Love Is Blindseason 8’s reunion packed a bigger punch than the previous 13 episodes, and it singlehandedly redeemed the show. The eighth installment of the series took place in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, a bigger city with a small-town feel. In fact, Minneapolis is so insular thatLauren O’Brien’s friend with benefitslived in the same apartment building where filming was taking place. While Lauren and Dave Bettenburg’s relationship couldn’t be salvaged,Taylor Haag and Daniel Hastings' Instagram dramaturned out to be nothing.
Love Is Blindseason 8wasn’t as exciting as previous iterations, but the wedding episode still had some shocking moments. Monica Danus said no to Joey Leveille at the altar after not feeling romantic love from him throughout the season. Meanwhile, Virginia Miller shocked Devin Buckley and his family when she asserted her values and rejected him.Sara Carton and Ben Mezzenga’s political beliefswere their ultimate demise, and Taylor and Daniel were the only couple to say yes on the big day. Here are some surprising moments from the reunion.
8Ben Ghosted Sara After The Show
He Sent Her Scripted Apologies
Ben seemed blindsided by Sara when she said no at the altar, and he was even more surprised when she said, “We’ll see,” as a response to his desire to continue to date. However, Sara revealed at the reunion that they did continue dating (despite their seemingly different political and religious beliefs), even planning to live in Nashville together during her travel nurse contract. According to Sara, after she left for Nashville, he took her off Find My Friends and completely ghosted her.
It was surprising that Sara and Ben stayed together after the weddings, but it was more shocking that Ben ghosted her rather than traveling to Nashville as allegedly promised.
Ben tried to defend himself by saying he thought they had broken up, but it was clear that Sara felt differently. She also alleged thatBen reached out toLove Is Blindseason 6’s Jimmy Presnell, who advised him to be on good terms with Sara for the reunion. He sent her a “scripted apology” and allegedly asked to rehearse reunion questions. Given Sara’s facial expressions and apparent hives, it seems she was being honest, and Ben was dodging questions. It was a shocking twist for Ben’s character.
7Virginia Showed Her True Colors
The Baby Voice Disappeared
Virginia was known as the soft-spoken doctor with a constant head tilt inLove Is Blindseason 8, but she showed her true colors at the reunion. She shocked everyone when she said no to Devin at the altar in episode 13, but it turns out their conversations (or lack thereof) regarding political and religious beliefs irked her more than she led on at the moment.Virginia completely outed Devinwhen she said that she wouldn’t expose his beliefs but then said she believed in a woman’s right to choose, LGBTQ+ rights, and the validity of other religions.
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It’s unclear what Devin believes since he asserted in his response that he “loves everyone” as a Christian. The check situation also rubbed Virginia the wrong way, which was unsurprising given her insistence on a prenup. Devin and Virginia could have been a solid match, but she had to follow her gut. It was a welcome surprise to hear Virginia say her actual opinions with her full chest.
6Mason & Meg Broke Up
They’re Still Best Friends
Meg Fink and Mason Horacek showed up to the cast gathering together, proving that conspiracy theorists will always find each other. Their reveal video was super cute, and they seemed happy together, much to Madison Errichiello’s chagrin. However, Mason revealed that although they are still really close friends, they couldn’t make a relationship work.Love Is Blindaudiences didn’t get any more of an explanation than that, which doesn’t make sense.
Their current relationship status became even more perplexing when Madison started throwing stones at Mason, andMeg was willing to fall on her sword to save his character. They certainly seemed like a pair that still had a lot of love for each other, and they could get back together in the future. Mason was manipulative in the pods despite his assertion he wasn’t “smart enough” to act that way. Madison was also incredibly manipulative, evidenced by the “receipts” she printed out.
5Madison Brought Receipts
They Didn’t Really Expose Anything
While it fell short of the impact of the QR code receipts fromThe Ultimatum, Madison stuffed two printed “receipts” containing text messages between her and Alex Brown in her armpit. Madison enjoyed stirring the pot in the pods onLove Is Blindseason 8, evidenced by her behavior throughout the six episodes. When she realized that Mason and Meg had a better connection, she still sabotaged their relationship. Additionally, she didn’t take kindly to Alex defending Mason after their breakup, ultimately leading to her relationship-ending conversation with Alex.
Madison and Alex didn’t date after the show, but he allegedly tried to reconnect with her when he saw what she looked like.
Madison tried to prove that Alex was a crappy friendafter leaving the pods towards Mason and Meg, but unfortunately for the Minneapolis-based artist, the screenshots didn’t prove anything. The skull emojis in reaction to Meg and Mason’s reveal video could be interpreted as lighthearted and not particularly malicious. In the end, Madison tries to tear down Mason’s character, but she just makes herself look more manipulative.
4Dave Admitted He Still Loved Lauren
She’s “The One That Got Away”
Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey went easy on Dave after his brutal internet takedown of the past few weeks. Dave had a difficult time getting over Lauren’s friend with benefits situation with Daniel Nides, a Minneapolis-based lawyer and CrossFit enthusiast. When asked whether Lauren was the “one that got away,” Dave seemed genuine in his response. However,Lauren called him out for his behavior.
Lauren and Dave seemed like they could make a great match, but Dave got in his way.
She asserted that if he loved her, he would’ve insisted on introducing her to friends and family and defending her character. Lauren has been kind online to Dave in recent weeks, and her responses at the reunion were equally classy. It’s clear Dave knows he messed up with Lauren, but she was right to walk away. Lauren deserves better than a man who is willing to accept defamations of her character without hearing her side of the story.
3Monica Called Out Joey
She Felt “Degraded” Watching The Season
Monica and Joey were a fun-loving couple throughout the season, but they always seemed more like friends than lovers. They were goofy and enjoyed each other’s company, but neither of them showed any romantic desire for each other.Monica went after Joey multiple times during the reunion, glowing with her glam makeup and sexy red dress. She said that watching the season back made her feel “degraded” due to his treatment, and Monica was right to say no at the altar after his cringe-worthy speech about the journey and experiment.
Monica and Joey seemed so drama-free during the show itself that it was shocking to see them unravel so quickly at the end. There were plenty of boring scenes throughout the show, but it would’ve been interesting to see more of Monica and Joey so viewers could be given more context regarding the ins and outs of their engagement. Monica deserves better, but it was shocking to see such a character switch from her usual Golden Retriever demeanor.
2Joey Slid Into Madison’s DMs
He Was Still Engaged To Monica
Of all theLove Is Blindmen to slide into another cast member’s DMs while still engaged, Joey was not at the top of my list. Ben, who endured some TikTok drama, would be the more likely culprit. However, after the cast meetup, Joey allegedly messaged Madison on Instagram, saying he liked her pink hair and alluded to wanting to catch up more.Madison loves the dramabut maintains nothing ever happened between her and Joey. However, Monica asserted she had only recently found out about the text.
Joey didn’t think his message to Madison meant anything at all, but it hurt Monica.
While Joey’s text was mostly innocent, it was a little sketchy trying to get in touch with another cast member while engaged to Monica, especially since he and Madison dated for a while in the pods. It seems like Madison had more connections than anyone else, which is a dangerous spot to be in for a woman who seems to enjoy stirring the pot and getting in the weeds of all the drama. Joey couldn’t show Monica affection but was happy to message Madison, furthering the argument that he and Monica were never meant to be.
They Met On Perfect Match Season 3
Amber Desiree “AD” Smith got engaged to Clay Gravesande onLove Is Blindseason 6, but she later found love withLove Is Blind UKstar Ollie Sutherland. Their romance has been speculated for months, but neither has been able to confirm their relationship because both will be onPerfect Matchseason 3, which airs on Netflix this summer. The cast hasn’t been announced, but Nick confirmed their presence on the show when AD and Ollie appeared hand in hand on theLove Is Blindseason 8 reunion.
Everyone onstage was teary-eyed when production played a video of Ollie proposing to AD on the beach, calling her his “best friend” and making a genuine profession of love. While it’s not astounding that Ollie proposed to AD, it is shocking Netflix would publicly reveal their relationship beforePerfect Matchseason 3 even aired. It’s likely producers realized thatLove Is Blindseason 8 was a little boring, and they needed something to spice up the reunion.
