Zanab Jaffrey is firing back at her ex-fiancé Cole Barnett and the internet after facing backlash for the Love Is Blind reunion! *Warning – possible spoilers ahead!*
As fans witnessed, the pair’s engagement on Season 3 of the popular Netflix series was far from smooth sailing. Their relationship grew increasingly rocky after leaving the pods and entering back into the real world as they often got into arguments, one of which viewers saw Cole ask if Zanab was “bipolar.” Previously in the season, the 27-year-old also admitted his attraction to co-star Colleen Reed and even compared Zanab’s body to hers – calling his partner a nine out of ten and Colleen a ten out of ten.
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Their romance ultimately (and unsurprisingly) came to an end when the 32-year-old realtor said, “I don’t,” at the altar. She delivered an explosive speech in front of their loved ones about how Cole never treated her with respect and constantly body-shamed her to the point where he “single-handedly shattered my self-confidence.” Whoa! Later, on the reunion episode, Zanab further accused Cole of trying to “control” what she ate and making comments about her appearance throughout their relationship (both on and off camera), resulting in her starving herself sometimes. She said:
“I stopped eating. I was eating like a banana and a teaspoon of peanut butter just so I wouldn’t pass out on the long days we were filming.”
One unaired moment Zanab specifically mentioned is the “Cuties video,” where she went to eat two clementines, and Cole asked her if she was going to eat both of them before dinner. At the end of the reunion special, Netflix ended up releasing the scene, and fans saw him offering Zanab a poke bowl when she said she only ate a banana all day. Afterward, the internet soon slammed Zanab, saying she overreacted to what happened and was just trying to recreate Deepti Vempati’s epic “I choose myself” moment during her wedding to Shake Chatterjee in Season 2. See some of the reactions below:
“plot twist: zanab is the real villain in #loveisblind season 3 seeing the cuties clip, cole did nothing wrong. zanab, out of her insecurity, made it a bigger issue than it was and blamed cole entirely. he did not deserve that humiliation at the reunion.”
“Cole was not perfect by any means, but the way Zanab completely changed the tone of that cuties conversation has me second-guessing everything she said during the reunion. My gut 100% doesn’t believe that bachelor party story”
“Zanab babes I love you but where did Cole destroy your self esteem during this Cuties conundrum”
“If I’m being brutally honest… I think the *way* Zanab rejected Cole at the altar was so that she could have the ‘Deepti’ moment of her season, but i’m sorry it just didn’t land…”
But it seems Zanab refused to stand for the hate comments! She took to Instagram on Thursday to address Cole and the backlash she received for the scene, writing:
“Cole, I fought for us until I couldn’t anymore. I know you know that. I know you know why I said what I said. I know you know what you did. It’s ok if you aren’t ready to talk about that yet.”
Zanab then penned “an apology for the internet”:
“I am sorry. 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.”
She continued:
“I’m sorry Deepti’s wedding was a week before mine, long before you or I knew her story. I’m sorry you are attacking my faith. I’m sorry you don’t believe me. I’m sorry I know how worthy I am. I’m sorry you have the time to be a keyboard warrior. I’m sorry I’m not a paid actress. I’m sorry I can’t cry on demand. I’m sorry you feel manipulated, gaslit and played. I’m sorry I’m your villain. I’m sorry I’m your bad guy – I promise you I’m not. One thing about me, I choose my words carefully and I stand by everything I said.”
Wow… You can ch-ch-check out her full post (below):
The television personality received a bunch of support from her castmates, including Colleen, Nancy Rodriguez, Raven Ross, and Brennan Lemieux. Alexa Alfia specifically defended Zanab on her Instagram Story, suggesting there were things people did not see on the show that happened:
“There will be no apology from me. There are multiple reasons why we stuck by her. We spent almost everyday together so I will not take advice from anyone who was not there. There are two sides to the story and I still stand by what I said. The clementine story is irrelevant. I don’t like bullies and I will always stand for those who are in the right. It’s truly heartbreaking to see how low and disgusting the internet can be. I hope you feel better after commenting such vile things.”
Cole has not responded to Zanab’s message yet – but he thanked everyone for their “support” shortly after the final episodes dropped this week. He expressed:
“Thank you everyone for all the messages and comments! I can’t express how much your support means to me.”
Oof! So much drama!
What do you make of this situation from Love Is Blind, Perezcious readers? Do you think the “cuties” scene was blown out of proportion or do you believe there is more to the story? Let us know in the comments below!
[Image via Love Is Blind/Netflix]
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