- Jackie said she didn’t attend the “Love Is Blind” meeting because she and Josh received “death threats.”
- In an Instagram Story, she said she “fought” to go but Netflix wanted to keep them “safe”.
- Jackie is at the center of an online controversy due to alleged leaked texts disparaging Marshall.
‘Love Is Blind’ star Jackie Bonds addressed viewers who asked why she and her costar and boyfriend Josh Demas didn’t attend the season four reunion, which aired Sunday. According to Jackie, it was because of “death threats”.
“Me and Josh did not attend the ‘live reunion’ due to death threats sent to us and Netflix,” she wrote in an Instagram Story, as reported by ET Canada. . “Netflix decided to protect us and make us do this one-on-one with Vanessa. We fought and fought to be there and they said it was better to protect us and them. So be it.”
A rep for “Love Is Blind” at Netflix did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.
Jackie and Josh were embroiled in one of the biggest controversies of the season when she broke up with then-fiancé Marshall Glaze, who she got engaged to during the pod stage of the experience. , and began dating Josh soon after.
During their engagement, several scenes showed Jackie and Marshall clashing, with Jackie insinuating that Marshall wasn’t as masculine as she would like. Derogatory text messages about Marshall allegedly sent by Jackie to her friends were later leaked online during the airing of the season.
In the texts, the sender identified as Jackie says Marshall gives her “vibes”, that he has a habit of “twerking on the bed” and that he can be “nice” at times. Some interpreted them as homophobic comments questioning Marshall’s sexuality. Whatever the texts meant, exactly, they were mean about a partner or an ex, and became public around the time a separate leaked video revealed that Josh and Jackie were dating after the issue.
The whole situation has sparked backlash online and may be why Jackie, Josh and Netflix received the alleged death threats Jackie referenced in his Instagram story.
Instead of attending the reunion with the other season four cast members, the couple, who have now been dating for about a year, did a pre-recorded interview with co-host Vanessa Lachey that aired as part of the special meeting. During the interview, Jackie told Lachey that she broke up with Marshall Before she began dating Josh, despite the editing making it seem like she had met Josh before breaking up with Marshall. Josh and Jackie also talked about their pets and whether they plan to get married in the future in the pre-recorded reunion segment.
But as many viewers pointed out, Lachey didn’t ask Jackie about the authenticity of leaked text messages, or hold her accountable for things she said to Marshall during their relationship. Lachey, however, asked Marshall to explain the “derogatory” remark Jackie allegedly made against her during an argument that was not aired. Marshall admitted he joked that Jackie looked like he “could have been a man”, but denied using a pejorative term.
Season 4 of “Love Is Blind” is currently streaming on Netflix.
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