The Most Awkward Things We've Witnessed On Love Is Blind Season 3
Our favorite love experiment returned to Netflix with a third season. "Love Is Blind" Season 3 is more dramatic, more romantic and, yes, more awkward than ever.
As usual, the show revolves around the concept that love is blind. Two groups of single women and single men date each other in connected rooms, or "pods," without ever seeing what the other looks like. After two weeks, some of the couples choose to get engaged. Then, they get to meet in person, go on vacation, and integrate into each other's lives before the dramatic finale where they decide at the altar whether they still want to tie the knot.
Of course, this has resulted in some incredibly cringe-worthy moments. From Raven's horribly timed workout in the pods to Andrew's iconic "tears," these are the moments that we simply could not look away from — despite how painful they were to watch.
When Colleen didn't want to get deep
"Love Is Blind" is a dating show that revolves around the premise that people can fall in love with someone based on who they are on the inside rather than how they look on the outside. This season, one of the contestants apparently didn't get the memo. While still in the pods, ballet dancer Colleen Reed faced two rejections before getting a proposal from Matt Bolton. While she had initially seemed to bond with Cole Barnett, he decided she wasn't for him after she refused to get deep with him. "I'm just not used to getting deep," she explained, adding that she likes "keeping things surface-level and fun." Cole replied, "For me, a marriage, it's got to be very deep."
Later, Colleen expressed to the other women that she was hurt by Cole's rejection. "He just like, kind of shot me down ... he kind of, in a way, called me shallow," she said. But wait — Colleen was the one who said she prefers surface-level relationships, right?
"Colleen is stressing me out," writer Chante Joseph tweeted. "She's upset that people are attracted to her because she's a ballerina but [gets] bored after a while, but also makes it her whole personality and only enjoys 'shallow' relationships?" That pretty much sums it up!
When Andrew started describing transcendental sex
Andrew Liu may not have ended up in one of the main couples on Season 3 of "Love Is Blind," but in his brief scenes in the pods, he definitely made an impression. Andrew, an executive turned wildlife photographer, seemed to connect with Nancy Rodriguez while in the pods. On one of their dates, Andrew went into detail about his sex life — and it was seriously awkward.
Apparently, Andrew learned about a technique called "sexual kung fu" from an older woman in Bali. "That was my first experience doing orgasmic pleasure," he told Nancy, as she looked completely embarrassed.
While this was definitely one of the cringiest moments in "Love Is Blind" history, it did get some people a little curious about transcendental sex. In fact, Metro even spoke to Jessica Alderson, a relationship expert from So Syncd, to find out more about the topic. "Transcendental sex involves reaching a 'higher' state that goes beyond what you know to be ordinary," she said. "It can feel like a spiritual experience where your sense of reality changes." Maybe, just maybe, Andrew is onto something.
When Raven was caught working out during Bartise's deep chat
In one of the most unbelievable pod moments in "Love Is Blind" history, we got to see pilates instructor Raven Ross begin working out while on a date. In fact, she was doing literal jumping jacks while Bartise Bowden was confessing his childhood traumas. The moment left viewers aghast.
"Can anyone watching love is blind s3 confirm this is quietly one of the most insane scenes in reality tv history," one fan tweeted in response to the scene. The scene got even funnier when Bartise called her out. "You can hear it?" Raven asked awkwardly. "Oh yeah," Bartise laughed.
The moment went viral and Raven was even asked about it by People. "Editing is always a factor, but I'm going to own up to it: It was a horrible time to do jumping jacks," she confessed. At least Raven owned up to her very poorly timed workout.
When Raven told Bartise she works in the service industry
In "Love Is Blind," many people end up confessing their deepest, darkest secrets on their pod dates. In the first episode, it seemed Raven Ross was about to get very real about her career. "It's a big thing for me to even say, I really like you," she began hesitantly. "I just want to be as transparent as possible." Raven was gearing up for a dramatic reveal, it seemed.
She went on to explain that on the weekends, she works in the service industry, which she acknowledged could be difficult for some men to accept. Bartise Bowden was naturally a little confused. "Like what kind of stuff? Do you strip?" he asked. "What? No, okay, I don't consider that the service industry," she said. As it turns out, she was referring to bartending and bottle service.
Fans were left pretty confused. "Am I missing something? Raven saying she works in the service industry was definitely giving stripper but then she says she's just a bottle girl. Like why are we making a big deal out of being a bartender?" tweeted a fan.
When Bartise unceremoniously dumped Raven ... and then she dumped him
For a while, it seemed like Raven Ross and Bartise Bowden would end up leaving the pods together. However, he ended up finding a stronger connection with Nancy Rodriguez. When Bartise gave Raven the news that he was no longer interested, things quickly got awkward. He began by telling her what a great couple they would be thanks to their mutual interest in fitness. "This is tough," he then said. "This is like me realizing, me being on the pod on a date with you and just like having a burning desire to be with, like, another girl." Cut to Raven with an understandably giant grimace on her face.
Raven quickly decided this would be a mutual breakup. "I also made the same decision," she said. "Yeah, it's a no for me." Talk about a weird split! "Bartise, how you gonna say 'burning desire to talk to another girl' then clam up when she like dude SAME," a fan tweeted.
When Nancy said no to Andrew
While some couples cooled things off before reaching the proposal stage, that isn't exactly what happened with Nancy Rodriguez and Andrew Liu. In fact, she let him get down on one knee and propose before telling him she wasn't interested. "I've fallen more and more in love with you," Andrew said. He then asked her to come closer to the wall separating their pods.
Even though it was clear what was coming, Nancy was still grinning. "When I think of what our life could be, the life that we could have together, it's a great life," Nancy said. Andrew smiled, clearly thinking she was going to say yes to his all-important question. "Nancy Rodriguez, would you make me the happiest man in the world and would you marry me?" he asked. Nancy replied, "To say yes ... it just doesn't feel right."
Yikes, talk about waiting until the last minute. This proposal could not have been more awkward.
When Andrew used eye drops to create tears
In the end, it was a good thing Nancy Rodriguez let Andrew Liu propose, because it led to one of the most awkward reality TV moments of all time. During his interview after the failed proposal, Andrew suddenly told the film crew, "Hang on," with a huge grin, pulling out some eye drops. Then, he snapped back into character and with a sniff said, "It didn't feel good, to be completely honest. I guess I feel satisfied that I went for it. It's just — yeah man, it hurts." That's right — Andrew used eye drops to create fake tears.
He went on to pull out the eye drops again, saying, "I guess this is a good time for this. Is it okay that I'm doing this?" While the crew said it was okay if he needed them, it became apparent that he wasn't treating dry eyes. With fresh fake tears streaming down his face, he said, "I never thought I could care for someone that would bring me to tears." We have to say, we are infinitely grateful to the producers for not editing out this moment of reality TV gold.
Naturally, the moment quickly went viral. "I AM SCREAMING AT NETFLIX LEAVING IN ANDREW FAKING TEARS BY APPLYING [COPIOUS] AMOUNTS OF EYEDROPS WHEN HE REALIZED THE CAMERAS WERE ROLLING," one viewer tweeted. In fact, the moment was so explosive that both Andrew and Nancy have since commented on it. "When I saw that scene, it just really confirmed and validated that I made the right choice to say 'no' to someone who wasn't in this experiment and this experience for the real reasons," Nancy told Newsweek. Andrew's only response? "Could have at least edited out the pimple, guys," he wrote in an Instagram Story (via Us Weekly).
When Nancy started chatting about unclogging toilets while in the bath
Once the couples left the pods, things continued to be — well — pretty awkward. One scene in particular immediately jumped out at fans. While Nancy Rodriguez and Bartise Bowden were enjoying a romantic bubble bath, complete with rose petals and candles, the conversation took a pretty bizarre turn. "Have you ever unclogged a toilet?" Nancy asked. She then went on to describe a pretty vile situation from her past. "One time I didn't have a plunger," she began. She then described jabbing the toilet scrubber into the toilet. "And it went down like butter," she admitted. And then, perhaps in a way to change the subject, Bartise said, "Give me a kiss." Um, sorry, what is going on here?
Fans were shocked. "Does your first romantic bathtub experience with a significant other seem like the right time to bring up a time you clogged a toilet, Nancy?" one fan tweeted. This scene is definitely enough to make even the most awkward date look like something out of a rom-com by comparison.
When Zanab and Cole bickered about semantics
While Zanab Jaffrey and Cole Barnett seemed pretty well-matched while dating in the pods, once they met in person, the cracks began to show pretty quickly. In fact, as soon as they were face to face, they started having trouble with communication.
During their second day together, the pair ended up arguing about the word "good." Filming himself, Cole said, "Z, what are we fighting about in this moment?" Zanab replied, "We are fighting about the difference between the word 'good' and the word 'great.'" Apparently, Zanab had said she had a great night with Cole, while he said it was good. "And here we are, in all this trouble, because I didn't say great, I said good," said Cole, rolling his eyes, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
It seems this relationship could get complicated pretty fast. As one fan put it, "Zanab and Cole are a train wreck lmao he said good and instead of great and crazy passive-aggressive popped out and now he's telling all the men at the exes party."
When SK fell asleep during the sound bath — and Raven wasn't happy
Let's face it — things didn't get off to a great start between Raven Ross and SK Alagbada. One of their early dates took place at a sound bath. A few minutes after the pair laid down, SK fell asleep and began to snore — and Raven didn't even try to hide her annoyance. As one viewer put it, "SK snoring. You can tell Raven wants to smack him. Looool. She secretly hates him."
When the gong bath came to an end, SK said, "How was it?" Raven laughed and replied, "I wouldn't know, your snoring was so loud." The pair then went to eat lunch and Raven continued, "You are definitely a napper — pretty much everywhere, I see. We're on what, nap number two today?" Okay, clearly Raven is not a huge fan of SK's ability to fall asleep during the day. But we have to admit that watching her get annoyed at his snoring on their date was pretty hilarious.
When Zanab and Cole tried to play games
One would think that an innocent day playing low-stakes games would be the perfect date. How could it go wrong? Well, in Episode 4 of "Love Is Blind" Season 3, Zanab Jaffrey and Cole Barnett showed us exactly how it could go wrong. First, the pair played cornhole. After Zanab missed, Cole took a shot and got his beanbag in the hole. "Wow, who knew this was such a sophisticated game?" she said with a hint of bitterness in her voice. "I can't with you with your little girly drink and you're like getting it all in there."
Then, they had a go at ping pong. After Zanab said she didn't really know how to play, Cole took charge. After he showed her the basics, Zanab didn't seem to enjoy playing. They then went on to play chess — another game that Zanab didn't know how to play. As she tried to figure out the rules, Cole began quacking at some ducks — which, unsurprisingly, got on her nerves. "I'm getting very mixed signals from you," she said in annoyance. "I don't necessarily feel that I have the best teacher for this game." To which Cole replied, "I feel like we're going to have so much beef after these games."
We have to say, that was the most awkward game-playing we've ever seen. As one fan noted, "The games date between Cole and Zanab is ... a lot. Are they struggling or are they working through things?"
When Cole couldn't stop checking out (and talking about) Colleen
The exes' party, where all of the couples meet for the first time, was, as one would expect, pure chaos. One of the cringiest moments was when Cole Barnett met Colleen Reed — and proceeded to gush about her for the rest of the night. "Colleen is the type of girl I'd normally go for," he said in an interview. "But I am an engaged man now, so," he continued with a cheeky smile. Bit gross, Cole, we have to say.
"And not Cole literally engaged to Zanab saying that Colleen is the type of girl he typically goes for. Like, not to make it woman v. woman at all, but like, Cole ... look at what is in front of you," one viewer tweeted. Later, when Colleen and Zanab, Cole's fiancée, were chatting and dancing, Cole addressed Colleen instead, shouting out, "Colleen's doing ballet!"
When Bartise called Raven a smokeshow to Nancy's face
Bartise Bowden and Nancy Rodriguez seemed like a great match for the first few episodes of "Love Is Blind" Season 3, but things took a very big turn at the end of Episode 4. After getting home from the exes' party, where he got to meet Raven Ross face to face, Bartise found himself feeling physically attracted to her. Instead of reassuring his partner, Nancy, he chose to do something entirely different.
While sitting together in bed, Nancy began by reassuring Bartise, saying, "When I saw [SK] today, I definitely was like, 'Okay, I'm good.'" Bartise shamelessly replied, "So that's the opposite of what I experienced." He then proceeded to gush about Raven. "She came down, she was wearing these tight clothes, I'm like, 'Okay, she's a f***ing smokeshow, she's hot as s***.'" He then went on to explain how during the pod dates, he had feelings for both of them. He summed up by saying, "Are you cool with me being that honest with you?"
Cut to Nancy's interview. "Like, what the f***," she said. "If you want a tall blonde fitness girl, go to a body competition." Yikes, Bartise, what were you thinking? Fans were, of course, shocked. Writer Bolu Babalola tweeted that Bartise was "low-key saying that Nancy isn't on his level ... while smiling in her face ... he is so scary."
When Raven shot down Bartise in the pool
In Episode 5 of "Love Is Blind" Season 3, things got even more awkward as the couples spent more time interacting with each other. Things came to a head for a few couples during a pool party. The first major cringe-worthy moment came when Bartise Bowden approached Raven Ross, a girl he'd previously dated in the pods. He made it clear pretty quickly that he was still interested in her — at least, that he was interested in her looks. "I was very impressed when I saw you in person," he gushed. But Raven wasn't having any of it.
"Bartise never had any compliments for the pod Raven, until now he has compliments for the physical Raven," Raven said dismissively in an interview later. "So for me, it's like not flattering at all." Instead of flirting back, Raven shut Bartise down fast. "I really feel like we don't have a lot of compatibility," she said.
Fans were pretty impressed. "Had to clap for Raven when she said she was not flattered by Bartise's compliments and that she is only focused on her man. Okay, redemption arc!" tweeted one fan.
When Cole flirted with Colleen in the pool
Bartise wasn't the only guy to approach a pod ex in the pool. Cole Barnett also had his eye on Colleen Reed — and their conversation was pretty awkward, too. He told Colleen that he would never have picked Zanab "if I was just basing this fully on the physical." Yikes — but it got worse. When Colleen asked Cole what his type would be, he said without hesitation, "You." Colleen went on to return the compliment. "For sure, like, you would be the person who I would go to in a bar," she said. "We'd approach each other," smiled Cole. The pair kept repeating how in the "real world," they would probably be together as their significant others looked on.
After the scene aired, Colleen explained to USA Today that a lot of the conversation was edited out. "There was definitely more to the conversation that unfortunately wasn't shown, where I mentioned that there's a reason why me and Matt are together and Cole and I are not," she explained. "I was very uncomfortable in that situation when Cole opened up that door (to flirting), and I didn't know how to handle it. So I handled it with trying to make the situation nice and make nice comments, and now I know that is extremely inappropriate."
When Cole tried to explain to Zanab his attraction to Colleen
It was bad enough that Cole Barnett approached Colleen Reed to tell her how attractive he found her, but when he decided to tell Zanab Jaffrey, things got even more awkward. The morning after the pool party, Zanab and Cole were shown chatting in bed. It was revealed that the previous day, Zanab had asked Cole to rate her out of 10. While Cole had given her a nine out of 10, it turns out he had given both Colleen and Raven a 10 out of 10.
Although it was clear that Zanab felt insecure, Cole continued to try to justify what he'd said. "It's fine," she said. "I'm good." But it was pretty clear that she wasn't. As one fan tweeted, "Cole is emotionally abusing Zanab at this point. Calling her a 9/10 and repeatedly telling her that Colleen is more his type and is a 10/10 is disgusting to watch. He thinks he's honorable for being honest and that's just not the case."
When Raven had a breakdown over a coffee machine
After the resort vacation came to an end, things got pretty tense as real life kicked in during "Love Is Blind" Season 3. Over at Raven Reed and SK Alagbada's apartment, the scene was strained after Raven had a rough night sleeping next to the snoring SK. And when her coffee machine refused to work, things only got worse. "This coffee is just not working," grumbled Raven. Silence settled between the couple. After a long, painful fight with the machine, Raven and SK left the apartment to buy some coffee. Cut to a shot of the machine finally kicking on. (Kudos to the editing team on this one.)
A few fans noticed just how weird the scene was. "The weirdest thing about 'Love Is Blind' Season 3 so far is that Raven orders coffee for delivery every morning and can't work a coffee machine like what? Who does that? Why?" a fan tweeted.
When Alexa brought up the prenup
Prenups are usually a little awkward to discuss, but they are almost always essential. While we don't blame Alexa Alfia for wanting a prenup, the way she raised the issue with Brennon Lemieux was a little painful to watch.
The topic came up when the two were discussing finances. Brennon began by explaining that he had his student loans to pay off. Alexa then discussed her financial hopes for the future. "I always want to, like, be comfortable. ... I never want to have to worry about money," she said, adding that she hoped to buy a house within a year. "We're going to be having kids and all of that, obviously, like, I wanna be a stay-at-home mom, like, eventually, so," she went on. She then looked away and said, "I definitely want to do, like, a prenup as well." Cue another long silence. "You clearly have more money than I do," said Brennon. "That seems obvious at this point." Another silence.
Then Brennon said he would sign anything. "What does your contract say?" she asked. "That you have to love me," he replied. Okay, we guess it ended kind of cute, but there's no denying the awkward tension during that conversation. As one fan put it, "Alexa is dropping so many bombs on Brennon. Lol she wants to be a stay-at-home mom and buy a house in a year and a prenup! That man was not ready but his response was v good."
When Nancy's brothers interrogated Bartise
Meeting your partner's family can sometimes be awkward — especially when you're getting married days after meeting on a reality TV show like "Love Is Blind." And in Season 3, Bartise Bowden certainly didn't make things any easier for himself when he met his fiancée's brothers. When Nancy Rodriguez's two brothers took Bartise outside to find out more about him, it was pretty clear they were skeptical. When Bartise told them he wanted to marry Nancy because she made him happy, one brother replied, "I mean, everything you explain, the way she made you feel, it just — it's a little bland to me, it's not anything special to me."
Things got even worse when Nancy's brother asked Bartise if he'd still love Nancy if she gained "400 pounds." "I'm not going to sit here and tell you physical attraction doesn't mean anything," said Bartise, adding that his response would be to tell her, "Hey, let's go on a little diet here." Umm, we're pretty sure that's not the response they were looking for. One brother summed up how he felt by saying, "It's iffy."
As one fan tweeted, "I have never been more uncomfortable watching television than when I was watching Bartise talking to Nancy's brothers. They didn't come to f*** around."
When Raven told SK she wanted him to pay her rent
Episode 6 of "Love Is Blind" Season 3 really was all about those inevitable, awkward financial conversations that couples have before a wedding. When it came to Raven Ross and SK Alagbada, things initially seemed to be going well — even if Raven was a little hesitant about SK's upcoming degree and lack of income. However, things took a turn when she announced that she expected him to start paying half of her rent while he was at college — even though he wouldn't be living with her. Sorry, does that mean you'll be paying half of his rent, too, Raven?
Understandably, fans were just a little shocked. "Me running to Twitter to see if everyone else is as flabbergasted as I am about Raven wanting SK to pay half her rent..." read one tweet. "When she said 'you should pay half my rent,' my jaw was on the FLOOR lol very powerful woman," read another tweet.
When Alexa's father clearly didn't like Brennon
The meeting between Brennon Lemieux and Alexa Alfia's family in "Love Is Blind" Season 3 felt pretty uncomfortable, to say the least. It was already pretty clear well before the meeting that Brennon came from a very different background than Alexa — but this interaction made it all too evident. "I hope that y'all don't hate me by the end of the evening," Brennon said with an awkward chuckle as the meeting began. The episode came to an amazingly shocking end with a clip of Alexa's father saying, "From what I know about Alexa, there's no way she's going to stay married to a chump." Yikes!
"Alexa's dad saying she won't get married to a chump [like] Brennon is hilarious," one fan reacted. Another wrote, "Brennon looks like he wants to crawl under a rock!" It really could not have been any more awkward.
When Cole showed Zanab his apartment
We all know that some boys simply don't know how to decorate an apartment. When you imagine the worst of 20-something-year-old boy decor, things like sports posters, dirty dishes, ugly sheets, and bare rooms probably spring to mind. As it turns out, Cole Barnett's apartment features all of these things — and Zanab Jaffrey was very unimpressed when she saw it.
In a very awkward scene, Cole brought Zanab into his messy apartment with his hands over her eyes. When he finally felt brave enough to show her the place, she said with a sigh, "Oh, it's very you." "It's — it's dirty," said an embarrassed Cole. "No, it doesn't smell bad. That's like a big thing," said an overly generous Zanab. "Cole's apartment has 'boy' written all over it," she continued in an interview.
As writer Bolu Babalola wrote on Twitter, "Cole's apartment made my heart pound in horror. WHY ARE THERE FLIES IN YOUR TOILET????? Why is your underwear by the TV? No. This is not how a 'normal 26-year-old guy lives' unless they were brought up by barn animals. I am sorry."