Love Is Blind's Ben Admits He 'Avoided' Conversations About Social Issues So He Wouldn't 'Ruffle Any Feathers' (Exclusive) liennhi

• Love Is Blind’s Ben Mezzenga admits he “chose to avoid” tough conversations about social issues in PEOPLE’s exclusive first look at his appearance on fellow alum AD Smith's What’s The Reality? podcast
• Ben shares he shied away from certain topics so he wouldn't "ruffle any feathers" with his family and community
• Ben’s relationship with Sara Carton came to end at the altar after she shared that she "always wanted a partner to be on the same wavelength" when it came to her views

Ben Mezzenga now knows that avoidance wasn’t the answer on Love Is Blind.

In PEOPLE’s exclusive first look at What’s The Reality? podcast, the reality star reflects on his reasons for steering clear of conversations about LGBTQ community and religion with his ex-fiancée Sara Carton during season 8 of the hit Netflix dating series.

When asked by Love Is Blind season 6 alum and host AD Smith about his response to discussing social issues, Ben admits that he had “avoided these conversations” in the past.

AD then asks if he actually avoided the conversation or if he was raised “in a way where maybe you have an opinion and your default is to avoid," to which he replies that it is “a little bit of both.”

“I would say cause I think growing up I've always wanted my own opinion,”  he explains. “But you always fall back or stem to what you were raised believing and so I think that's part of why I've kind of avoided it because growing up in a community that you know is always open and loving to everyone but believes [in] a certain belief system.”

While his personal belief system differed from what he was taught, he notes he didn’t talk about it “with the people that raised me or the community that raised me” to avoid difficult conversations.

“I just was like I don't know if I believe that but I'm not gonna bring it up or talk about it because I don't wanna ruffle any feathers,” he says, adding, “Also, there's this other side that I think I do believe but because the people I'm around, it might ruffle their feathers and it's a back and forth and so I chose to avoid it.”

He explains that through his own “growing up and personal development,” he now realizes that is “not the way to do it.”

The clip concludes with AD pressing him for a “clear answer” on what he stands for after his opinions were not fully apparent during his conversations with Sara throughout season 8.

On the show, Sara questioned Ben’s beliefs on a wide range of social issues as she noted the importance of finding a husband who respected her progressive views. After he couldn't vocalize his beliefs, she announced at the altar that she "always wanted a partner to be on the same wavelength" and called off their wedding.

After her decision, Sara opened up to cameras and admitted she was "affected" by Ben failing to think deeply about bigger social issues. She noted that she believed their love may have been "surface [level], fun [and] carefree."

"I want someone to think about that stuff," she added. "There was no curiosity coming from his side... People prove who they are, actions speak louder than words. You can say anything you want, but show me. That would've changed everything if he really showed priority."

In a conversation with PEOPLE following the finale, Sara explained: "The whole entire time, I wasn't looking for a right or wrong answer. I just wanted to have depth and be able to understand one another, where we came from, how we grew up, why are we thinking and having this perception of life and the world and the people around us the way we do. I love having those deep conversations."

"But in the pods, I felt like I was happy with the conversations that we had, that at least they were [received]. [I was] thinking, moving forward, we'll be able to grow with this. But it just never evolved," she continued. "It never really got to that point. And so that's what made me think, okay, actually maybe there's no depth at all."

"There was no doubt that we had a connection, but just moving forward and having depth in our relationship, I really wasn't getting much from Ben when I was asking him questions... if I was able to have that depth with him, then I think it would've changed things maybe, but it just didn't work."

Love Is Blind season 8 is now steaming in full on Netflix. New episodes of What’s The Reality? drop Wednesdays wherever podcasts are available.