Last Wednesday, the highly anticipated season finale of Love is Blind dropped at 12 a.m. PST on Netflix, leaving many viewers surprised and shocked, with some even calling for the show’s cancellation.
The filming location for Season 9 was Denver, Colorado. The season started off with 32 singles entering the pods, featured six engagements, and ended in a turn of events, with two couples — Ali and Anton and Kalibryiah and Edmond — making it to the altar.
So, what happened to “Sparkle” Megan and Jordan?
Fans were left shocked when the couple that many deemed the “most likely to get married” made it to the finale episode but not the altar. Megan and Jordan’s infamous breakup scene took place in their apartment provided by the showrunners. The scene depicts the couple on the couch, as Megan cries to Jordan telling him that she cannot go through with the wedding knowing that they are too different from one another. Jordan objects, insisting that they are not that different from each other. Megan shares her desire to embark on adventures with her spouse, echoing a similar conversation the two shared in a prior episode.
When asked if he had any regrets, Jordan stated, “I wish I didn’t introduce her to my son.” In a separately conducted interview, Megan tearfully expresses her worries about being a good mother in the future, given her inability to sacrifice her current lifestyle for simplicity in the present moment. Jordan has since commented on their split, refuting the claim that he was “blindsided” by her decision to call off the wedding and stating that they remain good friends.
Ali and Anton
Ali and Anton’s wedding day kicked off with Ali getting her hair and makeup done in her bridal suite while Anton got prepared for the big day in his respective room. While getting ready with her bridesmaids, Ali’s mom addresses her concern regarding Anton’s drinking habits. Though worried about the same matter herself, particularly after witnessing Anton clear their refrigerator of alcoholic beverages in a matter of days, Ali tells her mom to give him some “grace.” Going into the wedding day, Anton remains unwavering in his decision to marry Ali, maintaining his belief that she is his “person.”
At the altar, Anton is the first to be asked if he is willing to take Ali as his wife, to which he responds, “I do.” Ali is then asked if she is willing to take Anton as her husband, and after a suspenseful period of silence, she finally responds saying, “I feel like the person that I fell in love with in the pods isn’t the person I’ve got to experience in real life.” Anton is left heartbroken as Ali has her “runaway bride” moment, running off to a grassy area near the wedding venue where she proceeds to cry, worried that she has hurt Anton’s feelings.
In her post-altar interview, Ali recalls wishing that Anton had said no so that she would not have to hurt him as badly in the end. Ali went on to explain why she chose to call it quits, stating, “I don’t feel like he was super forthcoming about his lifestyle. Drinking, partying, how active he is, how healthy he eats.” Ali adds on, noting that it was information she received from Anton’s friends that really changed her “perspective of him.” Fans have speculated that what altered Ali’s “perspective” of Anton was a conversation that she had with the girlfriend of Anton’s best friend who told her that Anton used to go out to party and drink all the time before going on the show.
Since the finale aired, Ali and Anton have engaged in subtle digs online. In a recent post to Instagram, Anton took a dig at Ali’s wish for a more expensive wedding ring, posting a photo of his “Halloween costume,” which appears to be a picture of him with an emoji of an ATM machine placed over his body. In an interview with Swooon, Ali revealed that when she ran into Anton at a party he told her that though he said yes, he wouldn’t have known what to actually do if she said yes as well because he wasn’t fully confident in his decision to marry her.
Kalybriah and Edmond
Similarly to Anton and Ali’s wedding day, Kalibriah and Edmond’s wedding day began with the two getting ready in their respective suites. Immediately after entering her bridal suite, Kalibriah is seen getting emotional, wiping off her tears as she looks at herself in a vanity mirror. Meanwhile, Edmond enters his groom’s suite and sits down for an emotional pre-wedding interview in which he reaffirms his love for Kalybriah and states that the love he has for her “is everything [he has] prayed for.”
At some point while Edmond is getting ready, Kalybriah’s mom makes a surprise appearance in his room to check-up on him. She gives her blessing for Edmond to marry Kalybriah and lets him know that she is excited for the two to seal their commitment to one another through marriage. Edmond’s fifth grade teacher, Jessie, or Ms. Welsh, as Edmond prefers to call her, enters the room soon after. She proclaims her deep level of admiration, love, and gratitude for Edmond, telling him, “You made me the teacher that I am. You absolutely did. You changed my whole perspective on being in the classroom and making connections.” Edmond refers to Ms. Welsh as his “guardian angel” since she acted as a mother figure for Edmond growing up, going as far as providing meals for him when he did not have food to eat.
When the time comes to exchange vows at the altar, Edmond doubles down on his love for Kalybriah, telling her that he has been “praying for someone” like her. Kalybriah expresses a similar sentiment, telling Edmond, “It was so easy to fall for you, fall in love with your story.” When faced with the decision of committing himself to Kalybriah for eternity, Edmond responds “I do.” Kalybriah who has an emotional breakdown when asked for her response is unable to say the same. Through tears, Kalybriah repetitively apologizes to Edmond, telling him that he “deserve[s] someone that is 100% at the altar,” somewhere she is not at at the moment. Despite being heartbroken and visibly upset, Edmond tells Kalybriah, “I respect you no matter what.”
Edmond and Kalybriah leave the altar hand-in-hand to have a more private conversation where Kalybriah admits that she was not sure what her decision would be until she was at the altar and felt conflicted. She attributes her decision to not marry Edmond to her indecision at the altar. In a post-altar conversation back in her bridal suite Kalybriah expresses the pain that she feels for hurting Edmond, while also noting that she “would’ve been miserable” had she had gone through with the wedding.
Meanwhile, Ms. Welsh goes to comfort Edmond, telling him that Kalybriah “wasn’t a diamond.” She goes on to state, “There’s a diamond out there. You deserve a diamond.” Following their conversation, Edmond has his post-altar interview where he reveals that he was shocked by Kalybriah’s answer at the altar. Edmond comments, “This sucks. It just hurts,” when noting how he is dealing with not receiving an “I do” in return.
The Fan Response
Users on Reddit have not shied away from criticizing Season 9 of Love is Blind. Several users on the platform have come forth to criticize the casting of this season in particular, many questioning the true motives of people who were selected to be on the show. Many fans of Love is Blind attribute the desire for “fame” or “status” as a motivating factor for people to sign-up for the show. Instagram users are calling this season a major disappointment and the “worst season” of Love is Blind to air thus far. Some users even want the show to be cancelled altogether, nevertheless, the show is going to continue with another season, as announced by Netflix in January of this year.