Well, Love Is Blind actually did produce a ton of strong relationships this season … they just weren’t romantic. Platonic alliances show up in full force in this reunion. Garrett is a boy’s boy (?) who says he has Tyler’s back and doesn’t comment on what he did or didn’t hear from Nick. Several women join forces to defend Hannah. We’ve got friends praising each other’s “high-level thinking,†whispering commentary in each other’s ears, and taking shots at one another’s exes. The cast definitely feels like the driving force of this 90-minute sit-down. And yes, there were moments when I leaned in! I still wish the balance of power tipped further toward the Lacheys. I’d trade every single one of their puns for some more pointed questions and follow-ups. It doesn’t seem like Netflix will ever get rid of indulgent updates from past seasons, so we might as well try to be as efficient as possible with the time we have with the current cast.
Let’s get into what we do learn, though. Our two married couples are still together. Garrett and his longer hair took Taylor spearfishing, so you know it’s serious. Ashley and Tyler say they’re also happy, but they miss “the bubble†before everyone chimed in on their relationship.
That leads us to Tyler’s take on his sperm-donor story. He claims that he lied on-camera about his level of involvement with “those kids†because he didn’t want to bring attention to people who didn’t sign up to be in the public eye. Ashley rubs his knee as he adds that he doesn’t owe anyone but her an explanation. Not even the family in question? It seems like the kids’ mother and maternal grandmother started speaking out because they felt blindsided. I understand wanting to protect the privacy of the kids, but what about protecting them from being hurt that he was denying their history together on TV?
Regarding pictures that are circulated online, Tyler says he spends holidays with all his friends and their kids. Ashley reminds us that Tyler was raised by a single mom and might’ve had trouble not stepping in and blurring lines. Sure, but the mother has claimed that her second pregnancy with twins was unplanned and not a donor situation. Do you sleep with someone just because you want to be a good friend? Perhaps Ashley anticipates that we might still wonder how much she knows. Her answer is simple: everything. In fact, she declares that anyone who thinks she might not know the whole story is insulting her intelligence. Of course she knew those kids had seen Tyler. He just didn’t want to talk about them on-camera, but she couldn’t pretend that nothing happened. So as a compromise, they apparently decided that he would just … present another version of events and hope no one would find out? Couldn’t they have just said that the situation was sensitive and that he shared more context about his role with Ashley off-camera for privacy reasons? Anyway, Vanessa concludes this segment by reminding viewers that we weren’t there. Silly us!
Next up in the lukewarm seat: Marissa and Ramses. (I never had a problem with his hair, but I’m sure some people are celebrating that he cut it.) Marissa immediately tears up when asked how it was to watch the breakup. Ramses insists that he was genuinely looking for love, and Marissa’s mom rolls her eyes. He says he realized if he moved forward, he would feel “exhausted and overwhelmed†every day. Ouch. It sounds like Marissa whispers to Hannah, “I think I hate him.†We learn that Marissa’s mom came in person to try to convince Ramses not to call it off on the day of the breakup but is now thankful he ended it. She says he should’ve been “man enough†to express doubt instead of constantly reassuring Marissa. Ramses claims to take “full accountability†for not saying anything sooner … but it definitely sounds like he still believes that he couldn’t have figured it out sooner, so that’s not super satisfying.
The one thing Ramses does want to clear up is contraception. He claims that he never issued an ultimatum or whined about not wanting to use a condom. According to Ramses, they had a “nuanced conversation†about different methods and found a solution. In lieu of asking him or Marissa any further questions, the Lacheys crack a joke about wrapping it up.
Onto Hannah and Nick. Hannah says she can be bitchy and is sorry for being “so cruel,†but she still thinks what she said was true. (Garrett says he was impressed by Nick’s patience.) Nick starts to say viewers have been too harsh to a teary Hannah for expressing her opinions, but she cuts him off to ask why he’s liking hate comments. She then begins building an argument that he’s a “calculated†person who had ulterior motives behind his on-camera behavior. Her main proof is an entry in his work notebook that declared that one of his goals was to become “the most famous person ever on Love Is Blind.†(Hannah thinks he wrote this two weeks before filming; Nick says this was a 90-day goal set long before the show.) Allegedly, after the reveal, he also called her a “grenade†behind her back and rated her a five out of ten.
Nick claims that he came and stayed for love and never mentioned Hannah’s looks once. At this point, Marissa’s loyalty to Hannah really shines through. It turns out that Marissa also dated Nick in the pods, and she’s got more smoke for this ex than for Ramses. Garrett, one of the multiple people Marissa claims can attest to Nick’s comments about Hannah’s appearance, says this conversation is “extremely immature†and he’s “counting seconds until we move past it.†But we’re nowhere near done. Marissa acknowledges that Hannah can be “mean†— she’s been on the receiving end, in fact — but says she’s tired of people viewing Nick as a perfect golden retriever. After Stephen and Ramses co-sign Marissa’s claim, Nick admits that he said he was underwhelmed (but still denies the “grenade†comment). When Nick asks why Hannah asked to hang out a month after the show if she thinks so negatively of him, Marissa declares that she hooked up with Ramses after their breakup, too. (Her mom does not look amused.)
Whether you like it or not, Hannah is definitely a main character, because we still have more to hear from her. She apologizes to Katie, whom she’s still friends with, and assures her that she does trust her. I’m with Marissa’s mom when she whispers, “She made you feel like shit for a whole year?†Hannah could send Katie some flowers back, I think.
Brittany and Leo make a late entrance. He admits that he talked about money too much and apologizes to both Brittany and Hannah. Maybe it’s because he can afford a PR person to help him practice, but apart from an unnecessary pasta-and-steak analogy, he actually comes off pretty well. Remember when people thought he was the biggest villain of the season? Meanwhile, Brittany actually wishes Leo kissed her more during the reunion to shut her up (her words!) and wasn’t surprised that they didn’t make it to Mexico. They realized they weren’t romantically compatible in Miami — apparently, he would always sip from her drink — but they’re now good friends who talk for an hour a day on the phone. Brittany is dating someone, but Leo is not.
Meanwhile, Stephen has been itching to talk all night, to Monica’s visible disgust, and it’s finally his turn. He says he takes full responsibility for his fuck-up. They talked about it over dinner after the show, and he wrote a letter apologizing to her parents. Monica definitely seems to have cooled on that “he’s actually a good person†attitude she had at the Gatsby party. She questions why he brought that letter up, and Stephen starts getting defensive. He checked out books! He went to therapy! “How much more responsibility do I have to take?†he asks.
Now, there is a picture of him at a sleep study. For the record, I don’t think the issue was whether he went to one. It was whether he could get wasted enough during a medical study for those texts to be a drunken mistake like he initially claimed. Stephen doesn’t mention alcohol when he recalls someone texting him about a heart condition and then bringing up fetishes. He says he was curious about the topic switch, entertained the conversation, and then didn’t delete the messages because he felt like he “emotionally conquered a demon†by putting his phone down. He makes it sound like this was the first time he ever spoke to this random person, but Monica gets him to admit that he’s known her for years online. (Stephen has teased on social media that he will be addressing post-reunion questions you still have, so if you’re somehow interested in hearing more from this man, you know what to do.)
The last couple up is Alex and Tim. They both clarify that she did not physically assault him during that argument in Mexico. But they disagree about basically everything else. Alex explains that she was feeling down because her dad was admitted to a rehab facility three weeks before she left, but claims that Tim wouldn’t give her space in the hotel bathroom where this all went down. She alleges that he got so angry that producers had to step in, while he maintains that he never yelled. She reveals that she said he was “acting like a little-ass bitch.†When Tim responds with a “y’all ask men to take you seriously …†comment, I can almost see a podcast mic materializing in front of his mouth.
They rehash her controversial nap, which she says she took in between spending all day with his parents and a six-hour bartending shift. As they argue, Tim continues to feel berated and disrespected. (Brittany interjects that he has no room to talk when he’s been laughing at everything Alex says.) Alex feels like Tim played in her dad’s face for getting his blessing, then telling her three hours later that he was having doubts about their relationship. Tim argues that he gave his all for her family because she asked him to, then didn’t get the same effort back. This conversation is going nowhere, and Vanessa finally says these two may need to speak privately afterward. “I don’t think we do at all,†Tim says.
The Lacheys try to pivot to something lighter. Tim talks about the brotherhood in the cast, the women mention taking a girls’ trip together, and we also get a few final updates from our married couples: Taylor and Garrett tried living in San Diego, but it was too difficult for him to be away from family and friends. Taylor says when you get married, you become a unit, and her home is with Garrett now — they’ve been living in Fredericksburg but will soon move to D.C. Meanwhile, Ashley is reminded that Tyler hasn’t gotten her name tattooed. He and Ashley have started an ornament tradition and spent the holidays with Ashley’s family last year.
Love Is Blind season eight, set in Minneapolis, will drop on Valentine’s Day 2025. Three participants wave at us, Vanessa makes one last “wrap it up†joke, and everyone raises a golden cup for Leo’s toast. That’s it! God, are we really ready to do this again in just a few months?
Extra Engaged
• Here’s what we learned about past LIB-bers. AD from season six is “thriving†and privately seeing a “very special someone.†Season-four couple Zack and Bliss have welcomed a daughter, Galileo (Lee Ann Womack sent them a wombat and baby outfits). Season one’s Jessica introduces us to her husband, whom she met right before lockdown. We see their 2022 wedding and their son, Dax. Season three’s Nancy has moved to New York and is dating, while Marshall from season four is single in L.A.
• When I watched, there weren’t captions for any whispered lines. Did Tim mutter something about “bullshit� Was Marissa advising Hannah on what to say? I love that Netflix left the mics on, but I felt like I was missing out.