The Love Is Blind season 4 reunion aired on Sunday night, and in addition to a technical issues delay, viewers weren't pleased with how Jackie Bonds and Josh Demas were treated. The show villain and her rebound boyfriend were each given exceptions for their appearance, along with softer questioning from show co-host, Vanessa Lachey. Overall, this suggested that Jackie and Josh had preferential treatment from the show.
Love Is Blind season 4 was one of the messiest seasons yet, though it featured three marriages. Happily married couples Kwame Appiah and Chelsea Griffin, Zack Goytowski and Bliss Poureetezadi, and Tiffany Pennywell and Brett Brown, all appeared at the live reunion. Singles Micah Lussier, Paul Peden, Marshall Glaze, and show villain Irina Solomonova were a part of the action as well, which marked the second live event for the streaming network. However, Josh and Jackie filmed their segments for the reunion the day before, over Zoom, with Vanessa. Meanwhile, all the other cast had to answer live, with both Vanessa and Nick Lachey asking questions.
Why Josh & Jackie Failed To Appear At The Love Is Blind Reunion
The Love Is Blind season 4 reunion challenged all cast to answer questions live, without edits or breaks. However, a rule was broken for Jackie and Josh, as they could call in for a pre-recorded interview, which was filmed from the comfort of their home. she and Josh were receiving death threats, which prevented them from arriving at the reunion in person. However, past Love Is Blind mega villains (who created even more controversy than Jackie) all attended their reunion events. This created uncertainly over the validity of Jackie’s claim.
Did Josh & Jackie Get Preferential Treatment?
Since Josh and Jackie were able to film first, Jackie’s ex Marshall was forced to react to Jackie’s allegations in the live reunion, rather than have a discussion with her, and dispute her claims. Meanwhile, co-host Vanessa didn’t push Jackie to ask any meddling questions, or force her to open up. However, she grilled Marshall during the event. Since Josh and Jackie got to film ahead of time, they were able to voice their narrative first, and weren't put on the spot at the live event. Marshall said at the reunion that he felt,“slighted” by Jackie’s absence, while he didn’t appear to appreciate the grilling that he received. Meanwhile, Jackie got off quite easily in contrast.
While the Love Is Blind season 4 reunion certainly made it seem like Josh and Jackie received preferential treatment, there is one other explanation for why Jackie and Josh didn't appear in person. Before the reunion, Jackie promised to bring drama to the live event, and bombard her ex Marshall. Since Marshall is currently the most followed Love Is Blind season 4 cast member on Instagram, there is a chance the show wanted the opportunity to edit what Jackie revealed. Therefore, it might have been a safer option to have her record the day before, rather than arrive at the reunion with bombshells and anger.
Sources: Jackie Bonds/Instagram, Josh Demas/Instagram