The finale of “Love Is Blind" Season 8 has arrived, culminating in four weddings.
In the first batch of episodes, which arrived on Feb. 14, 32 singles from Minneapolis met and mingled with each other, hoping to find their soulmate on the other side of an opaque wall. Multiple couples successfully found love in the pods while others experienced tearful heartbreak.
As “Love Is Blind” fans have come to expect, quite a few love triangles popped up that caused some contestants to declare their feelings and others to doubt their connections.
Speaking to TODAY.com, Vanessa and Nick Lachey, who host the U.S. version of the show, explained why so much of this season unfolds in the pods.
“They didn’t just come in guns blazing going, ‘We need to get engaged,’” Vanessa Lachey said of the cast. “They really pulled back the curtain, if you will, and peeled back the layers of themselves and the couples to really get down to it.”
Nick Lachey said this season's geographical location impacted the vibe of the cast and couples, too.
“Minnesota is totally Midwest,” he said. “It’s just a different pool of people here. So, every season’s different. And I think what people will find in this particular season is that it’s very, very ... I don’t want to say sweet, but it’s more, it’s more heartfelt.”
By the end of Episode 6, five couples agreed to get married, sight unseen, while two pairs realized that they weren’t ready to move onto the next part of the experiment. By Episode 13, their weddings take place — but who actually gets married?
Read on to learn more about the Season 8 couples who are still together and those who have called it quits as of the reunion.
Season 8 couples who are still together
Daniel and Taylor
Daniel Hastings and Taylor Haag are the only couple from "Love Is Blind" Season 8 to get married.
The two matched each other’s energy from their first conversation.
He joked about proposing a few minutes into their chat and she playfully went along. When she returned to gush with the girls, Taylor, a 32-year-old colonoscopy nurse, said she appreciated that Daniel, a 30-year-old sales account executive, repeatedly spoke about searching for the mother of his kids.
They also bonded over their love of Christmas. In Episode 5, they gifted each other Christmas ornaments and stockings and marveled over their similarities. “The Christmas thing means a lot to me,” Daniel said. “But even if it wasn’t Christmas stuff, I feel like we were meant to find each other.”
Taylor replied that Daniel made her feel “very special, very loved and very important.” She then told Daniel that his words to her were the nicest things anyone has ever said to her.
In Episode 6, he read her a letter explaining why he loved her. “All I want to do is make you feel safe and make you happy for the rest of your life,” Daniel said. He then knelt on one knee and proposed.
“I would love to marry you!” she cheered.
Episode 6 ended on a cliffhanger as all the optimism and excitement Daniel and Taylor shared after meeting each other came to a screeching halt. After the face-to-face reveal, Taylor told the cameras she had an eerie feeling that she recognized Daniel. She spiraled, recalling that a social media user who looked like Daniel briefly followed her on Instagram before she left to film the show.
She met Daniel and voiced her concerns, explaining that she worried he already knew facts based on her profile and used the prior knowledge to woo her. He said he couldn’t remember following her and that her description didn’t exactly match his account. To confirm the truth, she scrolled through a list of Instagram users who had previously followed her. When she couldn’t find his name, she apologized. He was understanding and said he still wanted to take the trip with her Honduras.
The two quickly moved past the tiff and enjoyed their vacation in Honduras. After they returned, they met each other’s families and gushed about their connection. Daniel also introduced his parents to Taylor’s mom and dad, who stressed that divorce wasn’t an option in their family.
The couple got married in the finale, becoming the only couple to do so. As of the reunion, they are still together.
Season 8 couples who are no longer together
Devin and Virginia
Devin Buckley and Virginia Miller hit it off in the pods after learning that they both attended the same Minnesota high school. But, Devin, a 29-year-old youth director and coach, was a student at the school a few years after Virginia, a 34-year-old healthcare recruiter, graduated and the two had never crossed paths.
While in the pods, Devin also formed a connection with Brittany Dodson, but the relationship fizzled out when she realized he was too “rigid” and didn’t seem like the ideal partner. He agreed and continued to pursue Virginia, who had been reserved and skeptical during many of their conversations.
In Episode 6, Devin wrote a sweet letter to Virginia expressing his feelings. “Virginia, you are the most kind, loving and genuine person I’ve ever met,” he praised. “I know that in your past relationships, they made you feel insecure and undervalued. But I promise to always make you feel valued, loved, and to make you feel like the queen that you are.”
At the end of his letter, he told Virginia he loved her and asked her to marry him. “Yes, I will,” she softly replied. She later told the cameras through tears, “I haven’t felt like this ever. I just feel amazing. Today’s a good day.”
In Honduras, Virginia and Devin continued to get along but had a minor disagreement when they moved in together. After the couple visited their separate apartments and spoke about their future, Virginia suggested that they sign a prenup to establish financial boundaries. She explained that they should each be entitled to the assets they had before meeting each other. Devin was caught off guard and seemed hesitant to agree.
When Devin introduced Virginia to his family, he mentioned the possible prenuptial agreement. His family, particularly his sister Kayla, questioned the idea and wondered if Virginia was already doubting if the marriage would work.
On the day of their wedding, Virginia decided not to move forward, shocking Devin completely.
“I’m just not ready. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry," she said. Virginia and Devin's parents also seemed to be shocked by the move. Virginia’s father hugged Devin and said, “You’re a very good man. I’m disappointed also, but I think you’re a great guy.”
She explained her decision in a confessional.
“There were just depths of our relationship that we didn’t get to. We just didn’t get there. And even our sexual relationship, we just didn’t get to it. So I just think that we should be all the way there before we decide to spend the rest of our lives together,” she said.
Joey and Monica
Joey Leveille and Monica Danus’ time in the pods was drama-free. Joey, a 35-year-old physician associate, and Monica, a 28-year-old digital marketer, seemed to only form a bond with each other. They quickly connected thanks to their bubbly and quirky personalities and their love for “The Sound of Music.” Joey also supported Monica when she revealed that she was between jobs because she needed to take time off to help her family.
By Episode 2, they already knew that they wanted to get engaged and leave the pods together, making them the first official couple of Season 8. “I’ve had an incredible time falling in love with who you are as a person, your laugh, your voice, and I would love to take the next step with you,” Joey said.
“Would you get engaged with me?” he asked.
She laughed and said “Yes!” She said she couldn’t wait to see him in person before running to share the news with her friends.
Joey and Monica spent their time in Honduras learning more about each other and their idiosyncrasies, like her family's shared "sock bin." It appeared the two would have a drama-free path to the finale — until Joey met Monica's family.
While her parents were welcoming and invited Joey to participate in their family jam session, Monica's older sister, Nicolle, quietly eyed Joey from her seat. When she pulled Monica to have a private conversation outside, Nicolle mentioned that Joey wasn't her sister's usual type. She also said that as the older sister she always felt she would get married first.
At their apartment, Joey shared that he could tell Nicolle didn't warm to him. After Monica revealed what she spoke about with Nicolle, Joey suggested that jealousy might be the cause of Nicolle's disapproval.
Nicolle later takes Joey and Monica's engagement photos and appeared to come around — but Joey was still doubtful, as he says in Episode 13.
In the finale, Joey and Monica chose not to get married. Monica felt that Joey wasn't completely ready and he agrees at the altar.
"If Joey had told me with his words, ‘I am 100% in. It is you. I know it’s you. I’m certain.’ I feel like it could have been a lot different,” she said in a confessional.
Ben and Sara
Ben Mezzenga and Sara Carton briefly struggled in the pods when they started discussing their values. In Episode 2, Sara, a 29-year-old oncology nurse, asked Ben, a 28-year-old developer, about growing up in a Christian household. He explained his beliefs before she revealed that she wasn’t religious.
“The main thing for me that’s really tough about religion is my sister, Lisa. She’s my best friend. She’s gay,” she explained. She asked if Ben would be comfortable around her sister and would go to Pride activities with them.
“Yeah, no discomfort around that community at all,” he replied. She felt confident in their connection, but when they met again in Episode 4, she had some more concerns. She mentioned Donald Trump’s first presidency and the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020.
“I’m kind of ignorant towards that stuff. Like, I didn’t vote in the last election. As long as I don’t know, it’s not going to do much, so…” Ben said. When she asked directly about BLM, he said, “I’m not one way or the other. I just kind of keep out of it.”
Sara replied, “I think it’s very valuable and important to think about those things.” She later said she didn’t like his responses to her questions. “Basic human rights, equality, I need someone to be on the same page with me about that,” she said.
Ben assured her in Episode 5 that their values aligned. “I don’t want you to have any burden or any weight on your shoulder thinking that you have to teach me because I do have that motivation to grow into that and that internal feeling that we do have the same beliefs in these things,” he said before proposing.
“I feel so at peace and accepted by you,” she said after accepting his proposal. “I honestly can’t imagine being with anyone else.”
Ben and Sara landed in Honduras and swiftly decided to build on their emotional connection by exploring a physical relationship. When all the engaged couples reunited, Ben and Sara could not stop gushing about how well they got along.
In Minneapolis, Sara met a few of Ben's friends. Sara shared details about their conversation about values in the pods and his friends confirmed that he was an inclusive person.
Sara and Ben continued to progress until the two had an uncomfortable conversation at the end of Episode 9. She gasped twice after learning that a woman on TikTok posted a video calling out some of the "s----- men" on the Season 8 cast, without identifying the male cast members.
Ben, who had already seen the video, said, "I think she is referencing me." He also shared that he blocked the user and she blocked him.
When Sara pressed him to further explain the situation, he said he hadn't spoken to the woman in over four years and that he was "uncertain" about what else she would reveal. He added that she was "overreacting." Sara cautioned him that if he wasn't being forthcoming then the trust between them would be broken.
In Episode 10, the couple meets Sara's sister and her partner, who express worry and skepticism over her sister's new relationship.
“I see that you have a strong connection, but this is not real right now,” Lisa, Sara's sister, told her.
Sara appeared to hold firm. “Ben is such... like, we are so aligned in so many ways," she said. “I didn’t choose Ben because I felt we were the same person. I chose Ben because he made me feel so special, and I felt energized and loved and important.”
But by the finale, her tune had changed. Sara decided not to marry Ben — who seemed shocked and, in his words, "devastated" by her decision. Sara cited their differing values and political beliefs as one of her reasons.
Ben wanted to continue dating but Sara seemed to balk. “But you can’t date someone for their potential because they may never reach the potential," she said.
David and Lauren
David “Dave” Bettenburg and Lauren O’Brien were one of many Season 8 contestants who were involved in a love triangle. Dave, a 33-year-old medical device salesman, couldn’t determine if he had stronger feelings for Lauren or Molly Mulaney. When Lauren, a 31-year-old education saleswoman, realized Dave was undecided, she revealed to him that she didn’t have any other connections.
Meanwhile, Molly anxiously waited for Dave to call it quits with Lauren and solely pursue her. But in Episode 5, Dave cried as he told Molly that he wanted to “see things through” with Lauren instead. Molly was hurt but said she knew if he didn’t want her then it wasn’t meant to be.
Dave then met with Lauren. She said although they had some tough conversations she appreciated that they were open with each other and were able to move past everything.
He agreed and said, “You easily could have bailed. I just can’t thank you enough for your patience because it helped me come to terms with a lot of other things. And not being afraid to go after the girl that I really want to be with. I’m so in love with you.”
He proposed and she quickly accepted. “I love you so much, too. I’m excited to just start a future with you,” she said.
In the pods, Dave repeatedly mentioned that his sister’s opinions of his partners played a big role in his past relationships. Although fans still haven’t met her, the weight of her apparent disapproval and the mistrust of Dave’s friends negatively impacted his romance with Lauren in the second group of episodes.
As soon as Dave and Lauren returned to Minneapolis, he complained that friends and family members learned about his engagement before he told them. Then, Dave revealed that an acquaintance claimed he had been dating Lauren up until she left to go on “Love Is Blind.” Lauren denied his timeline of events and said that she had ended their casual fling. She said that the acquaintance wanted to create drama.
Despite Lauren’s friends also supporting her, Dave could not fully trust Lauren, creating a strain in their relationship as they approached wedding day.
The couple broke up in Episode 11 of the series in a long conversation that covered her past fling — which they still didn't share an understanding of — and Dave's talk with her father.
Speaking to the camera after the breakup, Dave said he felt like he “let her down” because he “couldn’t get over my own ego.”
“Love is blind but I don’t think marriage is,” he said.
Lauren, meanwhile, was "really sad" it didn't work out — and "pissed," too. The former couple met after a group hangout but did not reconcile.
Alex and Madison
Alex Brown and Madison Errichiello opened up in the pods about their difficult childhoods. Alex, a 29-year-old commercial real estate broker, and Madison, a 28-year-old artist, were both bullied in school and felt like outcasts.
The two seemed headed for an engagement until Madison revealed she had an avoidant attachment style. Alex suddenly became less talkative and their conversation ended abruptly.
When they met again, Alex voiced his concerns that Madison would run if they faced an obstacle. She told him that her still being in the experiment was proof that she was ready to go through challenging times with him. Meanwhile, Madison was also building a connection with Mason Horacen.
Mason told Madison he was “committed” to her. But when Madison decided to pursue her relationship with Alex instead, Mason regretted what he said. In Episode 6, Madison explained the situation to Alex.
Alex said he sympathized with Mason and wished him well. Madison didn’t appreciate that Alex wasn’t more comforting toward her. After their tense conversation, Alex said he could see a future with her but he was worried they would struggle with communication and disagreements. “I think at this point, it’s a pretty big jump. We’re not at a point to get engaged,” he said.
Madison tearfully departed the pods and left the experiment.
In an interview with TODAY.com, Alex said he had no regrets over ending the relationship.
"I was confident in the decision. If we could go back and do things again, I think it would have unfolded the same way. I’m glad that we got all of the issues out on the table the way we did so we could make that decision early on instead of moving forward and proposing and then going on the trip and then living together. I think it would have been a lot messier if that were to happen," he said.
His decision came down to attachment style and conflict resolution, as it appeared in the pods. "I think she has different ways of dealing with conflict than I do, and again, that’s totally fine. There’s nothing right or wrong with either way, but I think we just realized that we are both on very different pages and that communication wasn’t going to be easy," he said.
Mason and Meg
Mason, a 33-year-old cinematographer, gravitated toward Meg Fink, a 31-year-old oncology nurse, in the pods. She shared her conspiracy theories with him and expressed her strong feelings. But she knew that Mason also had a connection with Madison.
After Madison ended things with Mason, she told Meg what happened. Meg confronted Mason in the pods at the end of Episode 5. She questioned if she was only there by “default” because Madison rejected him.
He said he validated the “wrong person” because he was “confused” at the time.
When he said she was always his first choice, Meg replied, “I wasn’t yesterday, just to be fair.” She said he never affirmed his feelings for her until it was too late.
“I’ll never know if what you’re saying is true because we don’t get the opportunity for you to pick,” she told him in Episode 6. “I’m not going to be able to get past that.”
He said he understood her perspective and they said goodbye. They tried to date after the pods but have since broken up. At the reunion, Mason said he and Meg are "best friends."
In the 1990s, Sting infamously shared that he and his wife, Trudie, were fans of Tantra, sparking 30 years of rumours of their seven-hour sex sessions, lengthy orgasms and worship of certain body parts.
But, as Sting has said himself, Tantra is not just about sex.
While some devotees do claim that this 5,000-year-old spiritual practice has led to wild sexual escapades, others abstain from sex entirely, saying Tantra is a tool for empowerment, self-awareness and profound healing. The reality is that both are true and as “Neo-Tantra” gains popularity in the Western world, more people are discovering this.
With Hindu, Buddhist and Ayurvedic roots, Tantra is a religion steeped in ancient tradition and rituals. While it largely focuses on cultivating pleasure, it’s ultimately a means to expand consciousness, connect with yourself, foster better relationships and engage with the world around you.
As Tantra evolves for modern use, some benefits can be explained by science. “Tantra activations” such as mantra, meditation, breathwork and yoga may regulate the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system (which respectively activate fight or flight mode and calm the body), build a strong mind-body connection and create feel-good chemicals.
This can all potentially help with menopause symptoms, anxiety and unexplained gynaecological conditions. Men say they reap rewards too such as renewed vitality, physical reconnection and improved relationships.
Here three Tantra devotees explain how it’s transformed their lives.
‘Semen retention makes me feel more love for Laura’
Patrick Rafferty, 38, and partner Laura Walter, 35, from Hayes, started embracing Tantra after she found a book in a café
Since making Tantra a key part of their relationship, Laura and Patrick have left behind careers as an interior designer and primary-school teacher to become full-time Tantra practitioners.
Before finding Tantra, Laura struggled with sex. Like more than 80 per cent of women, she had never experienced an internal orgasm through penetration alone. Eventually, she began to suffer from unexplained pain in and around her vagina. She tried therapy and even had vulva surgery suggested. But it wasn’t until she picked up a Tantra book in a café that her life changed.
“Being told by a man that I needed to have my vulva cut open was a turning point for me. There’s a very male-dominated view of what sex is and how to deal with sex-related issues. When I found out that Tantra is focused on female liberation and expression, I knew this would be a healthy path for me,” says Laura.
Tantra is referred to in ancient texts as the “Path of the Goddess” and there’s often a focus on the importance of the woman experiencing pleasure.
“My introduction to Tantra was at a workshop in Hamburg. I spent an entire day receiving full-body massages from women. Afterwards, I felt like I’d taken drugs because I was so happy. Until that moment, I hadn’t been aware of how closed and rejecting of everything I’d become. I felt my heart open.”
From that moment, Laura knew she wanted to devote herself to Tantra. Her partner, Patrick, was happy to get on board.
“I love Laura, so I let her guide me in what she needed. I wanted to support her,” says Patrick. “We changed the way we made love, slowing down, putting emotional connection and presence first – very different to what we see in movies and porn. l learnt to bring more attention to everything that’s involved with intimacy outside penetration and to be really patient if Laura felt she needed to stop or take a break. We also started trying different types of massages and meditations together.”
It wasn’t all plain sailing, though. Laura explains how Tantra is about allowing “the full spectrum of the human experience”. To feel intense pleasure, you also need to be willing to fall apart in tears and get angry too.
“You have to become authentic, or there’s no pleasure,” Laura says. “Tantra has been a path to authenticity in our relationship. It’s helped us cultivate healthy, harmonious intimacy and communication, both in and out of the bedroom. We’re reframing what sex and turn-on is. These are philosophies that impact how we relate to feeling emotions and how much aliveness we allow to be part of our lives all day, every day.”
There are many Tantra practices Laura and Patrick swear by, but one method Patrick finds particularly powerful is semen retention.
“When I saw how much Laura started feeling in her body, it made me realise I wasn’t experiencing that,” Patrick explains. “I started looking at how I self-pleasure and I stopped watching porn. I turned masturbation into something sacred instead of a quick release. Semen retention followed. It’s believed in Tantra that when a man ejaculates, he loses energy. When we conserve this, we feel more connected to the world, more love for ourselves and our partners.”
People are surprised to hear that Laura and Patrick have been together for more than a decade, because their passion for each other is so fresh, much like what Sting has shared about himself and his wife, Trudie.
Patrick, who now helps other men navigate their inner lives, says: “People expect you to be bored of each other when you’ve been a couple for over 10 years, but Tantra has helped us build a foundation from which we continuously grow and evolve together, so our relationship is always fresh.”
‘I have respect for my vagina as a sacred space’
Sally Berg, 59, from Frome, believes Tantra helped her cope with the menopause
Sitting in a restaurant near her home at the time in South Africa, Sally saw a “radiant” woman walk in. “She looked so happy and alive. I was 40 and depressed after the birth of my son. I was also having therapy to address childhood trauma. But after two years of working through it all, I knew I couldn’t talk this away. I needed some of whatever she had,” Sally recalls.
The woman was international Tantra teacher Shakti Malan. Sally signed up for her forthcoming retreat.
Weeks later, Sally was crawling, naked and sobbing, out of the retreat into the pouring rain. “We were sober, we’d just been doing somatic movement exercises, breathwork and other Tantric healing practices – there was no sex involved. I was shaking and retching. I’ve never experienced anything like it. It was like being re-born.” The retreat leader explained it was Sally’s parasympathetic system shaking up old trauma.
When Sally got home, her two young sons were “all over her”, commenting on how beautiful she looked. She felt magnetic.
“Over the next 10 years, I went on a journey of self-discovery using Tantra as my guide, and my practices helped me breeze through the menopause,” says Sally. “I realised my body was a vessel of transformation, not just my mind. I introduced Tantra embodiment practices into my daily routine – swimming in the ocean, dancing with trees. Dance is a daily practice for me now, even if it’s just putting on a tune while I’m doing the washing-up! It’s one of the quickest ways to really feel yourself.”
Sally’s dedication helped her blossom, but the changes proved too challenging for her husband of 35 years.
“Everyone thinks Tantra is all about sex, but in my case the more I made Tantra a part of my life, and the more sensual I became, the less intimacy there was in my marriage. This deep work isn’t easy and there has to be a willingness to meet someone in their messiest parts. That’s the beauty of Tantra: it welcomes our shadow and our sexuality. Rather than pushing away sadness, grief and rage, you welcome and process it.”
As her marriage fell apart, Sally reached a point where she could spiral into the pain of feeling unloved, or choose to love herself.
“My brother once said, ‘I wish you’d love yourself the way you love your children.’ And that’s exactly what Tantra has helped me do. If we’re always outsourcing our pleasure, hoping and expecting our partner to give it to us, we’ll be in a constant state of victimhood.”
In 2023, Sally and her husband divorced, and she returned to her home in the UK. But Sally is now thriving and feeling better than ever.
“I’m 59 and living an orgasmic life! But I’m more selective than ever about who I’d choose to be my partner. I have so much respect for my vagina as a sacred space,” says Sally. “She runs the show these days, so my mind has become blissfully quiet. I’m so embodied now and my heart is wide open to feel and receive all of life.”
Sally has launched Mature Eros, an online programme designed to help women navigate perimenopause and menopause with embodiment practices and self-inquiry.
“Most women hit perimenopause like a brick wall because their bodies are flooded with cortisol after being on the go for decades. Tantric practice is all about cultivating pleasurable, feel-good hormones in the body that counteract cortisol. Women need to come back to their body. Tantra will help you do that, like it has for me.”
‘I can express my needs wherever I am – be it the bedroom or the supermarket’
Jessica Ashby, 38, from London, felt empty after experiencing sex parties, but then discovered Tantra Temple Nights
Jessica grew up in a religious family, raised with sex as a taboo. “I was brought up knowing that sex is for making babies. It’s not something we talk about and definitely not something we enjoy,” says Jess.
She wanted to explore this suppressed part of herself so she started attending occasional sex parties, known as “play parties”.
“I was doing this from a rebellious place, rather [than] from self-love, or for healing. It was fun and I enjoyed seeing sexuality celebrated. But after connecting with people at these events, I felt empty,” says Jessica. “I see now this was because I wanted to be accepted and loved. Sex was never about me and my desire or about how I felt, but about intimacy being something I must give someone else.”
A friend then invited Jessica to a “Temple Night”. Unlike play parties, which tend to be unstructured with more of a nightclub atmosphere, these revolve around Tantra practices.
“I attended one as soon as possible with a partner. It was very different to a play party. The whole group was invited to make a request of somebody, but sex wasn’t the goal. For some it was massage, others it was being held, or having someone play with their hair. I asked a man to bow at me for three minutes. It was an incredible experience, like I was a goddess. I felt unworthy of receiving that so I almost asked him to stop, but instead I just took it in. That single experience raised my standards of how I connect with people, especially men, more than any experience before.”
Jessica continued attending Temple Nights and loved how this was a space where all her desires, boundaries and feelings were respected. But something was missing.
“For the first time, I felt able to express my sensuality and feel the power in that. But these Temple Nights were not the sensorial experience I’d had in mind. I wanted to create something special and indulgent: rose petals on the ground, candles and beautifully presented food – everything set up to involve all the senses. Beauty and comfort is important if we want to soften and surrender, particularly for women.”
Jessica started holding her own Temple Nights with a team of trauma-informed facilitators.
“I don’t recommend these spaces to people who have experienced sexual trauma they’ve not yet healed through therapy, but I have witnessed a lot of healing at Temple Nights. I’ve personally healed a lot of my religious and societal conditioning and my distrust of the masculine. I feel so much more in my power now.”
Jessica has noticed how much Tantra practices inside the temple space have made an impact on her whole life.
“I’ve reclaimed my body, my sensuality and my sexuality. I feel the way I show up in the world has completely changed. I’m now able to express my needs wherever I am, whether that’s in the bedroom or the supermarket. I used to feel apologetic about being alive but now I allow myself to take up space. I delight in offering women somewhere to access this too and a place for men to witness this and become the strong container to hold all of that feminine force, so we feel safe with each other and safe in the world.”
