Shortly after finding love in the cozy yet concealed pods of the Netflix trailer Love Is Blind, Carlton asked fellow contestant Diamond for her hand in marriage. Viewers watched as their cringeworthy breakup played out on their Mexican getaway right after Carlton revealed his bisexuality (which he did not disclose in the pods.) Drinks were thrown, feelings were hurt, and both parties walked away from the experiment with their quest to find love unfulfilled.
In the trailer for the Love Is Blind reunion, Carlton and Diamond come face to face for the first time since ending their engagement. “In my way, maybe I should have approached it a lot differently and been more comforting and maybe approached it in a way of saying that, I respect you as a person,” Diamond tells Carlton in the trailer.
An emotional Carlton regrets not having done “whatever it takes” to be married or in love like some of the other couples on the show. He then refers to the argument with Carlton by the pool in which he hurled some insults about Diamond’s appearance.
“I think, in that moment, I went back into my shell. It was a shell that was difficult breaking out of, not to mention in front of the world,” Carlton says. “Once something felt like it wasn’t right, I immediately let fear sink in and like, ‘Oh, I have to go back into Carlton’s-the-only-person-who-will-defend-Carlton-and-understand-Carlton mode.'”
Carlton, who is still single, says the silver lining is having the opportunity to live in his truth. “Obviously, what happened on the show was major in my life, ” he tells hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey. “On one end, I feel very free since doing the show. On another end, I’m very disappointed that love didn’t work out the way I wanted it to.”
Diamond joked that she’s been “waiting on Beyoncé to call me” since famously quoting her during the breakup. We’ll admit – we loved that part too.
Watch the Love Is Blind reunion below.