The “Love Is Blind” cast reunited for the first time since filming wrapped on their chaotic season for Netflix’s live reunion special — despite an hour delay. While it didn’t stream everywhere when it was supposed to, when the reunion did begin, it was filled with drama.
To refresh your memory, here’s who said yes at the altar in the season finale: Tiffany and Brett, Chelsea and Kwame and Bliss and Zack — who, in the biggest twist of the season, first broke up in the pods, but then got engaged after he called it quits with his first fiancée, Irina, when they couldn’t make things work in Mexico.
Micah and Paul were engaged, but he ultimately said no at the altar. And perhaps the most dramatic couple of the season was Jackie and Marshall, who split after an emotional rollercoaster of an engagement period, which culminated in her keeping the ring from Marshall, but rekindling the flame with someone else she dated in the pods, Josh.
During the reunion, hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey, everyone got a chance to tell their sides of the story. Jackie and Josh were not in attendance, but conducted a Zoom interview with Vanessa on Saturday, giving a status update. Scroll through the gallery below for an update from each pair — and Irina — on where they are one year after filming wrapped.
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Kwame Appiah and Chelsea Griffin
Image Credit: SCOTT GREEN/NETFLIX Chelsea and Kwame couldn’t be happier with their marriage, living together in a beautiful apartment in Portland. She also has met his mom and they spent Thanksgiving together.
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Brett Brown and Tiffany Pennywell
Image Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX The fan-favorite duo are still happily married and living in Portland, Oregon.
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Micah Lussier and Paul Peden
Image Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX After the show wrapped, Paul visited Micah in Arizona and they briefly dated but it didn’t work out.
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Irina Solomonova
Image Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX Zack did not hold back when speaking about Irina’s behavior, telling her she did many things that hurt people, claiming viewers only saw “10% of it.” While he said he forgives her, he added, “If we’re real, you went on this show to get famous.”
Still, he begged the audience to have grace, reminding them that everyone makes mistakes. “It has been punishment enough for the entire world to see them at their worst,” he said. “Trust me, Irina, Micah, everybody here who did something. We all did something stupid.”
Irina apologized for the way she treated other cast members and stated that she privately apologized to each person she hurt. She also shared that she was going through a mental health struggle while on the show, to which Bliss responded to: “You did tell me when you landed in Mexico that I dodged a bullet while you also texted him, ‘I’m so sorry, let’s talk. I hope something happens with you and Bliss.’ I think you can have panic attacks and you can have trouble with mental illness and all of that. That’s totally valid. But then you’re turning around and you’re doing malicious things and you’re acting in really cruel ways. It’s hard to reconcile those two things.”
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Zack Goytowski and Bliss Poureetezadi
Image Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX Despite the drama from the show, Bliss and Zack are happily married and have “100%” forgiven Irina for her behavior.
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Josh Demas and Jackie Bonds
Image Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX While they couldn’t attend the reunion live, Josh and Jackie gave a status update via zoom, sharing that they’ve been together since the show wrapped a year ago. Jackie stated that she broke up with Marshall before seeing Josh, despite how the show made it seem; she also shed light on their split, claiming that Marshall called her a “derogatory name,” and although it was a joke, it led to a fight and he left for three days. She also said Marshall wanted the ring back to propose to another castmate.
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Marshall Glaze
Image Credit: COURTESY OF NETFLIX In response to Jackie’s video, Marshall revealed that the comment he made was while they were joking around, but he still took accountability. He owned up to saying, “You got a strong jawline. I mean, like, you could’ve been a man for all I know,” but claimed he “did not use a derogatory term,” adding, “That word is not in my vocabulary.”
Marshall also denied wanting the ring back to propose to another member of the cast. “I felt like she didn’t deserve to have that symbol of my love,” he said. “I did not want to propose to anybody else.”
He did connect with castmate Kacia after his breakup with Jackie, but they went only went on one date as he wasn’t ready.
During the reunion, Marshall said he felt “slighted” for the second time that Jackie and Josh didn’t attend (the first was during the season, since they didn’t make it to the altar). However, he’s hopeful to put their relationship in the past: “There’s a lot that’s going into this and I’m just going to direct this to the public. At this point, this is not about Jackie and Marshall anymore. Let that be bygones… Let them move on, let me move on and just forget it. Jackie and Josh are happy. She’s happy. I’m happy. Let it die.”