Netflix's Love Is Blind live reunion took place on Sunday night – and it was anything but smooth...
The live reunion for the hit dating-show failed to launch on time, with users experiencing major delays after being hit with error messages. Instead of the reunion so many hoped to see, viewers were faced with the message ‘Pardon the interruption. We’re having trouble playing Netflix. Please check your internet and try again.’
As social media aired their annoyance over the delay, Netflix joked in a since deleted tweet ‘Love is… late,’ before promising fans it was ‘worth the wait.’
After over an hour of technical trouble (at an in-person watch party taking place in Hollywood, with a panel of press, influencers, and Netflix reality alumni making up the audience might we add) Too Hot To Handle’s Chloe Veitch announced that they would be taping the reunion for those who weren't able to watch it live. Awks…
Almost 90 mins after the failed broadcast, Netflix apologised by saying ‘To everyone who stayed up late, woke up early, gave up their Sunday afternoon… We are incredibly sorry.’
And for competing networks and streamers, Netflix’s major fail was the perfect opportunity for some self promo…
Bravo tweeted ‘We would never keep you waiting for a reunion.’
Hulu joined in with a simple yet effective 'Hmm.'
Replying to Netflix, Blockbuster said 'Remember renting vhs’ from us. You could start it on time no problem… This is what we get.’
And the experience left fans begging the streaming platform to stick to what they know, with one sharing ‘Please never do another live stream again.’
One disappointed viewer wrote on Instagram, ‘Whew, Netflix fumbled with this reunion,’ as another added, ‘This isn’t working. Just drop the episode like normal if you can’t handle the traffic.’
Another joked, ‘Looks like Netflix didn’t pay their Netflix subscription,’ with one fan agreeing ‘All the comments, memes, tweets, and Tik Tok videos over this have been the real entertainment tonight.’
What did the couple's say at the reunion?
Even though the reunion was far from smooth sailing, the chaos certainly didn’t disappoint when we finally watched.
To refresh your memory, the season finale finished with Chelsea and Kwame, Tiffany and Brett, and Bliss and Zack – who famously got enagaged after he called with quits with his Irina – all saying yes at the alter.
But not all couples found a happy ending. Paul brutally ditched Micah, before following his tearful bride and declaring his love to her. Perhaps the season’s most dramatic couple was Jackie and Marshall, whose rollercoaster engagement ended in Jackie rekindling her flame with her former pod-mate, Josh.
During the reunion, everyone got a chance to tell their side of the story – and Zack certainly didn’t hold back when it came to ex-fiancée Irina’s behaviour. He shared that viewers only say ‘10% of it,’ adding ‘if we’re real, you went on this show to get famous.’
And after Irina shared that she was going through a mental health struggle whilst appearing on the show, Bliss said ‘I think you can have panic attacks and you can have trouble with mental illness and all of that. That’s totally valid. But then you’re turning around and you’re doing malicious things and acting in really cruel ways. It’s hard to reconcile those two things.’
Whilst they couldn’t attend the reunion live, Josh and Jackie also gave a shared update via Zoom. Revealing that they’ve been together since filming wrapped a year ago, Jackie insisted she had broken up with Marshall before her romance with Josh – despite how the show made it seem.
The star also shed some light on her split with Marshall, claiming her ex-fiancée jokingly called her a ‘derogatory name' and asked for her ring back in order to propose to another member of the cast.
In response to Jackie, Marshall admitted saying ‘You got a strong jawline. I mean, like, you could’ve been a man for all I know,’ but claimed there was no ‘derogatory term’ used – adding ‘That word is not in my vocabulary.’
He also denied that he asked for the ring back to propose to another castmate, saying ‘I felt like she didn’t deserve to have that symbol of my love.’
Love Is Blind is streaming on Netflix now for those wanting to catch up on the goss (but this time, with no delays).