*SPOILER WARNING*
Love is Blind's season 4 live reunion landed on Netflix last night, drawing the season to a dramatic close.
The 90 minute episode saw contestants return and be questioned (or grilled in some cases) by hosts Vanessa and "obviously" Nick Lachey. And from previously unseen footage to off-camera revelations, there was a lot to unpick.
Some time was spent on the "happily ever afters", with Tiffany and Brett, Chelsea and Kwame, and Zack and Bliss still going strong - we did warn you that there would be spoilers!
The lion's share of the episode however was dedicated to pure, unfiltered drama - from former couple Zack and Irina finally coming face to face (he has receipts guys) to Micah and Paul addressing that viral comment about him not seeing her as a mother. Plus, don't even get us started on the Marshall-Jackie-Josh love triangle.
And while the show saw some notable absences - ahem Jackie and Josh, it also saw some surprise appearances, from the return of Irina to a cameo from last season's Bartise and his baby.
Not to mention, there were technical hitches, multiple tears and reports of unfair bias over the hosts' line of questioning.
In short - it was 90 minutes of absolute chaos, and the internet is still not over it.
Here, we've rounded up the 5 standout moments from last night's chaotic Love is Blind reunion.
5 standout moments of chaos from the Love is Blind reunion
From the delayed livestream and Jackie and Josh's private interview with Vanessa, to Irina's grilling and an original song by Zack, there's a lot to unravel...
1. The major technical issues
The Love is Blind Reunion got off to a shaky start when technical issues prevented it from going live on time. What was promised to be a live event - the second ever live event by Netflix, had to be changed last minute due to a livestream delay.
Netflix aired the episode the following day instead, tweeting: "To everyone who stayed up late, woke up early, gave up their Sunday afternoon… we are incredibly sorry that the Love is Blind Live Reunion did not turn out as we had planned. We're filming it now and we'll have it on Netflix as soon as humanly possible. Again, thank you and sorry."
2. The return of Irina
Irina Solomonova returned for the Live Reunion and there was of course some highly-anticipated drama. Irina was originally engaged to Zack, before the two parted ways after their awkward honeymoon, after which Zack recoupled with Bliss.
Irina's highly-anticipated return saw her not only come face-to-face with Zack and Irina, but also address the negative backlash she has faced since the show's release, with her and Micah dubbed the "mean girls" of the series, widely criticised for making fun of their castmates on camera.
"My intention was never to hurt anyone, but my impact did," Irina explained during the Live Reunion. "None of the people deserved to be treated the way that I treated them."
"I know it's not the person I want to be and I'm not," she continued, explaining how she had experienced panic attacks and had been struggling with her mental health.
"You can have panic attacks, and you can have trouble with mental illness and that's totally valid," Bliss replied. "But then you're turning around and you're doing malicious things and you're acting in really cruel ways. It's hard to reconcile those two things. It really is."
“If we're real, you went on this show to get famous," Zack told Irina after her public apology. "You did a lot of things that hurt a lot of people, including me."
3. Jackie's private interview
Arguably the most surprising moment of the Live Reunion revolved around Jackie - the only main cast member who did not return for the special - a first for Love Is Blind.
She and her partner Josh, who she dumped fiancé Marshall for, did however agree to a private virtual interview with Vanessa Lachey the day before the live episode. And in another show first, the cast members watched the interview live in the studio, before Marshall was forced to react and respond in the moment.
The pre-taped interview contained bombshell after bombshell, with Jackie clearing up the timeline of when she and Josh got together, and detailing why she broke up with Marshall, reporting that he called her a "derogatory name" off camera.
"I have grown within the last year," Jackie told Vanessa Lachey in the interview of her own faults in the relationship. "That person that I've seen was a totally different Jackie to be honest."
When asked how he felt about the fact that neither Jackie nor Josh had come to the reunion and that he was being forced to have a one-sided conversation, he replied: "For the second time in this experiment I have been slighted. Once at the altar, and now at the reunion."
4. That engagement ring drama
When Jackie broke up with Marshall in episode 10, he asked for the engagement back, to which Jackie replied: "I'm going to keep the ring, because I accepted it because I wanted to marry you."
During her and Josh's private interview with Vanessa Lachey, she was asked: "You Kept the ring?", to which she replied: "Yes ma'am I have the ring." And when asked why she thought her former fiancé wanted it back, she responded: "Marshall wanted the ring back because he wanted to propose to another castmate."
When asked about this during the reunion episode, Marshall disagreed, explaining: "The reason why I asked for the ring back was because it was a symbol of my love - you know, we picked out those rings. In the moment I looked at that ring and I said, 'that's for her'. And I felt like she didn't deserve to have that symbol of my love.
"Ultimately I did not want to propose to anyone else - that was not the case and it's really wild that she would think that."
5. Vanessa Lachey's controversial interviewing
Vanessa Lachey was the main interviewer in the episode, and from giving Irina a grilling to refusing to accept Paul's answers, she certainly earned her stripes. In fact, she would give Emily Maitlis a run for her money.
Viewers however were angered by Lachey's bias, with accusations that the host villainised some contestants while letting others off almost completely. The two main examples are Marshall and Paul, who both faced an intense grilling, while Micah (Paul's ex-fiancée) managed to avoid having to address her bullying claims. And Jackie (Marshall's ex-fiancée) was even allowed her own private interview where little to no difficult questions were asked.
Viewers were so unimpressed in fact that they have been taking to social media to call for Vanessa and Nick Lachey to be replaced as the hosts.
"When is Netflix gonna give us news hosts? Hosts are meant to be neutral and not biased af," tweeted one viewer. Another posted: "Unpopular opinion but Nick and Vanessa are bad hosts who are clearly biased."
Some have even been campaigning for the show's biggest success story - Season 1's Lauren and Cameron to take to the helm, posting: "Petition for Lauren & Cameron to be the new hosts of Love Is Blind. Absolutely done with this Lachey nonsense."
Petition for Lauren & Cameron to be the new hosts of Love Is Blind. Absolutely done with this Lachey nonsense #LoveIsBlindLIVE pic.twitter.com/sDL4GJPEzAApril 17, 2023
Well, that was dramatic.
The Love is Blind reunion special is available to watch now on Netflix.
