Love Is Blind star Irina Solomonova has issued an apology after receiving backlash for her behaviour on the reality show.
Following the season four premiere of the Netflix reality dating series, the 26-year-old business owner received criticism from viewers, who claimed she acted like a “mean girl” on the show. Now, Solomonova has apologised to both Zack Goytowski – whom she was engaged to in the pods – and fans of Love Is Blind for “the way that [she] was mistreating people on the show”.
In a video posted to Instagram and TikTok on 2 April, Solomonova explained that she was delayed in responding to fans’ criticism because she wanted to “really get my thoughts together” before issuing a statement.
“I want to start off by saying sorry that this video is a little delayed. I really wanted to take some time to process everything that has been going on this past week and really get my thoughts together before I responded,” she began the clip. “The first thing I want to say is that I have privately apologised to the people that I have hurt and mistreated. Second of all, I wanted to say I’m so, so sorry for the people that watched the show that felt frustrated, angry, and hurt by the way that I was mistreating people on the show. It was very immature and naive of me in a lot of those situations.”
The business owner then directed her apology to her fellow Love Is Blind contestants – including Goytowski, Bliss Poureetezadi, Amber Wilder, Jackelina Bonds, and Micah Lussier – for her interactions with them on the show. “Even Zack,” Solomonova added. “He was so vulnerable with me and I mistreated him and shut him out.”
“I’m genuinely so, so sorry,” she said. “I want to add value to people and I want to make people feel seen and who I was on the show was the compete, exact opposite of that person.”
Solomonova admitted that being on Love Is Blind was like “getting a mirror put in front of your face” and allowed her to see herself from “a different perspective”. While she explained that she’s still “processing and going through everything that happened” during her time on the show, Solomonova said that she wants “to move forward” and “figure out the person that I want to be”.
“I hope that one day I get to share my experience and what was kind of going on with me emotionally during that experience, but until then I just appreciate you for watching this and listening to this,” Solomonova concluded the apology video. “Thank you.”
Warning: Spoilers for season four of Love Is Blind below.
The fourth season of Love Is Blind premiered on 24 March with a new cast of Seattle-based singles looking for love. This season, Brett Brown and Tiffany Pennywell were the first couple to get engaged in the pods, followed by Micah Lussier and Paul Peden. Kwame Appiah and Chelsea Griffin were also engaged in the pods, along with Marshall Glaze and Jackelina Bonds, and Zack Goytowski and Irina Solomonova.
In episode two, Solomonova and Lussier sparked criticism from viewers when they eavesdropped on fellow cast member Wilder after she was dumped by Peden, who eventually proposed to Lussier in the pods. Meanwhile, Solomonova received backlash for calling Goytowski “creepy” and saying he looked like a “cartoon character” once they met in-person.
Solomonova isn’t the only Love Is Blind cast member to apologise for her on-screen behaviour. Lussier took to Instagram on 28 March to apologise for her “emotional immaturity” in the first five episodes of Love Is Blind as well.
“I have apologised privately to the people that were hurt on the show by my hands. I would like to apologise publicly,” she wrote on her Instagram story. “An emotional immaturity was shown and I will grow from it.”
“To the viewers I’ve hurt, I’m sorry I’ve triggered so many of you with my behaviour. See that person on the screen would make me feel the same anger,” she continued. “As to my comments being turned off: I will turn them on in time. I am doing my best to protect my mental health (deserved or not). It has always been something I’ve struggled with, and I know I can not better myself if I’m more unwell mentally. I hope you understand that I am taking accountability privately.”
“I promise to do better in the future,” Lussier ended the statement.
Although Solomonova said yes to Goytowski’s proposal, things took a turn when the newly engaged couple finally met in-person and travelled to Mexico with the other engaged couples. The pair tried to make things work, but ultimately decided the emotional connection they formed in the pods couldn’t withstand the real world. In episode six, Goytowski returned to Seattle where he told former fling Poureetezadi that he made a mistake. By the end of episode seven, the two were engaged.
The first five episodes of Love Is Blind season four premiered on Friday 24 March, followed by the episodes six through eight on 31 March. The next three episodes will drop on 7 April, ultimately leading up to the season finale on 14 April.
