The Pods
Where Are the Couples Of ‘Love Is Blind’ Season 1 Now?
It’s been five years since Love Is Blind first premiered—yep, five! Our favorite pod-based dating show dropped right when we needed it most, giving us the perfect escape from the chaos of 2020. Now, as we watch Season 8, it’s wild to see how far the show has come. Sure, we’ve had some of the messiest LIB breakups and cringiest moments in later seasons, but nothing quite tops that first one. It had the perfect mix of drama, love, and unintentional comedy.
But where are those OG couples now? Let’s catch up on the Love Is Blind Season 1 cast, and see who actually made it to their forever.
Lauren Speed & Cameron Hamilton
Let’s talk about the real success story first! Lauren and Cameron are basically the poster couple for Love is Blind— aka the one everyone points to when someone suggests the concept is flawed. Throughout the show, they showed an undeniable emotional connection and compatibility. They handled challenges like navigating their racial differences and building a relationship after the pods. Although, there was that one moment where Cameron serenaded Lauren with a guitar in front of her mom… not everyone’s vibe, but hey, if that’s your thing!
Fast forward to today, they’re still going strong, no big surprise. They’ve got their own YouTube series, Hanging with the Hamiltons, plus a podcast and even a book about their journey. In a post about life after losing her father, Lauren shared that the couple is undergoing IVF. Cameron, who has a PhD in Artificial Intelligence, also founded Alliance AI, a company offering “tailor-made AI solutions” across industries.
Amber Pike and Matt Barnett
Barnett found himself at the right angle of a love triangle—excuse our poor geometry. He ended up proposing to Amber, though that messy love triangle became a major talking point for the rest of the season. The couple faced plenty of challenges, but in the end, they both said “I do.” They were one of two couples to actually get married that season, and they’re still together! Barnett supposedly paid off the debts discussed in Season 1, and he and Amber have a dog now, plus a business called MANA that sells CBD products.
In October 2024, they joined fellow Season 1 couple Lauren and Cameron on The Love Seat podcast to announce they’re expecting a baby. No word yet on the baby name, but we’re pretty sure Jessica’s off the table.
Giannina Gibelli & Damian Powers
People always say passion is fiery, and if that’s the case, Giannina and Damian were absolutely on fire. Who could forget that argument where she basically roasted him for being bad in bed? “You know how you tell me this is the best sex of your life? Have you noticed I don’t return the compliment?” she taunted. Despite all that, the couple still made it to the altar, where Damian rejected Giannina, and we watched her channel Runaway Bride in the woods.
Shockingly, they decided to keep dating after the show, acknowledging they weren’t ready for marriage. But then things took a Too Hot to Handle-esque turn when Francesca Farago entered the picture—yikes.
Damian and Francesca gave it a go, especially during Season 1 of Perfect Match, but that didn’t end well. Not done with reality TV, Damian went on Only Fans’ Miss/Match, where the host tried to spark a connection between two very different OF creators in just one afternoon. Oddly enough, no one really remembers this show. Damian’s also been rumored to be dating Perfect Match costar Kariselle Snow, with cozy pics of them together on his Instagram.
Meanwhile, Giannina got into the reality star game too, this time with The Bachelorette cast member Blake Horstmann, after meeting on another show. They’re now engaged and have an adorable baby together, and made an appearance on the Love Is Blind Season 6 reunion to grill the new cast.
Kelly Chase & Kenny Barnes
These two were the calm in the storm that was Love is Blind Season 1. They had a grounded, mature vibe as they met each other’s families and navigated their engagement, so it was a shock when Kelly turned Kenny down at the altar. He politely thanked everyone for coming (very mature, very classy). Kelly quickly got labeled a villain, but it later came out that she and Kenny had already discussed it beforehand and simply lacked that spark.
Kenny, on the other hand, wasted no time moving on—he even brought his new fiancée, Alexandra, to the After the Altar special. Huh. The two got engaged in August 2020, tied the knot in April 2022, and are now proud corgi parents and soon-to-be human parents, as they recently announced they’re expecting!
As for Kelly, she hasn’t publicly shared any relationship updates and seems focused on her career. She hosts the Chase Life With Kelly podcast and works with various brands as an influencer.
Jessica Batten & Mark Cuevas
Let’s talk about Messica! Sorry, we mean Jessica. She’s definitely one of the most polarizing contestants in Love is Blind history. Not only was she in the middle of the Amber and Matt love triangle, but she was also torn between Mark and Matt—can we call it a love pentagon? In the end, she got engaged to Mark, and their 10-year age gap created plenty of drama. Some viewers even wondered if she was actually into Mark or just sticking around for the show.
Jessica eventually found her match in Benjamin McGrath, who slid into her DMs, and they tied the knot in September 2022 after a year-long engagement. She became a stepmom to his two kids from a previous relationship, and they welcomed a son, Dax, in June 2023.
Mark kind of disappeared after filming, even skipping the After the Altar special. It was later revealed that he had a brief fling with fellow contestant LC after his engagement ended. Like Jessica, Mark found new love with someone off the show—Aubrey. They got married in September 2022 after a two-year engagement and now have two kids together. Mark also launched his own fitness app, M3 Coaching, where he describes himself as a training and nutrition coach.
Diamond Jack & Carlton Morton
Last but definitely not least (especially with that dramatic blowup), we’ve got Diamond and Carlton. These two started strong but didn’t even make it out of the honeymoon phase—literally, they called it quits in Mexico.
Carlton opened up to Diamond about his bisexuality and past relationships with both men and women. He admitted he had waited to share this because he feared judgment and didn’t want it to cloud her feelings for him. Diamond was caught off guard, and their conversation quickly turned into an argument about trust and honesty. Things escalated at the pool the next day, as Carlton felt rejected for his sexuality, while Diamond felt blindsided. The fight ended with Carlton throwing insults, Diamond tossing her drink in his face, and her chucking the engagement ring into the distance.
Things only got messier online, as the two continued to disagree over what went down. While they made amends at the reunion, there was zero chance of reconciliation.
Since then, Diamond has kept a relatively low profile. She appeared on Perfect Match Season 1 but didn’t make a strong connection. She also took a year off Instagram before returning to announce she had bought a house in Atlanta—living her best life and seemingly still single.
Carlton has also kept his dating life private, using social media to share motivational quotes and life updates. Speaking to Netflix about dating post-LIB, he admitted, “[I’m] a bit more paranoid when it comes to dating and letting down my guard. Everyone has a different agenda, and I just don’t feel it should be that complicated.”
