By now, we know the horrible truth: love isn’t really blind.
The hit reality TV show, which started in the US, came to the UK for the first time this year, with a whole new cast of singletons looking to fall in love with their partner – from behind a screen.
And for those thinking that the change of location would impact the drama, rest easy. Helicopter parents, toxic exes and shock dumpings: the UK version delivered in spades, serving up seemingly everything, including a fairytale ‘happily ever after’ for some of its lucky contestants.
But there was more to come, as the reunion episode proved. What, you thought the action ended at the altar? Nuh-uh! Here are some of the most surprising things we learned in the fraught show finale.
Sabrina and Steven are not together anymore
Yes, it’s true: one of the show’s soppiest pairings is no more. Sabrina and Steven immediately clicked in the pods, became one of the first couples to get engaged and (even better) had a drama-free ride to the altar, where they both said “I do”.
Despite that, things seem to have fallen apart for the pair, and fallen apart messily. Sabrina admitted that she was “really torn” on her wedding day about whether or not to even get married, and added that she wished she had “listened to my intuition a little bit more”.
With Sabrina living in Northern Ireland and Steven in London, the pair blamed the distance and lack of communication on their relationship breaking down. Sabrina claimed Steven only visited her twice, while she visited him seven times.
“You made no adjustments for me!” she said in the show, while Steven hit back, saying he didn’t recognise “the person I thought I married”. Ouch.
Cat has moved on… with another Love is Blind contestant
Let’s face it: Cat and Freddie were always doomed. The run-up to the wedding served up a parade of red flags, so it was no surprise that Freddie said no at the altar, telling Cat that there were "still mountains left for us to climb and lessons for us to learn before fully embracing a lifelong commitment".
But it turns out that although her romance with Freddie didn’t work, there was another man on the show with whom she clicked: Jake Singleton-Hill. Though he barely featured in the show at all, the pair reconnected afterwards.
“I am with someone from the pods. I’m with a guy with a dog, and the dog lives with us,” she told the Bailiwick Express podcast, adding that she initially rejected him due to his attachment to his dog and the fact he was “popular” with the ladies. And she and Freddie seemed remarkably relaxed about their breakup on the reunion episode, even joking about how much time she spent crying in the pods. All’s well that ends well?
Demi has moved on too
Another couple that were always destined for disaster were Demi and Ollie, but fortunately, there was a happy ending of sorts there in the fact that Demi seems to have embraced her life as a single woman.
After rejecting Ollie at the altar, she seems to have gone on a journey of self-validation, spreading awareness about her endometriosis as well as travelling. “Ollie’s a good guy but he’s not my guy,” she explained. “Nobody can give me validation other than myself.”
Just as well: Ollie is apparently now dating fellow contestant Sharlotte. Eek.
Sam is still the villain
Look, somebody’s got to be the bad guy, and for Love is Blind UK, Sam filled those shoes perfectly. His catastrophic relationship with Nicole – which ended under mysterious circumstances after they left the pods – led to him being branded “fame-hungry”, a title he didn’t exactly do much to shake off.
And his appearance in the reunion show proved he might find it hard to change his spots. He talked about how difficult the last few weeks have been, due to the “backlash” he’d experienced – “it's been a lot for anyone to handle, but, I would say it's made me a lot stronger” – and even apologised to Nicole for claiming that she’d wanted to sleep with him. After being prompted by Demi.
"I do apologise, I really do. I really hope we can move forward through this,” he said. We’re not totally convinced.
Some people are still happy
Just when we thought love was dead, here’s a bit of good news: Nicole and Benaiah, as well as Jasmine and Bobby, still seem to be going strong.
Nicole and Benaiah are still very much married, and viewers were even treated to a secret clip of Nicole dancing in the pods after their first date. Jasmine and Bobby, meanwhile, said that they had a “Mr and Mrs Johnson” chopping board in their kitchen, and were even “working on having kids as we speak”. Yikes, but at least Jasmine’s mum is now a fan.
