love is blind reunion

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Everything we learned from the ‘Love is Blind’ reunion special

More drama than you can shake a stick at!

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Stacey Ritzen

Internet Culture

Posted on Mar 5, 2020   Updated on May 19, 2021, 3:40 pm CDT

It’s now been a week since Netflix dropped the highly anticipated wedding finale episode of Love is Blind. Fans finally learned which couples eventually made it down the aisle after getting engaged, sight-unseen, in an episode that definitely brought a few surprises and plenty of tears. But given that filming of the reality series took place in late 2018, an even bigger question on everyone’s minds is what happened after the weddings. Thankfully, we now have the Love is Blind reunion special to answer those burning questions.

Love is Blind reunion: What we learned

Relationships are hard enough work as it is—not to mention, when a couple’s entire courtship, engagement, and wedding are filmed for a reality dating series. Given these fishbowl-like circumstances, it has got to be a huge reality shock for those involved, once the cameras stop rolling. As predicted, several of the couples incredibly managed to eke out the first year of wedded (or wedded-adjacent) bliss. But there were still plenty of revelations found in the Love is Blind reunion, so let’s get to unpacking.

Lauren and Cameron are still #CoupleGoals

love is blind reunion lauren cameron

The undisputed MVPs of Love is Blind couples were obviously Lauren Speed and Cameron Hamilton. And yes, Lauren and Cameron put on very much the united front during the Love is Blind reunion special. Despite Lauren’s initial reservations about maintaining her independence, it was clear that she was still head-over-heels in love with Cameron, and vice versa.

“After you get married you continue to evolve with each other,” said Lauren (channeling Marge Simpson’s Chanel suit, in the best way), of her new life with her spouse.

And that apparently goes both ways. Although Cameron told his mother that he would never date a woman who wanted dogs, the couple is now the proud parents of a furbaby named “Spark” after their unconventional l0ve story.

“She knew it was true love because I told her, ‘Yeah, we’re gonna get a dog,’ and that was something we agreed on,” elaborated Cameron. “She was sold, she knew it was true love.”

They’re also kicking around the idea of biological children in the near future, for those of us (*ahem*) wondering about the beautiful babies they would make. “Our kids could look like anything,” said Lauren. “It could be Drake, it could be Barack Obama [sic] child. One day.”

Amber definitely wants to murder Jessica

love is blind reunion amber barnett

The most entertaining part of the Love is Blind reunion special, hands down, was Amber addressing Jessica’s various shenanigans during filming. Specifically, Jessica continuing to throw herself at Barnett well beyond their time in the pods, and well beyond engagements.

Amber handled herself appropriately, having since seen all this play out on the reality series. LOL, JK, she called Jessica *checks notes, puts on bifocals* a … “shiesty bitch.”

Barnett’s expression is everything you need to see here, although Lauren and Cameron definitely deserve an honorable mention. (Barnett! You knew what you were getting into!)

In what will also undoubtedly come as a huge surprise, marriage has not been as easy-breezy for Amber and Barnett as it has for Lauren and Cameron. After hanging Jessica out to dry (and even rejecting her apology!) Amber admitted that marriage has not been all sunshine and roses.

Later, in spite of Barnett’s claims that “all we do is have fun,” the two confessed that they nearly divorced during their first year of marriage. Something about Barnett being uncomfortable with Amber (and Amber’s new boobs, probably) being a cocktail waitress; and eventually Amber becoming financially dependent on Barnett (shocker, we know) after he ostensibly forced her to quit her cocktail waitress job. (It’s all a bit fuzzy!)

Either way, people saw this revelation as giving #TeamJessica a moment of fleeting hope.

https://twitter.com/BuyAnotherCouch/status/1235498651549462528

Amber also admitted that Barnett’s bachelor life took some getting used to (“y’all saw how he liked to flirt with people!”) and that it took them a while to figure out how to “hang out and party together.”

Good luck, you crazy kids! You are definitely, definitely going to need it.

Mark is a single, stone-cold catch (hello!)

love is blind reunion mark

While we’re on the subject of Jessica, aka “Messica,” the 34-year-old’s former 24-year-old fiancé, fitness instructor Mark Cuevas, says he harbors no resentment or regrets about his time on the reality show. Even after all the nonsense that Jessica put him through, he’s not even mad.

Not even a little mad, as a treat!

“We were just two people trying to figure it all out,” answered Mark, when asked about how he now feels about the experiment. “We got engaged in 10 days and I think that you get into this situation and maybe we just, even myself, didn’t realize how much all of it was, how intense it was. We were just trying to figure it out, and she is a phenomenal woman*.”

[* citation needed]

“A year-and-a-half has gone by and I still learned so many values and still have so much respect for you,” he continued, before personally addressing Jessica. “No matter what happened and what went down, I’ve become a better man. I know you are introspective, and I know you’ve done the same thing and I couldn’t be more thankful to go through it with someone like you.”

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9W-Kn5hnsr/

Mark is single, for all you ladies out there. Added bonus if you know how to cook an authentic Italian beef sandwich.

Carlton proposes an … apology (??) to Diamond

carlton diamond

For those that recall, Diamond Jack and Carlton Morton were the sole pair who left the pods engaged, but couldn’t make it past Mexico. This was mostly due to the fact that Carlton was harboring the secret of his bisexuality—something he had decided to unburden his soul to Diamond after having already proposed to her. Yikes!

This was understandably a huge revelation to Diamond, which she needed time to process. In return, Carlton essentially called her a bitch and hucked her engagement ring in the pool.

However, now he’s had time to think, Carlton now realizes that he may have been a bit hasty in his dealing with the situation. So as a good-faith gesture, the 34-year-old got down on one knee to apologize to his would-be bride and return her engagement ring. For her part, Diamond gracefully accepted both ring and apology, and all that’s left to say is good luck to Carlton on his next reality TV endeavor.

Kelly knows she done fucked up

kelly love is blind reunion

Kelly Chase and Kenny Barnes, initially the safest and most boring couple on Love is Blind, failed to make their union official—either on paper or by consummating the relationship. In the Love is Blind reunion, we learned that Kenny—ever the eloquent gentleman—is in a happy and stable relationship with another woman who is not Kelly. And, much like Mark, he claims to have no regrets about filming the show.

“I think about all of the takeaways that I went through on the show, I’ve applied to my current relationship, and I’ve been able to be vulnerable, and I’ve received it,” Kenny told hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey.

“My takeaway at this point is that I am not embarrassed by anything, and that is why I am supposed to be here, is to hopefully impact others, and make them feel supported, in times of fear and doubt,” he continued, “‘Cause there’s nothing you can’t overcome.”

This insight led Mrs. Lachey to declare “Kenny for president,” and—not to get off track, here—but we could honestly do worse?

When it was her turn to open up, Kelly mostly just blubbered the crocodile tears of a woman who knows damn well she let one of the Good Ones slip right through her friend-zoning fingers. For her part, she claimed through puffy red eyes that she had wanted to continue the journey of dating Kenny and getting to know one another—but that ultimately she was happy for him in his new relationship.

Twitter, on the other hand, reacted with a heaping pile of “Sure, Jan.”

https://twitter.com/pathetic__g/status/1235503656901971969

https://twitter.com/zaynlove2016/status/1235485246100893696

Damian and Giannina are (mostly) still figuring it out

Damian G

The most volatile couple on the show, as well as the couple with the most dramatic wedding breakup, Damian Powers and Giannina Gibelli confirmed basically the worst kept secret on the Love is Blind reunion. Somehow, for some reason, the pair continued their relationship after the show. And they’re still going, over one year strong!

Both delivered tearful apologies to one another—Damian, for the whole “leaving Giannina at the altar thing,” and Giannina, for telling the entire world that Damian is bad at sex. Also, for what it’s worth, Giannina said that her family has forgiven Damian, but it’s unclear if his family has yet come around to his reality TV girlfriend.

In either case, we can probably all agree that Giannina is still tremendously out of Damian’s league.

You can watch the full Love is Blind reunion special, below:

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*First Published: Mar 5, 2020, 3:24 pm CST

Stacey Ritzen

Stacey Ritzen is a reporter and editor based in West Philadelphia with over 10 years' experience covering pop culture, web culture, entertainment, and news. You can follow her on Twitter @staceyritzen.

Stacey Ritzen