‘Love Is Blind’ Reunion: Are Ali Lima & Anton Yarosh Still Together?
[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Love Is Blind Season 9.]
Ali Lima and Anton Yarosh were the first couple to get engaged during Love Is Blind Season 9, but that doesn’t mean they said “I do.” In fact, they were the first couple to say “I don’t.”
Looking back, Ali and Anton appeared to be one of the strongest couples to come out of the Denver Pod Squad, bonding over their cultural backgrounds and their shared history working at McDonald’s. However, tensions between Ali and Anton rose as they reentered the real world and faced their impending nuptials. Drama ensued when Ali met Anton’s friend Joe and his girlfriend, Melissa.
Among other things, Melissa shared that Anton and Joe would frequent strip clubs when they were single, which Ali wasn’t happy to find out. “Strip clubs are not OK for me for somebody that’s in a relationship and even as a single guy,” she told her castmates in Episode 9. Anton has since responded to the commentary about frequenting strip clubs.
Scroll to find out everything we know about Ali and Anton’s relationship, including their relationship status, what happened when Ali met Anton’s friends, why Anton’s drinking and partying habits raised red flags for his fiancée, and everything that went down at the altar.
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Are Ali and Anton still together?
In the pods, Ali and Anton bonded over learning English as a second language and often shortening their names (Anton to Tony, and Aline to Ali) in American social circles. As the first couple to get engaged and meet during the season, Anton and Ali seemed to start the season off as the strongest, most mess-free couple. However, on their wedding day, Ali said no to marrying Anton after he said “I do.”
At their wedding, Ali shocked Anton with her confession. “I can’t be your wife. I feel like the person that I fell in love with in the pods isn’t the person I’m going to experience in real life,” she said. During an exclusive interview with Swooon, Ali broke down her relationship (or lack thereof) with Anton outside of the pods, revealing that Anton may not have been as forthcoming with his vow as she had thought. It turns out that he actually confessed that he didn’t know what he would have done if she had said “I do” as well. Yikes!
Looking back at the second episode drop, when Ali and Anton returned to the real world, they continued to bond over working night shifts in their respective careers. After one of their first shifts back, the couple set up a mini date, sharing a breakfast of steak and eggs and a mimosa before heading to bed.
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Anton addressed Ali’s statement about strip clubs in a recent Instagram video, which was a hint about the fate of their relationship. “Red flag or nah??” he captioned the video, which used the above dialogue as its audio. “Is it okay to go to a strip club when you’re single? 😬 ”
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Fans in the comments section thought the video could be a clue that Ali and Anton have since broken up, which they were right about. “So should we assume it didn’t work out? Lol,” one fan wrote. Another added, “So based on both of yous stories, shall we assume you didnt get married? its giving shading each other but i dunno if im interpreting it right.”
Ali recently told Swooon that the conversation with Melissa about Anton’s partying caused “alarm bells” to go off in her head. “I guess I was alarmed that Anton was sharing it as if Joe was the instigator, whereas it seemed like it was very much both of them, which obviously tends to be the case for most friendships,” she said.
Who is Anton’s friend Joe?
Ahead of the wedding, Ali was able to meet Anton’s close friend Joe and Joe’s girlfriend, Melissa. Joe shared that he and Melissa had been together for four months, but they are very close. He revealed, “After the first date, we literally like f**king moved in together.” After Anton told Joe that Ali had also worked at McDonald’s, like the two of them, Joe recalled, “We used to shut down the whole McDonald’s for like three to four hours. Be outside drinking, doing our thing.”
Why was Ali concerned about Anton’s lifestyle?
After she met Joe, Ali headed off to the bathroom with Melissa. Off-camera (but still on the mic), Melissa told Ali, “I can’t believe Anton is getting married,” before continuing to share that he wasn’t the marriage type before heading into the experiment. Melissa continued, “Just one question about the bachelor’s party, they’re not going to a strip club, right? Cause Anton likes the strip clubs, and he goes with Joseph.”
Taken aback, Ali told Melissa, “I was very honest with Anton. I was like, ‘Once you’re in a relationship, that is not appropriate.’ That makes me feel a little sick, honestly.” While Ali had been told that Joe was a big party guy who drinks a lot, Melissa confirmed that it’s both Joe and Anton who have that lifestyle. She told viewers, “If that’s the lifestyle Anton had just a few months ago, I would be really hesitant to buy into the idea that he’s ready to settle down.
Reunited with the rest of the Pod Squad, Ali confessed, “He literally will come home from work, and he’ll have one or two beers every single morning. That’s not my lifestyle.” Heading into the reunion, we can’t wait to see how Anton and Ali will react when they come face-to-face nearly two years after their split.
Love Is Blind, Season 9, Episodes 1-12, Streaming Now, Netflix
Love Is Blind, Season 9, Episode 12, October 22, Netflix
