'Love Is Blind' Star Cole Spoke About The 'Horrible' Reunion & Addressed Infidelity Rumours
Did Cole Barnett entertain other women while being engaged to Zanab Jaffrey? That's the question on a lot of Love Is Blind fans' minds after watching the reunion episode that aired earlier on Wednesday this week.
Barnett is now trying to clear the air by elaborating on his side of the story.
He opened up about his experience on Season 3 of the Netflix dating show, especially the "horrible" reunion episode — where he felt "attacked" by his ex-fiancé and fellow cast members, he confessed in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly.
Barnett denied Jaffrey's numerous allegations during the reunion episode and he continues to stand by his version of events.
"The story is the same as what I said at the reunion, which is: I didn't try to kiss a girl at my bachelor party," Barnett told EW.
"We went to a rodeo. We chased cows around, and we went to a saloon that was specifically designated for us. There [were] no other people there. And then I Ubered home with an Uber that was bought for us by Netflix."
After the bachelor party, he claims he went home and straight to bed, so he's still wondering where Jaffrey's allegations came from.
"I just think it's a ridiculous story when you see that she was feeling on other men at her bachelorette party," shot back Barnett.
Barnett also addressed fellow Season 3 participant Brennon Lemieux's allegations that he was flirting with other women while being engaged to Jaffrey.
"Brennon was claiming that I hit on a girl right after getting engaged. That really caught me off guard because I didn't know what he was talking about," explained Barnett.
Barnett explained that after his engagement, he spoke to other guests at the hotel about the experience and wanted to share his excitement with others since he wasn't allowed to have his phone and contact his friends and family.
"We weren't really supposed to be telling people, but I was anyways because it was a ridiculous feeling to be going through," said Barnett. "For Brennon to say that I hit on a girl is just not true because I was just talking to people about the fact that I had just gotten engaged to a girl I'd never seen."
The infidelity allegations were just the tip of the iceberg. During the reunion, she also accused him of slamming her self-confidence and driving her into developing an eating disorder.
After the reunion episode aired, many online commenters called Jaffrey a 'villain' and instead stood up for Barnett. Season 2's notorious participant Abhishek 'Shake' Chatterjee even compared her to actor Amber Heard, referring to her very public divorce trial with ex-husband Johnny Depp.
In response, Jaffrey sarcastically "apologized" for speaking her truth. She however, still "stands by everything I said."
It's safe to say Barnett and Jaffrey had a turbulent relationship following their engagement in the pods. It culminated in a dramatic reunion episode face-off where he eventually broke down while apologizing for hurting her, almost 18 months later.
What are your thoughts on the Cole versus Zanab online debate? Let us know in the comments.
