‘I was blindsided’: Cole and Zanab have both spoken out about Love Is Blind drama

Zanab said she tried to have ‘numerous conversations’ with Cole about his insensitive behaviour


Season three of Love Is Blind has come to a fiery conclusion, and one couple who had the most explosive end to their journey was Cole and Zanab. They didn’t get married at the end of the show, have said they aren’t talking anymore, and the reunion show ended in Cole crying and a lot of allegations being thrown around.

But finally, the pair have done an interview and really shared how they feel reflecting on their Love Is Blind journey together. Cole has said he “really wanted to marry Zanab”, whilst Zanab has said she tried on many occasions to get Cole to see the error of his ways.

In the lead up to their marriage, we saw Cole saying other women in the experiment were more attractive, and he even at one point thought it was acceptable to ask Zanab if she was bipolar. There was obviously a lot more going on behind closed doors, as all the tension cumulated at the altar of their Love Is Blind wedding, when Zanab told Cole exactly how he had made her feel.

“The last two months have not been picture perfect,” Zanab said. “You have disrespected me. You have insulted me. You have critiqued me. And for what it is worth, you have single-handedly shattered my self-confidence. And I hate that you have had that kind of effect on me.

“And the messed up thing is, I know I love you. But everything in me, and the logical part of my brain, tells me that love shouldn’t feel this way. Love shouldn’t hurt like this. I can’t marry you, and I don’t.”

Zanab and Cole in season three of Love Is Blind on Netflix

via Netflix

Zanab has said she tried to have ‘numerous conversations’ with Cole about his behaviour

The couple have since had an interview with USA Today, reflecting on their time together on the show. Zanab said she tried to have “numerous” conversations with Cole about his insensitive behaviour towards her. She said that in return, “I was called passive-aggressive, not sweet enough, having a bad attitude – maybe even having my mental health questioned. And yet, I wanted to believe in our love story and that we could get back to the man I fell in love with.”

She said that on the day of their wedding, she still hadn’t decided if she was going to say yes or no. “But when I looked at him and got up [to the altar],” she said. “I was like, ‘Wow, this guy has to listen to me up here. He’s going to have to hear me. He can’t talk over me; he can’t dismiss me.’ I used the opportunity to state facts. I wanted him to have a very clear understanding of why it was a no.”

Zanab telling Cole exactly what she wanted to say might have looked fresh out a film, but she confirmed it wasn’t staged, nor rehearsed by her beforehand.

Zanab and Cole in season three of Love Is Blind on Netflix

via Netflix

Cole has said he felt ‘blindsided’ by the speech

Also speaking to USA Today, Cole said he felt “blindsided” by the speech Zanab gave at the altar. “I wanted to marry her so badly,” he said. “If she would have said ‘yes,’ I really have a feeling I would have said ‘yes,’ too, because we had gotten to the best place in our relationship. But looking back now, it’s hard for me to say, seeing where she was at and how she was feeling. I was blindsided by the ‘no’ and the extent of the ‘no.’ ”

Speaking of some of his ‘cringiest’ moments on the show, Cole admitted to being ‘too brutally honest’

Cole has said that moving forward he will be “more careful” in relationships and with how he treats people, and has said that in hindsight, there are things he shouldn’t have said during the show.

“We were asked constantly about what we thought about the other girls we had been dating [in the pods],” he said. “And then you see me flirting with Colleen and saying all these things about women, but I was being questioned about all those things. I should have just said, ‘I don’t want to answer these questions,’ but the bottom line is I answered them – maybe a little too brutally honest sometimes, and it came back to hurt my relationship. I should have not been so honest, but it’s part of this experiment, right?”

via Netflix

‘We’re not romantic anymore, but we care for each other’

Since the reunion, Cole and Zanab have said they are no longer talking. But, Cole said they have “really cleared the air” and are now “where they need to be” in their relationship. “We’re not romantic and we’re not into each other in that way anymore, but we care about each other,” he said.

Season three of Love Is Blind is available on Netflix now. For all the latest Netflix news, drops, quizzes and memes like The Holy Church of Netflix on Facebook. 

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