The gold goblets were filled to the brim with tea and the pod squad was ready to spill it.
The Love Is Blind cast came face-to-face for the first time in the reunion special that dropped on Oct. 15, which offered updates on all of the Netflix reality series' season five couples. Or should we say couple, as Milton Johnson and Lydia Velez Gonzalez were the only pair to get married in the finale.
But that doesn't mean there haven't been other major relationship status updates since cameras stopped rolling, with Izzy Zapata revealing he's kissed not one, but two cast members after he and Stacy Snyder failed to exchange vows.
Plus, Lydia finally set the record straight about her pre-show romance with Uche Okoroha that almost got them both kicked out of the experiment and Aaliyah Cosby revealed whether or not she and Uche reconnected after filming ended. And then there was that cheating scandal that even shocked hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey.
So, prepare to be rocked by all of the biggest revelations from the Love Is Blind season five reunion, including which cast member declined the invitation to attend the special:
Lydia and Milton's Happily Ever After
Let's be honest: If anyone told us that Milton Johnson and Lydia Velez Gonzalez would be the only couple to get married in season five of Love Is Blind, we would have laughed. And yet, after more than one year of marriage, the two geology enthusiasts are going strong and "happily married," Lydia confirmed during the reunion special.
Things are going so well between the pair that his initially skeptical relatives have fully embraced Lydia as a member of the family, with Milton even saying his wife is "a little too close" with his mom now.
"I love them dearly," Lydia gushed of his fam. "They are the best." Milton joked that Lydia has made his usually strict parents "so soft."
The couple also revealed that they had a second wedding celebration in Puerto Rico.
Still, there's is one thing they are still working on in their relatonship: Milton's messiness. "I do the dishes on occasion," he shared, before Lydia clarified, "he's done the dishes three times!"
Stacey and Izzy's Year of Silence
Izzy Zapata Jr. was left devastated when Stacey Snyder said no to marriage, explaining she did want to work on their relationship.
But after the cameras stopped rolling, Izzy and Stacey's first conversation post-wedding did not go well, ultimately leading to the pair not speaking for an entire year.
"We went out on a date and we talked," Izzy explained. "My gut knew something was off, so I just asked, 'Are you even feeling this?' And she just said she didn't and she couldn't right now. I was shocked and I was so mad at her after that because I thought we were really going to try."
And they had no intentions of interacting again before unexpectedly running into each other at a cooking class while they were on dates with other people.
"I hear Stacey laugh and I'm like, 'No way!'" Izzy shared. "I had to tell my date, my ex is here!"
To maked things even more awkward, the two couples were paired together, with Stacey joking, "There was not enough wine in the world!"
But the run-in led to Izzy and Stacey sharing a kiss, before ultimately deciding they were better as friends. "We're bros," Izzy joked. "We've obviously moved on, but I adore her."
An Unexpected Cheating Scandal
The biggest surprise to come out of the reunion may have been what happened between Chris Fox and Johnie Maraist after that intense cast party saw him fiercely defend her character.
Shortly after, Chris went out of town for a wedding and Johnie never heard from him again, revealing she learned from a friend that he had started dating someone else without breaking up with her.
Yes, Chris cheated.
"I didn't handle the situation as someone would properly," Chris explained. "But I did find someone who I now live with and love and we are very happy together."
Chris apologized to Johnie, saying, "It's terrible, I know it was wrong. I still care for you. It's probably one of my biggest regrets."
On her part, Johnie said she "blamed" herself because she had initially broken up with Chris in the pods to pursue a relationship with Izzy.
"I take accountability for not putting him first originally," she explained. "I do know he was really hurt by the whole experiment."
Just a Kiss
Following their respective splits from Stacey and Chris, Izzy and Johnie ran into each other at a bar during a cast hangout, which ended with the twosome making out in Izzy's car. "We kissed," Izzy admitted, "but we never hooked up."
Funnily enough, Chris and his new girlfriend were at the bar on the same night, and while he said it "was painful seeing that," he wasn't mad at either of them.
Stacey, however, was taken aback when she first heard about their makeout session.
"I was surprised because of what he had told me about her and you didn't seem to speak very highly of her," Stacey explained. "That's on you and do whatever you need to do, but it was shocking."
Izzy and Johnie ultimately decided not to pursue a romantic relationship, as Izzy explained he was "obviously in no position to be dating" after his breakup with Stacey.
No Love For Uche
Aaliyah Cosby may have opted to leave the experiment when she learned that her No. 1 choice Uche Okohora and her pod BFF Lydia had dated before the show, but she did show up for the reunion. Notably, Nick Lachey mentioned that Uche was invited to attend, but decided not to appear.
During the reunion, Aaliyah revealed that she and Uche tried to date after they left the experiment.
"It ended for many reasons," she shared. "I don't think I was his type ultimately. He had mentioned to a few people who were part of the cast that I wasn't the type of woman he normally found attractive."
Aaliyah added that Uche's tone with her was "so very mean and condescending."
The rest of the cast revealed they do not speak with the entrepreneur, though Milton said Uche "occasionally still texts" him, but, "I won't respond to him. There's no point." He also reached out on Milton and Lydia's wedding day, saying, "Hey, heard you got married. Wanna talk about it?'" Again, Milton left him on read.
Additionally, Lydia and Aaliyah discovered that Uche sent them the same text message on the day the show premiered, saying, "Hey, if there's anything you want to discuss, I'm available."
Production's Big Dilemma
While discussing Uche and Lydia's pre-pod romance, Nick revealed producers considered removing both of them from the experiment once they learned of their past connection.
But, after both Lydia and Uche confirmed they had no interest in dating one another, the Love Is Blind team allowed them to remain in the pods under one condition: As Nick explained, they couldn't "reveal your past to the other participants."
Upon hearing this, Aaliyah said she didn't fully agree with production's decision.
"They should have allowed them to share that information with us," she explained. "I think I would have separated myself from Lydia, especially knowing that the past was so recent."
The Truth About Lydia and Uche
So, did Lydia sign up for Love Is Blind because she knew her ex-boyfriend Uche was going to be in the pods?
Well, according to Aaliyah, Lydia told her off-camera that she had a conversation with Uche about doing the show together.
Lydia clarified the comments, confirming that she discussed seeing a casting notice for the show with Uche in November 2021.
“I’m going to say it really clear," Lydia stressed, "I had no confirmation that Uche was going to be there. If I had that power, he would have not been there, 100 percent.”
And, while Uche tried to push the narrative that Lydia was invested in reestablishing their connection, Milton claimed that Uche was "interestingly obsessed” in his relationship with Lydia.
Noting Uche "pried” for information, Milton said, "I knew then something’s strange."
"I know his character," he continued. "He gave me so much unwarranted information about Lydia."
Kiss and Not Wear Make-Up
Viewers were stunned when Jared "JP" Pierce claimed he wasn't attracted to Taylor Rue when he saw her for the first time because she was wearing too much make-up. As you can imagine, their engagement was short-lived, with Taylor breaking up with JP in Mexico.
"I should have done more," JP admitted during the reunion. "I didn't know I was going o be so nervous when cameras were right on your face. I was thrown back into my shell, I was freaking out."
Taylor wasn't buying that excuse or the infamous cosmetics comment.
"I had a ring on my finger," she said, "and you're going to let the cameras ruin that or my make-up or whatever else it was? It's not okay. I don't think he was attracted to me from the second we met each other."
JP ultimately apologized for his controversial comments. "I did not intend for that to come out that way," he said. "I do feel bad for that. I genuinely wanted to let you know I thought you looked beautiful without makeup and it came out wrong."
Taylor forgave JP, but said, "Don't do that to another girl."
Everyone's In a Relationship
Milton and Lydia may have been the only success story to come out of season five, everyone still managed to find love(ish?) outside of the pods.
Izzy is still dating the woman he was with when he ran into Stacey at the cooking class. "We're still not official yet, but it's getting to that point," he said. "It's going well."
While Stacey is in a serious relationship, she didn't want to reveal his identity. "No comment," Stacey coyly said.
Following Chris' cheating, Johnie has been dating someone for a year and Aaliyah said she is in "a beautiful, loving relationship" with a man she met on an R&B cruise and that he "treats me like a queen."
JP, meanwhile, is in a committed relationship in which he said he is able to communicate, while Taylor is "not dating, just seeing somebody!"
Love Is Blind is streaming on Netflix.