Steven and Sabrina seemed to face no obstacles as they fell quickly for each other on Netflix hit Love Is Blind UK, and so it was an obvious ‘I do’ on their wedding day.
However, it seems it may have been too good to be true as just 86 days after they made the ultimate commitment, the couple decided to split.
Now a year after her wedding, Sabrina is understandably emotional while reflecting on what happened.
When initially trying to explain the situation, the 35-year-old took a moment to compose herself before saying: ‘It was very difficult watching the wedding back because for me, it was real.’
‘I thought I was embracing a partnership with who I thought was my person. Unfortunately, that wasn’t the case, and within days of us getting married, the truth all started to unravel,’ she recalled to Metro.co.uk.
She feels that the person he presented on camera, isn’t who he is. ‘I was in a situation where I was married to someone who had led me down the aisle based on false pretences, but I was still trying to make it work as marriage is so important.’
The spouses agreed to split their time between their home in Belfast and London, but she claimed that three days into their marriage, Steven said work and finances wouldn’t allow him to do that.
Sabrina alleges that it was only her making an effort to resolve their issues by always being the one travelling to spend time together, and recalled her breaking point.
Sharing her version of events, Sabrina said: ‘Two days before he was meant to come see me at Christmas, he texted me saying he couldn’t make it work.
‘He had no problem going to Birmingham to see his friends, to go drinking, but he couldn’t prioritise his wife when he knew he was coming for six weeks.’
Steven, 37, sees things a little differently. Calling their wedding ‘the best day of my life,’ he added that things quickly went wrong as they lost their ‘sparkle’.
‘We didn’t really face any challenges then we went out into the real world and that’s where we started noticing our differences,’ he shared.
‘We had different expectations, we dealt with things differently, and we just lost our sparkle. We were both unhappy, and logistically it was very, very difficult as well, and it just kind of came to an end sadly.’
He continued: ‘As soon as that happened, I cut myself off, just to try and keep some privacy as I didn’t know what was going to happen.’
One thing the former partners can agree on is how difficult it is to relive their time on the series.
‘Watching us fall in love on the show has been very emotional,’ Steve summarised.
‘It’s raised a lot of questions like, are the feelings still there? Because I haven’t had to face those feelings, because there’s the Irish sea between us.
‘Obviously, there’s still a lot of emotions there, based on how the reunion went down. It’s still really hard, which is understandable. We just go about things very, very differently.’
Viewers don’t need to give up completely on the notion that dating shows can’t build everlasting connections, as two couples are still married one year later.
Jasmine, 29, and Bobby, 33, declared that marriage is ‘better than they expected’ while holding hands at the junket. However, Bobby shared that the adjustment after exiting the experiment was a little difficult for his new wife, but due mainly to the expectations she placed on herself.
With luxury shopper Bobby packing up his life in Staffordshire to move to London with his mental health nurse Jasmine, she wanted to make the transition perfect.
‘It was a massive adjustment. Obviously, he doesn’t have his family or friends around, but I just wanted to make sure he felt comfortable. I felt a lot of pressure because he’s moving his whole life,’ Jasmine said.
Bobby added: ‘She was trying to make things perfect, and trying to be the perfect wife. I had to sit her down and say “Everything is fine. You can relax”.’
While in a more organic environment, Bobby has been able to make progress withJasmine’s mum Marisa, who grilled him on the series.
During an intense dinner, Marisa called Bobby ‘uneducated’ for not having a degree, and said she was ‘very protective’ and wanted Jasmine to tell her things before Bobby.
On their wedding day, Jasmine revealed that her mum had communicated concerns off-camera about her relationship, which had left her non-stop crying.
Fans reacted to the moment, leading to both Jasmine and Marisa putting out statements asking people to be kind.
‘It was very difficult watching it back and seeing the backlash that she’s received off social media. At the end of the day, they are our loved ones. We had to accept them, have the difficult conversations, reflect on it, do better, and support her accordingly,’ said Jasmine.
While Bobby has now assured fans that they are very much a happy family: ‘It switched very fast.
‘From the wedding day, she came around, and since then, we’ve had a really good relationship.
‘We have boundaries in place. It’s not been crazy. She comes around to drop off chicken adobo, and she’s done a PRP facial on me. She’s made a real effort.’
Also still living in wedded bliss are Benaiah, 33, and Nicole, 29. Their journey on the series was one of the most tumultuous, with Nicole originally accepting a proposal from Sam, 31. She instantly felt it was the wrong decision, and asked Benaiah if he’d be willing to try to build on the foundations they built in the pods.
Together, they continued in the experiment, and Benaiah proudly declared ‘rough waters make good sailors’ as he committed to a future together.
With so much happening in the month before their wedding, Nicole has described re-entering the real world as like ‘coming down from a rollercoaster’.
‘In a good way, as I feel more settled and like my feet are on the ground,’ she quickly added.
Her fears about Benaiah being a free spirit, and perhaps not ready to settle down have happily been unfounded.
‘That was unfair. I own that. Those fears were all about me. When I look at him objectively and everything he demonstrated through the experiment – he was brave, he was bold, and he took steps to commit to us being engaged – there were so many things that he did and I was just in my own head,’ she said.
Benaiah said: ‘If we had not been challenged in the way that we had, it would have been harder to adjust to life afterwards. We’ve overcome those obstacles together and come through the other side.
‘We learned a lot about how we deal with disagreements. It wasn’t comfortable and enjoyable at the time, but it’s definitely that the best thing for our marriage.’
Demi, 30, got her happily ever after in a different way by choosing not to marry Ollie, 32.
Having learnt to love herself in the journey, she knew that getting married wasn’t the right decision for her and now looks back on the day with fondness.
‘What I took away from this journey is self-love and the importance of knowing your own worth and not seeking validation from anyone else but yourself.
‘When I stepped into that dress on my wedding day, I was like, “You are a wife”, regardless of what happens today. It was just really empowering. It felt like my wedding day,’ she explained.
As Demi then walked away from Ollie, we never got to hear what decision he was going to make.
However, he revealed to us exactly what he would have said: ‘I would have said the same as Demi but for different reasons.
‘I felt like as much as this experiment was very intense, and it allowed you to get to know your partner on a deep level, there were still things I wanted to explore in the real world before I could say for certainty that this is my wife.’
Love is Blind UK is available to watch on Netflix
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