Spoilers for the Love is Blind season 7 finale ahead. Season 7 of Netflix's flagship reality TV show Love is Blind ends its pod-dating segment with the maximum number of couples the show can handle. (We know this because one of its standout couples, Leo and Brittany, wasn't even followed for the rest of the season.) Among the six couples, Ashley Adionser and Tyler Francis mostly stuck to the background at the start of the series, thanks to being relatively drama-free in both the pods and the first days of their Mexico getaway.
However, everything changed once off-screen drama began to eclipse their televised love story. Below, read on for our breakdown of Ashley and Tyler's journey on Love is Blind season 7, the allegations against Tyler, and any clues of whether they're still together after the show.
What happened between Ashley and Tyler on 'Love is Blind' season 7?
Ashley, a 32-year-old marketing director, means business when she enters the pods. Her time on season 7 starts with her sharing her determination to have a lasting marriage, after seeing her mother go through two divorces. So, when she meets Tyler, a 34-year-old account manager and military veteran, she quickly gets into some get-to-know-you questions, and makes a note in his favor when she discovers he's a man who loves to cook. But what makes him stick out in her mind is when Tyler admits that he's nervous and that her voice calms him. Ashley appreciates that he's willing to be vulnerable and share how he feels. Later in the men's lounge, Tyler says that talking to Ashley feels like "bliss."
In the pods, Tyler and Ashley seem to have one of the meant-to-be edits of the season (along with Taylor and Garrett). They're both the type to make breakfast for the rest of the rest of the group, and they both ride horses. They cry together through the pod wall when Tyler opens up about his childhood struggles; his mother, who was Serbian, struggled to put food on the table after she was disowned by her father for having children outside of her race. After that emotional moment, Tyler and Ashley quickly become boyfriend and girlfriend, and they keep bonding as their dates go well. They swap blankets, Tyler recites a prayer he wrote for them, and he says, "I love you," during a music-sharing date. (We don't get a lot of Ashley-specific moments besides her "mmm-hmm" in agreement, which is just a case of disappointing editing.)
By episode 3, it's both Tyler's birthday and the engagement date. (Though they may have moved up the proposal since neither of them is dressed up like the others.) Ashley's proposal speech is about Tyler wearing his heart on his sleeve, and her taking a leap of faith with him. Tyler, on bended knee, says that she makes him feel safer than ever before; he passes out on the floor after she says yes. It's like their pods got transported into an iconic rom-com, and the vibe continues when they're all smiles during the in-person reveal. Tyler also goes, "Damn!" after seeing Ashley, which is the reaction all these men should have.
Once Tyler and Ashley arrive in Mexico, it becomes clearer by the moment that they also have physical attraction. They spend the rest of their getaway talking about how much they love each other and how sure they are that they're getting married and having a pod baby, but there's also one weird moment. It comes near the start of episode 6, when they sit down to eat the pasta they just handmade. Tyler says he's glad he's experiencing Ashley at this point in her life, but then he adds that this is also a great point to meet him, cause "whew... she'd have hated him." He continues, "Just prepare. There'll be people like, 'He is not that nice.' Like, 'I wasn't nice to y'all. Y'all didn't give me a reason to be nice.'"
The rest of the conversation is about protecting what they have and shutting out any haters or anyone who would call them "crazy." Ashley even says she will shut down her mom if she's negative about it. Despite Tyler's brief yellow-flag moment, the couple wraps up their Mexico getaway with a camel-riding date and a cute chat about creating new holiday traditions.
Back in D.C., Ashley and Tyler's scenes are more of the same. More thoughtful prayers from Tyler (now before bedtime in their shared apartment), more "we're definitely getting married" vibes. Ashley says she "welcomes his opinions" on their wedding but she's taking the reins, and in response, he gets to choose their future boy's name. The big family-meeting moment shows Tyler meeting Ashley's father. Her dad grills him, but all of Tyler's answers are thoughtful and genuine, and both he and Ashley talk about how safe and protected they make each other feel. In a private moment, Tyler asks for Ashley's hand-in-marriage, and Ashley's dad answers, "Absolutely."
Episode 9 starts with Ashley and Tyler at the apartment, discussing Tyler's fur baby Kobe, and their future family. He tries to get her to agree to have seven kids, but Ashley won't go higher than three (specifically two, but if she has two boys, she'll have another to get her girl). Tyler's also so eager to have kids now—making the reveal at the end of the episode even wilder.
Okay, there is a lot to unpack. It turns out that the ominous preview that Netflix released featuring a confused Ashley comes after Tyler drops a truly out-of-the-blue bombshell off-screen. Tyler had not divulged, neither in the pods nor in Mexico, that he already has three children(!). She points out that he's been running around and talking about how they were getting married and having children "every day," without revealing this essential information that Ashley "should have known before agreeing to say yes."
According to what's depicted in Love is Blind, Tyler's side of the story is that he was a "sperm donor" for a lesbian couple he knows, which resulted in three children. During their chat in episode 9, he hadn't shown Ashley any documentation or anything about being involved in their lives. Ashley tells him in that scene, "I’m not upset by you trying to help a couple have kids. I think that’s admirable in certain ways, but the issue comes in with me feeling like I was not getting the full picture of you... Me being a single woman before this, to come into a scenario, to fall in love with a guy who has three sperm-donor babies is a lot to absorb, and the wedding is in like two weeks."
In episode 10, the couple discusses more of the details. (They're wearing the same clothes, so it appears that the conversation continued into the night.) Tyler explains that it "felt good" to do a good deed for his friend, and when asked whether the kids know what he looks like, he answers, "I don't think so." Ashley responds that all they can do is take things hour by hour, and reasons she's trying to make it work because she loves him so much. Tyler even says he'll sleep on the couch and give her the space she needs.
Over the rest of the show, we see Ashley slowly regain her trust in Tyler (though the editing remains light on scenes of the pair, considering all the other drama going on). At the pod reunion party, Ashley tells the other women that Tyler "donated sperm a few years ago for a gay couple that he knew, and they have kids." She's clear again that the problem is him not being upfront about it in the pods, but she also points out that he "fights for her," and that she never gets "sick of him." By episode 11, Ashley and Tyler are going on a go-karting date and discuss how it would feel if the kids eventually came into their lives. (Ashley brings this up, not Tyler.)
Ashley continues the chat by telling Tyler that she wants him in her life no matter what, adding, "It's not what I intended for myself, but I feel like it's worth the reward, which is you... We're getting married." And from there, it's a wrap. They go on separate, emotional fittings. They go skydiving for their final date before the wedding, something that Ashley has always dreamed of, and Tyler, afraid of heights, had agreed to in the pods. There's some editing tension on the wedding day, where Tyler gets emotional and cries with his mom ahead of the ceremony. Still, it's no surprise when they both get to the end of the aisle and say, "I do."
What allegations have come out against Tyler after 'Love is Blind' season 7?
After weeks of rumors and speculation, the mother of Tyler's three children, Bri Thomas, posted a series of Instagram Reels on October 19, sharing more details on the allegations. According to Thomas, Tyler was her best friend and initially served as a sperm donor for herself and her wife. However, after she and her wife separated briefly before the first child was born, Tyler allegedly asked if he could co-parent their kid because he didn't want his son to be raised by a single mother as Tyler was. Thomas agreed, and at that point, she claims, Tyler was "considered a father" to the child.
She explained that she and Tyler's twins were unplanned and conceived naturally before their eldest child turned 1. She claims that he supported her throughout, and after the twins' birth, the pair allegedly lived together for over a year giving the three children in a two-parent household. However, she also clarifies that they were never in a romantic relationship and continued to date other people.
Thomas also claims that she supported Tyler going on Love is Blind and that he allegedly visited her and the kids the day before he left for the show to say goodbye. She claims that she and Tyler were in touch after he returned from Mexico, but it didn't become clear why he was distant until he allegedly deleted his Facebook where he would post pictures of the kids. Thomas says she is currently fighting for back child support that Tyler owes, and that Tyler allegedly hasn't spoken to or seen the kids since the day before season 7 began filming.
"I can’t wrap my head around why he felt the best way to do that would be to cut off the kids," Thomas said of Tyler's narrative on the show. "Then, to make matters worse, lie on national television and say they’re merely sperm babies and they don’t know what he looks like."
Have Ashley and Tyler responded to the allegations after 'Love is Blind' season 7?
As of the season 7 finale's premiere on October 23, Tyler has not directly responded to Thomas's allegations, and it is unknown whether he will address them on season 7's reunion on October 30. However, Ashley has defended Tyler in responses to Instagram comments that brought up the allegations.
As reported by Glamour, in response to one comment calling Tyler "foul" and "a whole daddy," Ashley wrote, "Do you know him personally to spread such slander about my cast mate?" She continued, "Regardless of the choice I make. I'll do whatever is best for me the same way I assume you live your life. Food for thought before I go beware of social media and the alleged unauthenticated 'proof' you speak of. I pray that you'll attempt to lead with kindness moving forward."
Are Ashley and Tyler still together after 'Love is Blind' season 7?
The Love is Blind season 7 couples are still keeping their relationship status under wraps until the October 30 reunion. However, it seems Ashley and Tyler are still newlyweds, based on Ashley's defense of Tyler and how they still follow each other on social media.
Meanwhile, Tyler has spoken out about his actions in the series. In an October 9 interview, he told E! News that he has "no regrets" about his experience on Love is Blind and would "not really change anything" about his time in the pods.
"There’s maybe a couple conversations that could’ve been had at a certain time, who knows?" he added. "I can’t sit back and wish that I could change something. I’m living in the present."
In a separate interview with the outlet, Ashley also said she "wouldn't change a thing" about her time on the show, adding, "I said what I said. Did what I did." She shared her belief that learning from the past can lead to personal growth.
"I don’t care if you’ve been together for 50 years. Everyone’s evolving and changing," she said, "and the more your life changes, the more you evolve and change. It’s a never-ending cycle."
