, a California surgeon, slid into her DM's and ultimately popped the question in a romantic setting at the Akash Winery. "[I was] definitely floating somewhere on cloud nine," she told People. In January 2023, after tying the knot three months earlier, the couple shared an Instagram post announcing they were expecting their first child together.
Mark Cuevas faced multiple cheating allegations
Mark Cuevas and Jessica Batten made it to the altar, but their romance ended when she said "I Don't." After the show wrapped, the fitness trainer and LC Chamblin dated briefly. In June 2020, the Georgia native revealed she and Cuevas were done after discovering a Reddit post from someone claiming, "My close friend's co-worker is dating Mark!!" Chamblin responded to the post, which included a photo of Cuevas with another woman. "I definitely just broke it off with Mark, so I really do appreciate you posting this and saving me the energy on dating another liar," she wrote.
In a statement to People, Cuevas denied he was cheating. On the contrary, he claimed that they had never agreed to be exclusive. "The main thing I learned from the show and past relationships is that I deserve to be treated like a priority, and not an option," Chamblin concluded. Around the same time, an Instagram user claimed, "Mark was sleeping with multiple women at the studio he trained at during the show." Cuevas' then-fiancee Jessica Batten responded, "Wow. News to me, I only know about one," as captured by Comments by Celebs. His rep denied the allegations in a statement published by People.
As of this writing, Cuevas is off the market. He's married to Aubrey Rainey (above), and they share two sons. As for Chamblin, she appears to be single. The sales recruiter and Nick Uhlenhuth were among the final couples on Season 1 of "The Perfect Match," but both parties agreed they weren't a good match.
Carlton Morton and Diamond Jack's relationship imploded
After getting engaged in the pods, Season 1's Carlton Morton and Diamond Jack had an explosive poolside fight. During their Mexico vacation, Morton revealed to his fiancee that he's bisexual. Instead of having a heart-to-heart conversation, their interaction devolved into a nasty exchange of name-calling and finger-pointing. Jack tossed a drink in Morton's face, and he threw her engagement ring in the pool.
About 18 months after filming (which took place in 2018), Jack told People, "Maybe I should have been more encouraging and maybe start off saying, 'I'm happy you were able to open up to me," the Hampton University grad said. "That possibly could have changed that whole outcome of how we were aggressive toward each other." For his part, Morton admitted he could have handled the whole situation better, and wishes he hadn't reacted the way he did. "I thought that I was being rejected and I think I counted myself out before she didn't," he said.
Even though Jack owned up to her mistakes, and Morton made nice with her during the "LIB" reunion, she accused of him of bad-mouthing her online and eventually blocked him on social media, per TMZ. In an interview with CNN about the fallout from their storyline, Morton explained, "People say all the time, 'Well you should've known people would react this way,' but it's different when you're receiving death threats."
The chaotic Shaina, Shayne, and Natalie love triangle
Season 2 troublemaker Shaina Hurley accepted Kyle Abrams' proposal in the pods. By the time they made it to Mexico, the hairstylist called it quits with the construction worker due to their religious differences. Hurley also had feelings for Shayne Jansen, despite her engagement, and Jensen was about to marry Natalie Lee. In Episode 6, Hurley told Jansen (via Us Magazine), "You were, like, my number one ... I feel like I'm being portrayed as a villain in your guys' relationship, your guys' f***ing fake-a** relationship."
Just before Lee and Jansen walked down the aisle, they got into a huge fight off-camera that left her in tears. When she asked him how much alcohol he consumed, she claimed he got very angry and told her she was the worst thing that ever happened to him. Speaking with Life & Style, Lee explained she rejected Jansen at the altar because the couple communicated in very different ways. "It's just that when it came to the arguments, that's when our communication styles clashed," the consulting manager said.
But the pair didn't give up on each other that easily. In a 2022 interview on "The Viall Files," Jansen revealed he'd reconnected with Lee several times since "LIB," and added that they were officially done. The real estate broker claimed he attempted to call off the engagement prior to the wedding, purportedly telling her, "You honestly make me feel like I'm not a good person and I'm never gonna be enough for you."
Shake Chatterjee was one of the show's greatest villains
While he does have his share of supporters, Abhishek "Shake" Chatterjee is one of "Love is Blind's" most controversial cast members. Chatterjee and Deepti Vempati got engaged in the pods, but their journey on the show ended at the altar when she told him she deserved a partner who was certain she was the one. The "puppy doc" was open with his fiancee – and anyone who would listen, actually – about their lack of heat.
"Someone who says to me, 'I don't feel an animalistic, instinctual attraction to you' is certainly not husband material," Vempati wrote in her 2022 memoir, "I Choose Myself" (via People.) The entrepreneur claimed that Chatterjee frequently body-shamed her and made inappropriate comments to other women. "He had no filter," she wrote in the biography.
Chatterjee underscored Vampati's point during the reunion special (via The Blast) in a heated exchange with the Lacheys. When Vanessa Lachey told him, "You wanted someone that you wanted to want to f***, not fall in love with," he conceded, "Every woman here is beautiful ... Unfortunately, the only one I'm attracted to is Vanessa and I wish I wasn't. It's nature, baby! We're animals." Nick Lachey then chimed in by sniping, "I can see now why you don't treat human beings," and the war of words went viral. In a since-deleted post on the "Love is Blind" Instagram, the veterinarian addressed Nick directly, writing, "You're a massive t**t for your comment dragging vets."
Zanab Jaffrey called out Cole Barnett's hurtful habits
In one of the series' most dramatic wedding rejections, Zanab Jaffrey told Cole Barnett she couldn't marry him. "You have disrespected me, you have insulted me, you have critiqued me, and for what it's worth, you have single-handedly shattered my self-confidence," she said. During the Season 3 reunion (via People), Jaffrey accused Barnett of trying to control her food intake, which on some days amounted to one banana and a teaspoon of peanut butter. In one clip, he questioned if she was working on her wedding dress bod. However, the realtor responded to Jaffrey's food shaming allegations at the reunion, claiming his then-fiancee stopped eating during the show, but not because of him. "That's hilarious, I never once cared about what you ate," he said (via Us Magazine).
Jaffrey also claimed her weight wasn't the only issue for Barnett. After telling the University of Texas grad she was a "nine out of 10," he ranked fellow cast members Raven Ross and Colleen Reed as perfect "10s." "Oh, we're already off on a bad foot if you don't think I'm a 10 out of 10," Jaffrey told Variety. "It was painful to hear." In a 2022 interview with Us Magazine, Barnett said he regretted how his scorecard of the women on the show may have impacted Jaffrey. "I mean, the rating women thing was really ridiculous to watch," the real estate agent admitted. "I thought that was very disgusting to even be rating people."
SK Alagbada and Raven Ross had a turbulent time
In a Season 3 wedding day shocker, Sikiru "SK" Alagbada told Raven Ross he couldn't marry her. Speaking to Us Magazine about their split, Ross explained, "In some ways, I was definitely shocked," noting that the Nigerian-American MBA student and the Texas-based Pilates instructor came from two different worlds. During the reunion, the former couple broke the news they had reconciled. But things quickly soured between the pair when a woman named Hannah Beth shared a TikTok video suggesting Alagbada may have been fooling around behind Ross' back. In the video, which was viewed several million times, Beth claimed she had proof her relationship with Alagbada dated back to the summer of 2021, around the same time "Love is Blind" was filming.
In the season's final episode of "After the Altar," the couple revealed they were engaged for the second time. Then a disclaimer popped up that read, "A few months later, the engagement ended." Next, we saw Ross on her couch sharing the details of Alagbada's alleged cheating, explaining why looking back at her "Love is Blind" experience had been so difficult. "So to see everything that has happened since then is so hard," said the former dancer (via Cosmopolitan). "Because that was not the person I thought I was with." As for Alagbada, he denied having a relationship with the TikTok star. "She is not my ex," the tech entrepreneur told Life & Style. "The situation between Hannah and I was never formal."
Nancy Rodriguez felt 'blindsided' by Bartise Bowden
"I think that the way he left me at the altar, being blindsided — I needed time to myself to really heal from a broken heart," Season 3's Nancy Rodriquez told Us Weekly about her traumatic wedding day rejection from Bartise Bowden. The fitness buff first showed his true colors during happy hour on their island vacation where the couples mingle with each other. After Bowden got chummy with Raven Ross, he shared with Rodriguez how much he enjoyed meeting the Pilates instructor.
"Raven is like the typical girl I would go after in the real world ... I was like, 'She's a f***ing smoke show,'" he said (via What to Watch). Fans didn't waste any time in dragging Bowden for his insensitive comments to his then-fiancee Rodriquez, with one viewer tweeting, "Bartise flipped as soon as he saw Raven, Nancy deserves [so much] better." In a 2022 interview with People, Bowden explained his relationship with Rodriquez after "LIB" had run the gamut — from not liking each other to being friendly to not speaking at all, and then just acquaintances. While the real estate investor admitted feeling ashamed watching his journey with Rodriquez play out, he added, "I like that journey because I'm able to learn from it and grow from it."
In 2023, Bowden revealed his proudest role yet — fatherhood. "[I] might've been the villain on TV, but I'm gonna be the hero for him," he wrote on Instagram, alongside an adorable pic of himself with his little man.
Love is Blind's disastrous first live streamed reunion
On April 16, 2023, millions of fans tuned in for Netflix's highly anticipated Season 4 live-streamed reunion special. It was a first for "Love is Blind" and only the second attempt for the streaming giant. However, Netflix ran into some technical issues, and viewers were greeted with error messages instead of their reality TV special.
Nick and Vanessa Lachey went live on her Instagram from the set to explain the snafu. "Apparently y'all, everybody broke the internet to see this reunion! So we're ready to roll. We just gotta figure this out," Vanessa said (via ET). Well, they weren't quite ready for prime time. Hours later, Netflix tweeted that the reunion special would be available at 3 p.m. ET on Monday, April 17. The official "Love Is Blind" Twitter account posted, "Love is late. It will be worth it." For those who didn't turn to "Succession" or fall asleep, the Twitterverse lit up with hysterical memes and snarky swipes.
The official Blockbuster Video account wrote, "Remember renting VHS' from us? You could start it on time no problem ... This is what we get." One user tweeted, "We deserve to all share the same password after this." Meanwhile, Bravo couldn't pass up the opportunity for a dig at its rival, tweeting, "We would never keep you waiting for a Reunion." After all the hype, some fans said it wasn't worth their time with the Independent noting that many viewers found it boring.
Zack Goytowski accused Irina Solomonova of seeking fame
Zack Goytowski was torn between two women on the fourth season of "Love is Blind" — Irina Solomonova was one of the show's resident mean girls, while Bliss Poureetezadi baked cupcakes for his birthday. After calling it quits with Poureetezadi, Goytowski got engaged to Solomonova in the pods — however, their relationship started to unravel once she laid eyes on him. In Mexico, the business manager told her fiance he looked like a cartoon character, spurned his attempts to get intimate, and even told her friend Micah Lussier that Zack gave her a bad case of the ick.
During the April 2023 reunion, Zack lit into Irina, who previously apologized for mistreating other cast members. "You did a lot of things that hurt a lot of people, including me," the criminal defense attorney said (via Insider). "If we're real, you went on the show to get famous." After Goytowski and Solomonova parted ways in Mexico, he reconnected with Poureetezadi in Seattle, and they ended up tying the knot on the show. So, why did she take him back?
"He has consistently shown that he's a good man," Bliss told Vulture. "He was very aware that something was off with Irina, so he was trying to figure it out." There was one person who had reservations about the couple's decision to wed so quickly, but her father eventually came around. "He has called me his son," Goytowski shared with ET's Will Marfuggi. "It felt really good, honestly."
Paul told Micah he couldn't see her as a mom
At the altar, Season 4's Paul Peden told Micah Lussier he didn't want to marry her, explaining later that he couldn't see her as a mom. "I think deep down I knew he wasn't going to say yes, and it hurt. It hurt really bad," Lussier told ET about what should have been the happiest day of her life. During the reunion, Peden clarified his comments about her maternal nature. "I think a better way to phrase that is I can't envision us as parents," he said (via Entertainment Weekly).
Lussier, who had expressed her feelings about wanting a family, said, "I felt like it was the worst thing that could be said about me." Vanessa Lachey raked the environmental scientist over the coals about leaving Micha at the altar and the host wound up being dragged for it. "We all know *exactly* what Paul meant when he said Micah wouldn't make a good mom," tweeted one person. "Vanessa Lachey is making drama out of nothing."
In response, Peden told ET, "I think Vanessa might have had a little bit of personal bias in that scenario or at least I kind of detected that." In a separate interview with ET, the marketing manager confirmed she and Peden had briefly reconnected, but she just wants to move forward with her life. "I don't need to hear anymore. It's OK," she said. "I want him to be happy. I want to be happy."
Jackie Bonds' controversial love triangle
Jackelina "Jackie" Bonds and her partner Josh Demas were noticeably absent from the set of the Season 4 reunion due to death threats the couple received, as she revealed in her Instagram stories (via ET Canada). "Netflix decided to keep us safe [and] have us do that one-on-one [interview] with Vanessa." The controversial love triangle that rocked the fourth season of "LIB" started when Bonds and Marshall Glaze got engaged in the pods and ended before they could walk down the aisle.
Their relationship was contentious, and Bonds often challenged Glaze's masculinity. She then accused him of using a transphobic slur against her — which he denied. During the reunion, the marketing manager set the record straight about his reaction to a series of disparaging leaked text messages allegedly from Bonds that questioned his sexual preferences. He claimed that he'd actually told her, "You know, you got a strong jawline. You coulda been a man for all I know" (via Stylecaster).
In episode 10, Bonds skipped her wedding dress fitting to rendezvous with Demas, her other romantic interest from the pods. Later that night, she told Glaze she was ready to move on. Fans had strong feelings about all the drama, and many sided with her ex. Speaking to Today, Bonds explained she and Glaze just weren't a good fit. "I was going down a different road than he was, and he required way more emotion, way more babying, all that."
A former cast member claimed the show 'ruins lives'
Over the course of four seasons, "Love is Blind" fans have followed their favorite singletons looking for someone to treat them right. According to a 2023 Insider report, several cast members say the series mistreated them, with some claiming they were deprived of sleep, or were pressured to stay on the show despite experiencing mental health issues.
Season 2's Danielle Ruhl, who has shared her struggles with depression and anxiety, claimed that producers wouldn't let her leave the set after she had a panic attack. "I kept telling them, 'I don't trust myself. I'm having suicidal thoughts. I don't think I can continue in this,'" she told the outlet. Nick Thompson, who Ruhl married and divorced, echoed the sentiments of a few "LIB" stars who called for more mental health services. "You thrust us into this situation without any support, and everything's amplified," he said. "It literally ruins lives." Season 1's Danielle Drouin said the sleep deprivation was no joke. "I feel like they do it on purpose because they're trying to break you. They want you on your edge."
In a statement published by Entertainment Weekly, Kinetic Content responded, "The well-being of our participants is of paramount importance to Kinetic. We have rigorous protocols in place to care for each person before, during, and after filming." In 2022, Season 2 cast member Jeremy Hartwell filed a similar lawsuit alleging Netflix, Kinetic Content, and casting company Delirium TV fostered unsafe and inhumane working conditions for its cast, per People.
If you or someone you know needs help with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline by dialing 988 or by calling 1-800-273-TALK (8255).
Fans called for Nick and Vanessa Lachey's replacement
After the Season 4 reunion debacle, viewers were exasperated and ticked off. But many felt the co-hosts were the real problem for the hot mess of a show, calling for the Lacheys' ouster. "Netflix needs to swiftly fire Nick and Vanessa. They're clearly biased and [obviously] watched a different show than the rest of us," one person tweeted. "Stop asking these couples when they gonna have babies. It's cringey," another wrote.
A Change.org petition to remove Nick and Vanessa Lachey as hosts and replace them with Season 1's fan-favorite couple Lauren and Cameron Hamilton had garnered more than 43,000 signatures as of May 2023. One month earlier, a Daily Mail source noted there had been rumors about Netflix axing the Lacheys for a while. The insider said the Hamiltons would be more helpful to the cast because they've been through the whole "Love is Blind" social experiment. "People want to relate to the hosts — and at this point, they can't relate to Vanessa or Nick," the source added.
The following day, ET reported that Netflix intended to keep the "NCIS Hawaii" star and the 98 Degrees alum in place as "Love is Blind" hosts. A few days later, Cameron Hamilton seemed to shade Vanessa Lachey for her comments about reproducing. "As a community, can we agree that it's always inappropriate to ask couples when they're gonna have a baby?" he asked in an Instagram video. "Because you don't know what couples are going through at the end of the day."