When the second season of Love is Blindcame to a close, there were one too many questions on fans’ minds. Did Jarrette finally make a change? How did Deepti feel about Shake’s comments? Did Sal and Mallory give it a try? What about Natalie and Shayne? The only way to get these answers was to have a tell-all sit-down or just a tell-as-much-as-you-can-reveal talk if the reunion episode is anything to go by. From the get-go, it was clear that the hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey were taking a ‘safe space’ approach where everyone’s voice mattered and respect was supreme. Unfortunately, Shake did not get the memo. Early on the show, he went into attack mode, calling out the show’s editors for painting him the wrong way. His biggest worry wasn’t what would be said at the reunion, but how the footage would be edited.
From the look of it, it’s Shake’s world, and we’re all living in it. He has an opinion about everything and anything, including his own issues. Thanks to the courage of Vanessa Lachey, who Shake revealed he was extremely attracted to (in front of her husband!), he was singled out for his vile comments on Deepti and the condescending way he talked to women on the show. Shake seems to have a low opinion of women in general. His inability to abide by the simple rule of getting the physical out of the way proves his intent, which Lachey made loud and clear: He came to Love is Blind to find ‘somebody to f*ck’. Deepti was lucky that Jarrette and some of the girls gave her a heads up. Otherwise, she would have ended up with a misogynist. On why he came to the show in the first place, Shake said he wanted to mix the emotional and the physical because they both contribute towards making such a huge life decision. His ideal show would have been Love is Blurry. Safe to say, everyone agreed that he was on the wrong show.
When Natalie was home, watching her life play out on television, she was extremely hurt when she got to the part where Shaina revealed how she felt about Shayne. Watching how Shayne was conflicted when Shaina declared her love seemed to affirm the choice to call it quits altogether. If Shayne had had his way only two days prior, his choice of spouse wouldn’t likely have been the same. In his defense, it had been days since Shayne had talked to Shaina. He was aboard the Natalie train, and the visit from Shaina threw him off balance. For Natalie, however, the fight at the end was the wake-up call she needed to figure out that things between her and Shayne couldn’t work. Prior to that (at least before watching the Shayne and Shaina situation) she was going to say yes. The pair revealed that they tried to date again, but the weight of the fight was always looming over Natalie’s head.
Married life seems good on the Joneses. If their matching outfits and Iyanna’s glow is taken into account, the air around the Joneses is right. Jarrette and Iyanna managed to find a balance. The last time we checked, Iyanna was the introverted one who preferred to stay at home and read a book, while Jarrette was the outgoing life of the party, who was highly synonymous with the streets. The streets did call, but Jarrette has since steered away from his bachelor days. He’s staying in more, and Iyanna is leaving the house too, an arrangement that allows them to maintain their introverted and extroverted lives in equilibrium. Jarrette however maintained during the reunion that marriage is a lot of work. At least he is making an effort to make it work. He has grown a lot, enough to give Salvador a much-needed apology.
Musician to musician, Nick Lachey thought Sal was fantastic on the show. He gave him his flowers right there, before diving right into the tensed relationship Salvador shared with Mallory. The first hiccup in the Salvador-Mallory situation was her emotional connection to Jarrette, which caused both Salvador and Iyanna pain while in Mexico. At the reunion, both Salvador and Jarrette agreed that his comment about the ring was inappropriate, and Jarrette offered him an honest apology. Watching that part of the show wasn’t easy for Iyanna either, who received an apology from Mallory.
That conversation shouldn’t have happened at all, and both Mallory and Jarrette showed remorse that it did. The maturity both of them displayed in addressing the situation must have put Iyanna at ease. Speaking of Iyanna, she may have told a little white lie. Although she was reserving herself for marriage, she and Jarrette did have a moment back in Mexico. Once. Back to the Mallory-Sal relationship, on the show, we saw some behind-the-scenes drama involving Salvador’s ex. Yet again, Salvador didn’t want a part in the drama, especially when Shake tried to give his opinion. It didn’t make sense to bring it all up now that he and Mallory had decided to go their separate ways.
At Danielle and Nick’s wedding, the general opinion was that they wouldn’t last long. Nick’s body was doing everything to tell him he made the wrong move by marrying Danielle. He went against it and married her anyway. Viewers were happy to learn that Nick and Danielle are in a very positive space. They are still trying to find ways to communicate better, and Nick has loosened up a little. Unlike Danielle, whose furniture wasn’t really strong, Nick is having a good time dancing on tables and not breaking them. The reunion gave us a look into their lives. The home video showed that Nick and Danielle are doing just fine, perhaps even better than we thought.
Kyle and Shaina never made it to the altar. She accepted his mother’s ring, professed her love for Shayne, left him alone in Mexico, and eventually broke off the engagement. There aren’t enough words that can explain the Kyle-Shaina situation. He felt that she simply wasted his time. Shaina maintained that she rejected Kyle because of their religious differences and nothing more. In a crazy twist of events, Kyle revealed that he should have gone with Deepti instead. He thought Shake really messed up the situation. Overall, the reunion gave some answers. Not as many as some fans had hoped, but that’s what “After the Altar” is for, right? Till then, the season has been incredibly entertaining, enough for us to have The Ultimatum, which is the show Shake needed in the first place.
Love is Blind
Follow Us
