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Terence Patrick/NetflixPrepare for a reunion messier than Alex’s apartment.
The Love Is Blind finale dropped just days ago, but the Washington, DC pod squad has been patiently waiting to unpack all the Season 7 drama. Turns out, bottling up all your emotions for an entire calendar year might keep you up at night (no shade, Stephen), but it sure does make for an unforgettable evening.
Co-hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey, the reunion delivered long-awaited answers to all your lingering questions, as the couples, singles — and whatever Brittany and Leo are — came together for the first time since the weddings. So, who’s still together? Why does Garrett look like this now? What does Tyler have to say to the TikTok detectives combing through his personal life? Taking a page out of Hannah’s many, many notebooks, we’ve come up with our own list of the buzziest moments from the episode, for all your group chat needs.
And if you want to know where all the couples and singles stand after the reunion, check out our Season 7 status update to get all the tea on what their lives look like now. As Leo would say, muah muah muah muah!
1. Tyler sets the record straight about the baby drama.
Co-hosts Nick and Vanessa waste no time and address the question on everybody’s minds: What’s the truth about Tyler’s children? With a supportive Ashley by his side, Tyler finally comes clean, explaining that he helped a friend in need, who then unexpectedly became a single parent. “I stepped in voluntarily and helped. I played a part that became very shaky with a friend. There’s no rulebooks [for] this. Ashley knows all of this. This is news to the world, but this has never been news to us. I don’t owe anyone an explanation besides my wife.” Tyler clarifies that he wanted to protect the identity of the children — and that’s why he lied on camera about them not knowing what he looks like. “Those kids, that family, they did not sign up for this,” he says. As for Ashley, she says it’s “insulting to her intelligence” to believe that she wouldn’t have a total understanding of Tyler’s complicated situation. “He is a good person, who went in a little too deep and didn’t know what to do next,” Ashley says in Tyler’s defense. “I was aware and took on what I wanted to. This is a once in a lifetime kind of love.”
2. We need to talk about Garrett’s glow up.
You’ve seen the memes and you’ve seen him walk in fashion week. But before you call it the wifey effect, Taylor would like a word. “This is all Garrett … but I saw the potential first,” she says of his post–Love Is Blind makeover. Apparently, Garrett always “had a latent interest in fashion,” but only really stepped up his game when Taylor came into his life. “Being married to a very fashionable and beautiful woman, I finally found someone worth looking good for,” he says. “She opened up that door for me.” And, if you couldn’t tell by their coordinated outfits, the couple is still very much together and in love a year after they tied the knot. Since their nuptials, they’ve traveled the world together, taken a stab at a bicoastal married life, and ultimately decided to start their next chapter back in DC, a city that “seemed like the next natural fit.”
3. Hannah and Nick aren’t ducking around.
Dear internet: Hannah has heard your feedback — and she’s not backing down. “I’m very to the point and very direct. That’s just who I am,” she tells the Lacheys about her polarizing communication style. “I think I’m telling you exactly what [I’m thinking], but really I’m just [acting] like a bitch. The things that I said were all true, but it’s just the way you say it.” Ultimately, she does eke out an apology to Nick for her harsher moments, saying that she was “so cruel” to him. But any peace between the former couple is short-lived after she drops a bomb. After their breakup, Hannah alleges she found a note in Nick’s apartment, in which he wrote that it was his goal to “become the most famous person ever on Love Is Blind.” While Nick says he was just dreaming big as part of a lighthearted 90-day goal exercise, the rest of the reunion couch quickly turns against him — Marissa calls the note a “slap in the face” to everyone who showed up authentically to the experiment. And when it’s revealed that Nick called Hannah a “grenade,” among other derogatory remarks, after their reveal, the cast rallies around her. While he vehemently denies the claims, he’s left with few allies after both Ramses and Stephen confirm that he told them similar things.
4. Let’s hear it for the alums.
And now for a less controversial baby update: Season 4 alums Zack and Bliss are the first married Love Is Blind couple to welcome a baby. The couple joined the reunion along with a few familiar faces from seasons past to share some updates about what their lives look like now. “[Becoming parents has] made our relationship and our love stronger and deeper, and it’s the best thing ever,” Bliss said about their baby daughter, Galileo. So who else stopped by? Jessica from Season 1 and her husband were in attendance with their first child, Dax. Season 3 star Nancy shared that she’s living her best life in New York City, where she met her current boyfriend, who was also in the audience. Marshall, the meme king of Season 4, is currently single after moving from Seattle to Los Angeles. And last but not least, AD, who was on the reunion couch earlier this year as part of the Season 6 pod squad, was happy to report that she’s “living [her] absolute best life” with a new man in her life. “We’re keeping it private,” she said. “We’re keeping it cute.”
5. Marissa vs. Ramses vs. Marissa’s mother
Hide the scissors, because Marissa’s mother, Vanessa, has entered the building. A warrior for her daughter, Vanessa doesn’t mince words when she confronts Ramses about calling off the engagement days before their wedding. “You broke her. I had to help pick her up,” she tells him. “I wanted to punch him in the throat.” Ultimately, however, Vanessa is relieved that Ramses backed out, adding, “I’m thankful he called it off. [Marissa] would’ve carried that relationship, and so he did the right thing.” An emotional Marissa says watching their final on-camera conversation back “felt like [her] heart was breaking all over again,” and pushes Ramses to clarify why he made his choice. While Ramses isn’t able to fully satisfy her request, he takes accountability for not being more proactive about his concerns. “I came to that realization toward the end of this experience, and it made for a really heartbreaking situation,” he says. He does take the opportunity to clear up their controversial conversation about the couple’s use of contraception, sharing that he never “tried to present Marissa with an ultimatum” about using birth control. “It wasn’t a situation where I was being whiny and bratty about [not wanting to use] a condom,” he said.
6. Brittany finally tells Leo she loves him … as a friend.
Apart from unfortunately comparing Hannah and Brittany to pasta and steak in a belabored metaphor, Leo aims to charm his way through the reunion. With some unexpected self-awareness, he takes accountability for his frequent mentions of his family wealth. “It seemed like I really couldn’t shut up about it,” he says. “I didn’t realize it until I was watching it back.” Leo also manages to make amends with Hannah for their explosive final conversation together, agreeing that he was “delusional” about their breakup. “Hell would be being locked in a dark room and forced to watch that scene over and over again,” he says. Brittany, meanwhile, only has positive things to say about her former fiancé — finally expressing her (platonic) love for him. But she does have some qualms about his habit of always taking a sip of her drink first, which became a sticking point during their post-pods Miami getaway. While both agree they were never meant to make it to the altar, they’ve walked away from the experiment as friends — something more valuable than any Rolex.
7. Stephen’s sleep test results are in.
[Drumroll please …] He has sleep apnea! OK, we know that’s not what you’re really here for. Stephen apologizes (and apologizes again) for sexting another woman while he was engaged to Monica. As for what was in the texts, Stephen can’t recall, sharing that he regularly deletes his messages. But he can’t seem to contain his frustration over the public backlash to his mistake. “Nobody wants to believe me. Nobody wants to hear my side of the story,” he says. While he believes he’s taken responsibility for his moment of weakness (“I’ve read books. I go to therapy!”), Monica isn’t exactly moved. “Just stop doing something wrong,” she bluntly tells him. Emphasizing that the two are cordial, but absolutely not friends — despite Stephen’s insistence that they are — she chooses to mostly keep the peace … and her distance in the future.
8. Speaking of sleep … let’s talk about Alex and Tim.
Going zero contact since their breakup results in an explosive reunion for Tim and Alex, who clearly got plenty of shut-eye the night before the reunion. The two clash on just about everything — from their off-camera fight in Mexico to what exactly went down during his parents’ visit — and can’t come to a resolution. Something they can agree on? They have very different communication styles. “It’s always on your terms. Never mine,” Alex tells him in a heated exchange. “You literally are so long-winded and only listen to yourself.” He’s taken aback and “feels attacked” by her directness. “Why are you trying to come for me when all I’m doing is showing you love?” As for the nap on everyone’s mind, Alex clarifies she was working a shift at a bar later that night. Plus, after spending nearly five hours with Tim’s parents, she didn’t expect Tim to feel any kind of disrespect. “It felt like this was a situation to have an out, and you took it and ran with it,” says Alex. Tim, of course, vehemently disagrees, and the two end the reunion in a chilly stalemate.
9. Season 8 is on its way.
Oh, you thought we were done? Before you know it, a new season of Love Is Blind will pop up in your queue. In a surprise twist, the Lacheys announced that Season 8, which marks the five-year anniversary of the franchise, will launch on Valentine’s Day 2025. This time around, the singles hail from Minneapolis, Minnesota — and for the first time ever, some of them were in the reunion audience. Three incoming pod squad members introduced themselves and gave us a sneak peek at what’s to come. “It’s such a small community,” one single said about the Minneapolis dating scene. “You kind of see the same people over and over. I just never found the right person that clicked for me.”
