Love Is Blind’s Cole Barnett and Zanab Jaffrey’s Ups and Downs: From Falling in Love to Fighting On Screen

usmagazine.com:

Not a fairy tale. Despite falling in love in the pods, Love Is Blind stars Cole Barnett and Zanab Jaffrey‘s relationship was anything but a happy ending.“I think if he has questions [about why we broke up] he could definitely pick up the phone and ask,” the flight attendant exclusively told Us Weekly in November 2022 ahead of the Netflix series’ dramatic season 3 finale. “I would love to clear up anything for him.

I tried to be very clear at the altar [about] exactly why I was leaving and why it was a no.”Cole and Zanab bonded over their shared faith before he popped the question without ever seeing what his potential future wife looked like.

Once they left the pods, however, their emotional connection wasn’t enough to help their relationship survive the tumult of the real world.The first major road block came when Cole’s parents refused to attend the wedding — or even meet their son’s then-fiancée.

Tensions escalated further when the real estate agent admitted that he was more attracted to fellow cast member Colleen Reed than he was to Zanab.His comments angered both Zanab and Colleen’s now-husband, Matt Bolton, particularly after Cole rated the PR strategist a “10 out of 10,” but only gave Zanab a “9 out of 10.” As he watched the season play out, Cole exclusively told Us Weekly he regretted his behavior.“I mean, it’s really hard just remembering everything,” he confessed in November 2022. “Everything that just feels out of character for me and that I’m like, ‘I didn’t feel that way.