Photo: Netflix
Love Is Blind star Jackelina "Jackie" Bonds is opening up about the decision to not attend the Netflix reunion earlier this week.
As we all know by now, Jackie and her new man Josh Demas weren't in attendance at Sunday's reunion, which was supposed to be live but was delayed a day due to apparent technical difficulties. The two were interviewed the day before by co-host Vanessa Lachey, which was aired during the final reunion cut.
At the time, Jackie and Josh both posted on their Instagram Stories saying they wouldn't be attending. "Me & Josh did not attend the 'live reunion' due to death threats being set to us and Netflix," Jackie wrote online. "Netflix decided to keep us safe & have us do that one on one with Vanessa. We fought & fought to be there & they said it was better to protect us and them. So be it." In a separate post, Josh said he "was invited to the reunion but wasn't able to go last (minute)."
Jackie is now telling a different story, as seen in a recent interview with TheWrap, which was published Friday. "(Netflix) had me talk to a psychologist, and the psychologist was the one that told us that we weren’t gonna go. That was how it went down. They called on a three-way (conference call), and they were kind of, 'Oh, due to your mental health, we think it's best for you to not come to the reunion,'" Jackie said.
She said she and Josh were given this news "the day before" the reunion, which is the day their Zoom interview with Lachey was filmed.
Season 3 cast member Cole Barnett said Netflix "canceled Jackie's flight" because she "planned to publicly call out production" during the show for painting a false narrative, according to TheWrap.
Jackie's presence at the "live" reunion was highly anticipated by the show's fans who wanted to get to the bottom of the love triangle between Jackie, Josh and her original fiancé Marshall Blaze. On the show, Jackie initially accepted Marshall's proposal, but then called it off after a tumultuous few weeks. During that time, she rekindled her romance from the pods with Josh, despite having kept Marshall's engagement ring, and the two have been together ever since, which puts them at about a year of dating.