S05.E11: The Reunion

[Whimsy]

Quote

TBD

Original airdate 10/1623

[marny]

Did not expect Lydia and Milton to actually seem happy. Good for them? 

[TwirlyGirly]

Lydia's dress: one wrong move and...nevermind. 

Izzy's socks: 95% of people with color blindness are men. 

JP's makeup: looked so fake wearing foundation to even out his skintone. 

That's all. 

[dingochick]

I liked how Chris and Johnie basically chatted throughout Stacy’s monologue. Also, Uche is a douche but I can’t decide if I’m glad he wasn’t there or not. Definitely a douche, also seems cowardly. But maybe Lydia has a restraining order we don’t know about. 

Edited October 16, 2023 by dingochick

[Snapdragon]

I hated everyone's dress expect for Taylor's.  Johnie's was okay, very beauty pageant but at least she wasn't in danger of flashing the audience, unlike the rest of the women.  Lydia's dress from the side was insane and Stacy's dress kept seeming to hike higher and higher as the reunion went on.  If I were going on something like this, I would wear a happening jumpsuit or dress pants.  No way I'm going to sit through an hour plus worrying about my bits being exposed.  

And except for Milton, Taylor, Aaliyah and possibly Lydia, everyone just kinda sucked.  All the men (save for Milton) were a-holes this season and the women were just sad.  I can't even with the fact that both Stacy and Johnie made out with Izzy after the way he treated them.  Have some freakin' self respect.  Also, why was Tracy putting up with Izzy grabbing her leg multiple times during the reunion?  Was this filmed before the last episode aired?  Did she not see him say there was a reason she was still single at 33?  Then there's Johnie crying over Chris.  Please.  I have no time for that.  I did enjoy several of the faces that people were making while others were talking though, as well as Chris and Johnnie just straight up having their own private conversation while Tracy was speaking.

Ugh, this season was just the worst.  None of the couples were good and everyone was just overall awful.  

[DearEvette]

Aaliyah and Taylor looked gorgeous.

Stacy did not do her own make-up.

Didn't have Chris being an utter cad on my LIB bingo card.

Uche sending both Lydia and Aaliyah -- two women he was completely done with -- the same text and also texting Milton on his wedding day is .... something. Are we sure he's not the bunny boiler in this scenario?

Huh, Milton and Lydia still together and his family loves her? Well... goodness. Good for them!

My husband said Johnie's LIB experience could be a country song.

When Vanessa asked Chris "is cheating something you do to the one you love?" Lydia's face reaction would have done Marshall proud.

Imma need someone to tell me what exactly Johnie did to Stacy because she still has such a nasty spirit toward Johnie over a year later. And I loved how Johnie just tuned her out to have a smiley whisper conversation with Chris. CHRIS! The guy who ghosted her and immediately boo-ed up with another woman. That was perfectly pettily played!

Milton is my season MVP. But overall this was a clanging dud of a season.

[Empress1]

7 hours ago, DearEvette said:

Imma need someone to tell me what exactly Johnie did to Stacy because she still has such a nasty spirit toward Johnie over a year later. And I loved how Johnie just tuned her out to have a smiley whisper conversation with Chris. CHRIS! The guy who ghosted her and immediately boo-ed up with another woman. That was perfectly pettily played!

Johnie came out looking the best out of the four of them, minus the fact that she made out with Izzy only a few weeks after he talked to her like garbage - like @Snapdragon said, have some self-respect. Izzy and his too-short pants ain’t that cute (I thought Johnie looked beautiful). Chris cheated on her (!!) and Stacy is clearly still pressed about whatever perceived injustice Johnie supposedly perpetrated, a year and a half on. Her dismissing Stacy by carrying on that conversation and then basically saying “… Whatever” when Nick and Vanessa asked her to respond to what Stacy said really was well-played.

I want to know what boob tape Lydia was using and what shapewear Taylor had on, because her breasts looked great.

Milton eviscerated Uche very calmly. “He was never a friend, he was never a peer…” damn. He’s young but he’s mature.

[snarts]

I can't get over Johnie's prom dress and you'll never convince me that Chris didn't purposely ghost her.

There's no way Stacy had seen Izzy's comments in the final episode. The reunion was apparently filmed before it aired, you could tell by the way she watched the clip from the altar that it was her first timing watching it. I doubt the Lacheys saw it either, because it seems odd that they wouldn't comment or question him about it. 

Taylor looked fantastic. JP dug an even deeper hole. She'll look back and be happy she dodged that bullet. Same with Aaliyah.

Happy to see Lydia & Milton happy but I still think Lydia initially came on the show 100% for Uche.

[Empress1]

8 minutes ago, snarts said:

I can’t get over Johnie's prom dress

It’s so weird to me that the dress code for women on reality show reunions is “pageant gown.” I’d have to Rent the Runway, I guess. (I thought Stacy’s looked cheap.) 

[DearEvette]

29 minutes ago, snarts said:

I still think Lydia initially came on the show 100% for Uche.

It is interesting because to hear them tell it their stores are so different.  The only way Uche's scenarios works, imo, is if Lydia is indeed his obsessive stalker.

She says that they both acknowledged they got contacted by producers (and according to her there were other people in their friend group that got contacted as well) and had a convo about it. Both decided to apply independently.

He says that she obsessively stalked his instagram, saw that he was contacted and then went on elaborate steps to follow him there.

I am inclined to believe Lyda if only because Uche's MO feels really calculated.  I really feel that he has modified his story wrt to Lydia over time as it benefited him.  Even his interactions with Aaliyah he twisted the narrative to make himself the victim (always).  And by not attending the reunion live so he can be confronted in real time to his face he is pulling a Jackie.  Where he gets to see what everyone else said and shape his narrative after as a thought out response without any real time push back.

Also, frankly nobody had a good word to say about him, not just Lydia but even the guys. 

[Starlight925]

The big "tell" that Uche is the problem is the way the guys spoke of him.

When Milton said that he told Izzy, Chris, and the other guys that he preferred to keep his feelings about the different women in the pods close to the vest, everyone respected it.  Except Uche.

Not one guy came to Uche's defense.

Uche plays the victim.  He gaslighted Aaliyah, and he tried to make Lydia out to be a bunny boiler.

I think Lydia knew about his cheating and viewed different women's stories on his IG to figure out with whom he was cheating.  I think she drove by his house and saw an unfamiliar car, and texted a picture saying "I'm at your house".  As in, I'm at your house, and so is some random woman's car.   But Uche being Uche, he turned this around to make Lydia out to be crazy, and he's the poor victim.

Lydia and Milton have now been married 1 1/2 years.  They get along really well, and she has ingratiated herself with his family.  He's obviously very much in love with who she is, after the cameras are all down.  That's the biggest "tell" of all.

Edited October 16, 2023 by Starlight925

[retired watcher]

So Chris is a creep. 

Stacy didn't even want to try.

I'm surprised Milton and Lydia are still together. I didn't even think he would say I do.

I still don't like Johnnie but I do feel bad for how Chris treated her.

Aliyah's eye looked dead. She was also nervous.

Taylor is gorgeous and JP is an idiot.

Edited October 16, 2023 by retired watcher

[EdnasEdibles]

In regards to the stalking - I think it's way more likely that Lydia knew he was applying, figured she'd also apply and see what happens. I don't get the feeling that she was madly in love with him but more like realized that they both might be there and still tried anyway.

Dating groups are so small even in big cities. I'm in a very large midwestern city and if you're on the apps long enough you see the same 40 people over and over again. I have no doubt that if I was ever on a Love is Blind, there would be at least one guy I've matched with or possibly dated. 

The dating community being small was apparent when they talked about running into each other at bars. 

Edited October 16, 2023 by EdnasEdibles

[braziliangirl]

I like Johnnie. It's been a while since I saw a participant that seems like a real person. Yeah, she was petty and admit to that. I thought her reaction to Chris was fine considering they dated for a few weeks.  She didn't talk like she was coached by a HR representative or a PR. She was so over it that I kinda had to laugh.

I sort of think Lidia did tried because of Uche and she could've backed off but he seemed a bit jealous also? Not jealous but maybe wanted to kniow what she was saying? I still find the whole situation with her becoming close to Aaliya a bit weird but people do weird things I guess. 

Taylor seemed to bel mad. 

Did they tape the reunion before the season aired? I thought it was weird Stacy and Izzy describing the BBQ. 

 

 

Edited October 17, 2023 by braziliangirl

[Empress1]

3 hours ago, EdnasEdibles said:

Dating groups are so small even in big cities. I'm in a very large midwestern city and if you're on the apps long enough you see the same 40 people over and over again. I have no doubt that if I was ever on a Love is Blind, there would be at least one guy I've matched with or possibly dated. 

One of the couples on Married at First Sight had matched on an app but didn’t end up dating, and there were two others that got to the altar and realized they knew each other - one that had known each other in college (they were Vietnamese, I think, and had been involved with Vietnamese student orgs at their universities and knew each other from that) and one that had kind of seen each other around and had mutual friends (they were both artsy hippie types).

I go on and off the apps and you do see the same people (I stopped swiping right on one particular guy after we matched on two different apps but he never made contact or responded when I did). I’m not surprised that there was overlap in the cast - they’re all kind of similar, looking for kind of similar people. I’d also bet that producers are trolling the apps looking for people to recruit.

[JH Lipton]

I put this whole Uche/Lydia/Aliyah mess ckearly on Production.

First, they want is to believe that they had NO idea that Uche and Lydia had gotten together so recently.  That means they did no research at all, especially not talking to their friends about who they had been with.  Lydia is not that common a name, and Uche???

OK, so they find out that they knew each other, and let them continue on (all the people at the reunion said that was acceptable). But when they saw Lydia and Aliyah form a tight bond. they should have pulled them off set and let Lydia give Aliyah a heads-up about the situation. 

But, rather, they should have gone to the lounges and told everyone the truth as soon as they found out.  That way Aliyah wouldn't have been blind-sided.  Moreover, Lydia was dying to tell her friend about Uche but couldn't.  Of course when the cap came off, the words came spewing out and she didn't see how Aliyah was reacting.  She wasn't malicious and never meant to hurt Aliyah. I hope Aliyah forgives Lydia soon so they can be friends again.

Meanwhile, the producers are claiming they had no idea, totally not our fault, blah blah blah.

I'm happy for Lydia and Milton.  They seem very happy together and I loved Lydia talking about how Milton's parents love her more than him.

[quirkygal]

Well thank goodness that is over. Yikes!

Milton - and possibly Taylor - were really the only likeable ones in the end. Johnnie needs to keep at the therapy and give it a few years. It sucks but the only way forward is through.

I really wanted to see Izzy's mom and Milton's buddies handle the reunion. They looked like they were having such fun at the tux fitting and would ask the questions we were all wondering about.  Maybe add Milton's mom to the mix - her hr director on the verge of calling in the lawyers to "handle your mess " vibe might encourage some tea spilling.  Whether the tea is spiked or not who knows. But I think the two Mamas could cut through the doo doo while Milton's younger buddies can offer a generational perspective. 

 

[jabRI]

I totally believe the producers manipulated the heck out of the lydia/uche dating in the hopes of 'big drama'. did not expect to end up with egg on their face when alilyah just said, nope, i won't be manipulated or made to look a fool, and just left rather than continue the farce.  She dodged a bullet anyway, he did not need to show up at the barbecue forcing 'his side' down everyone's throat, or texting milton on his wedding day.  he was very self centered, i remember when he phoned alilyah after she left the conversation was around 'how could you do this to me' or how her prior cheating was affecting him.  what a narcissist.

[DearEvette]

43 minutes ago, quirkygal said:

really wanted to see Izzy's mom and Milton's buddies handle the reunion. They looked like they were having such fun at the tux fitting and would ask the questions we were all wondering about.  Maybe add Milton's mom to the mix - her hr director on the verge of calling in the lawyers to "handle your mess " vibe might encourage some tea spilling.  Whether the tea is spiked or not who knows. But I think the two Mamas could cut through the doo doo while Milton's younger buddies can offer a generational perspective. 

I would have love to have seen this.  The Brazil version does have the parents on the reunion.  One time a toxic meddling mother of one of the guys got read for filth by someone else's parent (not his significant other).  It was great.

I wonder if they will do an after the altar with this crew since only one couple made it to the altar?  They are already so messy. LOL.

[Meedis]

3 hours ago, DearEvette said:

I wonder if they will do an after the altar with this crew since only one couple made it to the altar?  They are already so messy. LOL.

LOL they probably will to keep with the formula but I do not care to see this motley crew again anytime soon.

[jabRI]

I thought the women's outfits were ridiculous and demeaning.

[Snapdragon]

4 hours ago, DearEvette said:

 

I wonder if they will do an after the altar with this crew since only one couple made it to the altar?  They are already so messy. LOL.

I don't know, something about Lydia makes me think that she's going to want a baby pretty soon, so if she gets pregnant, I could see them doing a special around that.  Otherwise, yeah, I don't even know what they'd show.

[sainte-chapelle]

Ok I loved Johnie talking through Stacey’s bitter monologue with no fucks given. Yea she made out with Lizzard but rolled her eyes and said it was no big deal. She was at a bar and made a shit judgement call….she didn’t seem bothered by it. Stacey is still a bitter mean girl. She also seemed quite clingy with Lizzard even though he moved on…she called Johnnie pathetic but pot meet kettle. I also loved Milton’s dismissal of Uche, that was  Chef’s kiss. 
I don’t like Lydia but Uche had some nerve trying to ruin her relationship with Milton. I do think Lydia was a bit obsessed with him and but he couldn’t stand it when she moved on. I also don’t think the two of them being casted was a coincidence. Aaliyah had both their numbers in the end. Uche is an asshole, I guess he is allowed to cheat and lie about it but because Aaliya was honest  she deserves to be slut shamed…no.
except for Milton all of these people were awful.

 

Edited October 19, 2023 by sainte-chapelle

[Lindz]

They didn't play Uche & Lydia's pod meet. They didn't play what Jo said to Chris & Iz. They didn't ask who Chris's new girl is and when she entered the picture and WHY he did that!!! They definitely should've played what Iz said at the end of his wedding day. It's so strange he went back, but didn't want to start over. Guess they didn't have those important conversations. Too busy being easy & fun, huh?

[Lindz]

How TF does JP go from saying he used the wrong words and apologizing to repeating he thought she was fake?!?!!! 🤨🤨🤨🤨 WHAT DID HE THINK WAS GUNNA HAPPEN AFTER HE WOULDN'T TALK TO HER FOR DAYS?!!! I MEAN, REALLY?!!!

[Jax7917]

I feel like Chris purposely stuck the knife in Johnie, but to be honest, I doubt she even cared much. She was never in love with him. She was just lonely and wanted to come out of the pods with a happy story. 

I thought Izzy and Stacy would make it. But I think the low credit score drastically altered her decision, as it would mine. I never needed a rich guy, but that's different than needing someone who is responsible with money. I wouldn't want to take in someone else's financial burdens, especially someone I met like 2 weeks prior. I think she was into him to an extent, but I felt like he was way more into her than she him. I really didn't get a sincere vibe from her. She felt very "on" for the cameras at all times. Her personality would have exhausted me.

Uche is most definitely an asshole. I had a bad feeling about him since his conversation with Aaliyah about her cheating 2 years prior. It's one thing to ask questions and sound concerned, but he just kept hounding her and came off very condescending. Even at the bbq, he just kept talking and talking. He never shuts up.

I really have no comment on Johnie other than, I'd be very bored by her. She seems like she rarely smiles. Even all of her pod discussions ,she just seemed like a sob fest.

[jabRI]

On 10/19/2023 at 12:48 AM, Lindz said:

They didn't play Uche & Lydia's pod meet.

I remember this, but it was at the 'lydia reveal' episode, not in the beginning.  Looked very fake to me.