Love Is Blind star Cole Barnett has revealed why he is “thankful” producers decided to include the unaired Cuties scene during the season three reunion.
Barnett, 27, became engaged to Zanab Jaffrey during season three of Netflix’s reality dating show. However, the pair ultimately parted ways during what would have been their wedding, when Jaffrey accused Barnett of disrespecting and “critiquing” her during their brief relationship.
During the reunion episode, which saw the cast reunite, Jaffrey again condemned Barnett’s alleged treatment towards her, with the flight attendant claiming that her fiancée made harmful comments about her appearance and weight that were not included in the final show.
“The pushing food away from me, the asking me if I’m going to eat that, trying to get me to order a salad, the daily comments about my face and my body were not used,” she said during the reunion episode. “And that’s great because it really did protect you and you are now denying it and calling me a liar in front of all these people.”
At the conclusion of the reunion, Love Is Blind’s producers then played a “Cuties scene,” which was filmed shortly before the couple’s wedding. During the highly divisive clip, Barnett could be seen joking with his fiancé about her snack of Cuties clementines, and about whether she was trying to diet ahead of their wedding. The moment was not perceived the same way by Jaffrey, however, who claimed that the scene in question was proof of her accusations.
While reflecting on the moment during an appearance on the “Lauren Interviews” podcast with host Lauren Conlin, Barnett revealed that he was “thankful” producers included the scene.
“I’m just so thankful that they played the ‘Cuties scene’ because it’s like: ‘I don’t know why you’d say that I was body shaming you as well,’” Barnett said, before reiterating that he’d just wanted to remind his fiancé not to fill up before their meal that night. “I was like: ‘Hey, remember to save your appetito because we got to make dinner.’
“I was trying to keep things light and the reason that I’m using the word ‘appetito’ instead of appetite and speaking like a normal human is because I knew how sensitive things were with Zay on everything.”
Barnett also claimed that there were times Jaffrey misconstrued his words, and that he was “walking on eggshells” during their relationship.
“I was walking on eggshells because I knew there’s just trip wires everywhere. The moment I say one thing that hits her wrong, I am now the worst. So it’s like, I was just trying to figure out how to even speak without saying something wrong,” he said.
The 32-year-old flight attendant, who previously accused Barnett of “shattering” her self-confidence, also addressed the reaction from viewers to the scene on social media.
In a statement shared to her Instagram, Jaffrey offered a tongue-in-cheek “apology” to her social media critics, writing: “I’m sorry you weren’t in that relationship. I’m sorry you didn’t feel what I felt. I’m sorry we don’t have the same triggers. I’m sorry me standing up for myself, offended you so greatly.
“I’m sorry you didn’t see all the reasons for what I said. I’m sorry you didn’t live that with me. I’m sorry that you don’t know me. I’m sorry your insecurities are different than my own. I’m sorry your online hate says so much more of you than it ever will of me.”
