Weighing in. The Love Is Blind women fervently defended pal Zanab Jaffrey after she accused her ex-fiancé, Cole Barnett, of body-shaming during the season 3 reunion — and they are not backing down.
“There will be no apology from me. There are multiple reasons why we stuck by her,” Alexa Alfia wrote via Instagram Story on Thursday, November 10, resharing the 32-year-old London native’s Thursday social media post about the breakup. “We spent almost every day together so I will not take advice from anyone who was not there.”
Alexa, 27, added: “There are two sides to the story and I still stand by what I said. The clementine story is irrelevant.”
Zanab and Cole, 27, got engaged during Love Is Blind season 3. After a rocky journey together, the flight attendant chose to call off their nuptials during the finale, which aired earlier this month.
“I tried to be very clear at the altar [about] exactly why I was leaving and why it was a no,” she exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the season 3 finale. “It was deflected to me having a bad attitude and not being sweet enough and not having fun conversations, [being] passive aggressive. My mental health was questioned. So, I definitely did try [to tell him].”
Zanab doubled down on her breakup reasoning during an appearance on the season 3 reunion, which dropped on Netflix on Wednesday, November 9, as she accused Cole of body-shaming her throughout their relationship.
“The pushing food away from me, the asking me if I’m going to eat that, trying to get me to order a salad, the daily comments about my face and my body were not used,” Zanab claimed during Wednesday’s episode, noting it was her ex’s “saving grace” that a bunch of footage was not shown. “And that’s great because it really did protect you and you are now denying it and calling me a liar in front of all these people.”
While Cole denied her claims, Alexa stood by her pal.
“I think so many things happened off camera. He’s, like, likable when you’re watching it and just knowing what I know … it’s hard because I think Zay is such an incredible, incredible woman,” Alexa — who married Brennon Lemieux during the season 3 finale — told hosts Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey during the reunion.
Zanab went on to detail one particular disagreement, in which Cole seemingly questioned her intentions to eat two clementines. Netflix aired the deleted scene during the finale, which prompted viewers to criticize Zanab’s interpretation of events. The Texas-based realtor has since continued to maintain her version of the story, writing via Instagram on Thursday that Love Is Blind fans have “different triggers” than she does.
Colleen Reed, who married Matt Bolton during the season 3 finale, also chimed in, noting she “forever” stands with her pal.
Cole has not publicly addressed the fallout from the cuties controversy, though he does feel remorse that his actions affected Zaneb’s self-worth. “I sure hope I didn’t shatter her self-confidence,” he told Us before the finale dropped on the streaming platform. “But, for sure, I see where she’s coming from and … why she would’ve felt that way.”
Scroll below to see how the Love Is Blind ladies are supporting Zanab:
Weighing in. The Love Is Blind women fervently defended pal Zanab Jaffrey after she accused her ex-fiancé, Cole Barnett, of body-shaming during the season 3 reunion — and they are not backing down.
“There will be no apology from me. There are multiple reasons why we stuck by her,” Alexa Alfia wrote via Instagram Story on Thursday, November 10, resharing the 32-year-old London native’s Thursday social media post about the breakup. “We spent almost every day together so I will not take advice from anyone who was not there.”
Alexa, 27, added: “There are two sides to the story and I still stand by what I said. The clementine story is irrelevant.”
Zanab and Cole, 27, got engaged during Love Is Blind season 3. After a rocky journey together, the flight attendant chose to call off their nuptials during the finale, which aired earlier this month.
“I tried to be very clear at the altar [about] exactly why I was leaving and why it was a no,” she exclusively told Us Weekly ahead of the season 3 finale. “It was deflected to me having a bad attitude and not being sweet enough and not having fun conversations, [being] passive aggressive. My mental health was questioned. So, I definitely did try [to tell him].”
Zanab doubled down on her breakup reasoning during an appearance on the season 3 reunion, which dropped on Netflix on Wednesday, November 9, as she accused Cole of body-shaming her throughout their relationship.
“The pushing food away from me, the asking me if I’m going to eat that, trying to get me to order a salad, the daily comments about my face and my body were not used,” Zanab claimed during Wednesday’s episode, noting it was her ex’s “saving grace” that a bunch of footage was not shown. “And that’s great because it really did protect you and you are now denying it and calling me a liar in front of all these people.”
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While Cole denied her claims, Alexa stood by her pal.
“I think so many things happened off camera. He’s, like, likable when you’re watching it and just knowing what I know … it’s hard because I think Zay is such an incredible, incredible woman,” Alexa — who married Brennon Lemieux during the season 3 finale — told hosts Nick Lachey and Vanessa Lachey during the reunion.
Zanab went on to detail one particular disagreement, in which Cole seemingly questioned her intentions to eat two clementines. Netflix aired the deleted scene during the finale, which prompted viewers to criticize Zanab’s interpretation of events. The Texas-based realtor has since continued to maintain her version of the story, writing via Instagram on Thursday that Love Is Blind fans have “different triggers” than she does.
Colleen Reed, who married Matt Bolton during the season 3 finale, also chimed in, noting she “forever” stands with her pal.
Cole has not publicly addressed the fallout from the cuties controversy, though he does feel remorse that his actions affected Zaneb’s self-worth. “I sure hope I didn’t shatter her self-confidence,” he told Us before the finale dropped on the streaming platform. “But, for sure, I see where she’s coming from and … why she would’ve felt that way.”
Scroll below to see how the Love Is Blind ladies are supporting Zanab:
Credit: Sara Mally/Netflix
Alexa Alfia
“I don’t like bullies and I will always stand for those who are in the right,” Alexa wrote via Instagram Story. “It’s truly heartbreaking to see how low and disgusting the internet can be. I hope you feel better after commenting such vile things.”
Credit: Sara Mally/Netflix
Colleen Reed
“Forever standing with you, Zae,” the ballet dancer captioned an Instagram Story post on Thursday, resharing Zanab’s social media message.
Credit: Sara Mally/Netflix
Raven Ross
The Pilates instructor also shared Zanab’s open letter to Cole via Instagram Story.
Love Is Blind season 3 is currently streaming on Netflix.
