Love is Blind star Sara Carton is facing backlash from conservative viewers over her rejection of Ben Mezzenga due to his political views.
The 29-year-old oncology nurse from Minnesota had been engaged to Mezzenga, a 28-year-old account executive also from Minnesota, on season eight of the Netflix dating series, which sees a group of singles try and fall in love without ever meeting the other face-to-face.
However, minutes before they were supposed to tie the knot in the March 7 season finale, Carton called off the wedding.
“I love you so much, but I’ve always wanted a partner to be on the same wavelength,” she told Mezzenga as they stood at the church’s altar in front of friends and family.
“And so today I can’t,” Carton said, leaving Mezzenga and those seated stunned. “I’m sorry, but I don’t want that to be misunderstood. I still love you, and everything about you is amazing. And I care about you so much.”
“I care about you too,” Mezzenga replied, “and I love you so much, and I know I want to stay with you and keep growing our relationship if you’ll let me.”
“We’ll see,” Carton responded cautiously. “We’ll talk about that.”
“I know that the connection we have is so real, and my heart is there. But we talked about a lot of the values I hold so close to my heart. Making this decision, my mind is telling me I can’t,” she added before walking out of the chapel.
As she walked toward a Black SUV, she nervously laughed, saying: “I’m fine. Get me out of here!”
While in the car with her parents and sister, Carton admitted that she felt “numb.”
“It’s sad. I was really excited about Ben,” she said. “And he’s such a great person. I just hope I made the right decision.”
She went on to recall a conversation she had with him about the Black Lives Matter movement. “I’m no expert, but like when I asked him about it, he was like, ‘I guess I never really thought too much about it,’” Carton said. “That affected me. Especially in our own city. How could you not.”
Both Carton and Mezzenga are from Minneapolis, the city where George Floyd was murdered by a white police officer in 2020. His death gave way to countrywide protests and sparked a global resurgence of the BLM movement.
“How did it not make you think about something?” Carton questioned. “I asked him, too, what his church’s views were, and he said he didn’t know. So then I watched a sermon online [from his church] on sexual identity, and it was traditional. I told that to Ben, and he doesn’t have that much to say about it. I want someone to think about that stuff.”
Speaking in a later piece to camera, she confessed: “Sometimes I did wonder if it was surface, fun, carefree love that we had. Equality, religion, the vaccine — I brought up all these things because I think they’re all important conversations. Whatever you believe, at least have the conversation.”
Earlier in the season, while the two were still separated in their pods, Carton asked Mezzenga if he would feel comfortable being around her gay sister, Lisa, to which he replied: “100 percent.”
However, after calling off the wedding, Carton told the cameras: “There was no curiosity coming from his side. I always thought that I’d wanna be with someone who’s more curious, curious about my brain and how I think about things. People prove who they are, you know? Actions speak louder than words. You can say anything you want, but show me. That would’ve changed everything if he really showed priority.”
Since their shocking on-screen break-up, Carton has faced significant backlash from conservatives, with many leaving disparaging comments on her recent Instagram posts.
“This wasn’t love is political Sara. Ben dodged a bullet,” one wrote, with a second adding: “Hypocrisy is strong with this one. Maybe try being more inclusive and open minded next time.”
“You were the one who wasn’t respectful to his views,” another claimed.
Meanwhile, others came to her defense, with one saying: “These comments are not it!!! I'M SO GLAD YOU CHOSE YOURSELF!! AND THAT YOU CHOSE YOUR VAULES OVER HIM!!!!! SO PROUD OF YOUUUU!!”
Still, in spite of all the drama, Carton holds no resentment toward Mezzenga.
“I want the best for Ben, but yeah, ultimately, just not my person,” she told Entertainment Weekly in a new interview. “It’s no bad blood, but it’s just my understanding of just who he is. It is what it is, and we just move forward.”
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