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Warning: Spoilers for Love Is Blind season 8, episodes 1—12, ahead.
After 11 long episodes, Lauren O’Brien finally got her hero moment on Love Is Blind. After starting off the season being labeled a “pick me” for the way she handled her love triangle with Molly Mullaney and Dave Bettenburg, she quickly morphed into the woman to root for as Dave stonewalled and borderline slut-shamed her over a pre-show situationship with someone from his social circle.
Throughout the Minneapolis episodes, it was difficult to tell if Dave believed Lauren lied about the nature of the relationship or if he just didn’t like that she slept with someone before knowing the medical sales rep existed. As he continued to question the former teacher’s ability to move on from a hookup, I just kept thinking, “Didn’t we just watch Dave date two women for five pod episodes?” And, of course, “Why is she even fighting for this guy?”
Lauren doesn’t really have an answer for either question. “I know I’m going to have such a tough time watching that because I’m also going to be screaming at myself,” she tells Glamour over Zoom before the latest batch of episode dropped on February 28.
“He kept kind of referencing this idea that because I had this sexual relationship with someone beforehand, that translates to me not being ready for marriage,” she says. “I just didn’t understand how those two things equated, and how that in any way was a reflection on my character or my maturity or my readiness for marriage. So, yeah, I could not really wrap my mind around it.”
Lauren might not have told Dave everything she would’ve said with hindsight, but she did get the final word when Dave tried to retract their breakup during a group outing in episode 11. “I’m sorry you’re, like, going through all the feels of this,” she told him before shutting down his slurred attempt at reconciliation. “I think we’re past that.”
In a new interview with Glamour, Lauren reflected on her entire Love Is Blind experience, the off-camera moments that we didn’t get to see, and why she’d “do it again in a heartbeat.”
Glamour: How are you doing, really?
Lauren O’Brien: Yeah, it’s been a lot. I don’t know. I think the journey, in general, was a roller coaster. There’s been a lot of high highs in all of this. It’s been really fun to have had this experience and share this with my loved ones and friends and family, and it comes with this newfound social media presence that I don’t think I was fully prepared for.
Was there anything you particularly didn’t expect?
I didn’t expect to get such a “pick me” edit and a “pick me” response to me fighting for my relationship with the person that I wanted to be with. So that really surprised me.
The second you used the word “delulu” in regards to Molly, I knew people were going to have strong feelings about it because we, the viewer, saw him tell Molly she was his number one. Of course, you didn’t see that.
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