Not content with giving us seven seasons of Love Is Blind, last year, Netflix finally launched the UK spinoff of the hit dating show.
The premise remains the same: men and women are ushered into a series of dating ‘pods’ where they must try and connect and fall in love, all without seeing each other’s faces. What follows is engagement, marriage and the new couples attempting to make their relationships work in the plain light of day.
Naturally, there’s a lot of drama – and the UK version of the show delivered on that, too. With a second season just launched, it’s time to look back. Of its many couples, who stayed together, and who crumbled under the pressure? Let’s dive in.
Jasmine and Bobby: still together
One of the show’s rare success stories. The pair committed to showing each other the ‘good, the bad and the ugly’ and their relationship blossomed, despite initial pushback from Jasmine’s mother.
“I didn’t want to hide anything from my future partner, so I felt like Bobby appreciated every single part of me,” Jasmine tells Tudum. “We weren’t afraid to discuss very difficult topics.”
These days, they’re still going strong, and announced in June that they were expecting a baby. Plus, Jasmine’s mother Marissa has warmed to Bobby.
“She’s super supportive and the boundaries are in place,” Bobby added. “We’ve built on our relationship and become very close.”
Nicole and Benaiah: still together
This couple caused a fair amount of drama. Initially, Nicole opted to pair up with Sam, but regretted her decision and ultimately chose to pursue a relationship with Benaiah.
They had ups and downs, but ultimately say that the year they’ve had since the show wrapped did them good.
“Throughout the whole experience it was always a challenge. I always felt on edge,” Benaiah told Tudum. “Now I’m very comfortable and confident in us. The year of downtime from everything behind closed doors was really good for us. We needed that to be able to cope with what’s coming our way now, to be honest.” Which is? Well, currently they’re planning their actual wedding.
Sabrina and Steven: not together
The pair didn’t even last a year, despite making it to the altar and deciding to marry each other in the finale. Judging by last year’s reunion episode, it was a bitter breakup, and the pair are currently in the process of getting annulled.
“In the real world, you’ve got the added pressures of work, lack of sleep, et cetera,” Steven told Tudum. “We just weren’t compatible. We had different communication styles and expectations of each other, particularly when under pressure. Obviously, the distance, that just magnified everything.” Sabrina added that their relationship was “too good to be true.”
Demi and Ollie: not together
Demi turned down Ollie at the altar, but the couple were adamant that it wasn’t the end for their relationship – instead, they were taking a break.
However, they’ve now confirmed that they’re better off as friends.
“We’re in a really good place now and genuinely best friends,” Ollie said. “We speak quite regularly, comment on each other’s Instagrams, and wind each other up. I’m glad that not making it to marriage wasn’t necessarily the end of our friendship.”
Demi, arguably, has had a more meaningful journey: “I fell in love with Ollie and envisioned him to be my husband,” she says. “But I fell in love with myself so much deeper.”
Maria and Tom: not together
Another casualty of the altar: the pair never tied the knot, overcome by their differences in opinion over jobs, splitting the bill and lifestyle. And it looks like there are some bad feelings there, too: Maria says she felt “a bit deceived” by Tom, who she believes told her what she wanted to hear.
“Tom had said, ‘I like the look of a traditional marriage. I do believe in gender roles, I am this type of man,’” she said. “[Tom] enjoyed how I made him feel and ran with that, rather than taking into consideration, ‘I’m probably not everything she’s looking for, and this might all fall apart when we come to meet each other in real life.’”
Catherine and Freddie: not together
Another couple that felt doomed from the start. Catherine was snappy with Freddie, and he admitted that he had cheated whilst the pair were away on their romantic retreat, which caused tension. Eventually, Cat said yes at the altar, whilst Freddie said no.
“We’re still friends, and I have a lot of love for her,” Freddie said. “We gave it a go for a little bit, but it just wasn’t meant to be.” He added that he only got a bit of clarity once he had time away from the cameras.
“I felt a bit suffocated,” he said. “It was only when I had that time to myself where I got clarity and I thought I could make my own decisions.”
For her part, Cat mentioned that there was “a lot of stuff that the public didn't see… Freddie was saying one thing to my family and friends [and another] to me off camera.”
Love Is Blind UK is streaming on Netflix
