Season 5 of Love Is Blind was filled with drama, he-said-she-saids and more splits than romances. Now that the reunion has aired, contestant Johnie Maraist is speaking out about some of the confusion surrounding her relationships with Izzy Zapata and Chris Fox.
Johnie appeared on the Out of the Pods podcast with co-hosts and Love Is Blind alums Natalie Lee and Deepti Vempati, sharing her side of the story.
Johnie had a connection with Izzy in the pods on the show, but Izzy ultimately broke up with her in favor of proposing to Stacy Snyder. Izzy and Stacy were one of only two couples to make it to the altar on the show, and though Izzy said “yes,” Stacy said no.
Though Johnie didn’t get engaged, she did begin dating Chris, another pod connection, and the pair went to an ill-fated cast barbecue together where both Izzy and Stacy publicly attacked her.
Shortly after, it was revealed that Chris left the event and cheated on her without letting her know he’d moved on. At the reunion, Johnie and Izzy also revealed that they kissed after filming wrapped and tried to see where their romance could go. And though Izzy brushed off the brief romance, saying he wasn’t over Stacy, Johnie now claims that it was something more.
“My whole mentality was, I don’t know if I trust you or not. I don’t feel great about that barbecue. There’s a lot of people telling me… alright if y’all want to get into the real tea,” Johnie says on Out of the Pods. “Milton told me that Izzy had another girl at the bachelorette party.”
Milton was the only other contestant to make it to the altar, choosing to marry his now-wife, Lydia Velez Gonzalez. The bachelor and bachelorette parties were not aired on this season of the show.
“So Milton told me, ‘Don’t go for Izzy. He’s not trustworthy. I don’t trust him.’ And me being dumb… I told Izzy about my conversation with Milton and that’s where s**t went awry,” Johnie shared, saying Milton “got very upset” with her for sharing his claims with Izzy. “He was like, ‘I was just telling you as my bro’… Milton wanted me to cut things off with Izzy and not say that he said anything.”
Noting that she felt she had to tell Izzy so she could get the truth from the source, Johnie noted that she no longer has a friendship with Milton or Lydia as a result.
Things didn’t work out with Izzy romantically, with Johnie claiming she “was getting it from all sides” with many people telling her she couldn’t trust her ex.
She shared that she had become a friend of Izzy’s, whom he confided in about his other romantic relationships. And it wasn’t until Stacy came back into his life that things turned hostile again.
Johnie also shared the alleged text message she received from Chris after her friend saw him making out with another girl while she still thought they were in a relationship.
“He said, ‘I’m sorry. I really am. Everything I told you was the truth. I wanted to be with you. I see my life with you in the future and know it would be perfect. You’re amazing. I don’t know what it is and I tried to work through it, but I have this anxiety with you and with the show. I just fell back to what I know and I apologize,'” she read.
Noting that was the last she heard from Chris before the reunion, Johnie explained that she and Chris were catching up and apologizing to one another in the awkward exchange that occurred while Stacy was talking.
Johnie said she realized that Stacy wasn’t going to apologize for her comments at the barbecue and realized it was more important for her to talk to Chris than for her to listen to what Stacy was saying.
After the reunion aired, Stacy posted a message claiming that Johnie criticized her physical appearance and her connection to Izzy to other members of the cast.
Johnie denied some of these claims, saying that she felt Izzy broke up with her in the pods in favor of Stacy because he discovered she was brunette and Stacy was blonde. She admitted to criticizing their connection, but never said anything bad about Stacy’s appearance.
Now, Johnie is living with her current boyfriend of one year, Alex Yovanovic. She previously told ET that Alex was recruited for the show but turned down the opportunity because he knew he couldn’t propose within the time frame.
On Out of the Pods, Johnie called the relationship the “healthiest” one she’s ever been in, saying, “We’re very secure. I told him everything about the show beforehand.”
As for a future proposal, Johnie shared, “He’s like, ‘It’s not a matter of ‘if’ but ‘when.'”
All five seasons of Love Is Blind are currently streaming on Netflix.
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