Love Is Blind Fans Feel The Criticism Against Cole In The Season 3 Reunion Was Way Too Harsh

The phrase "love is blind" often refers to how being in love often causes those experiencing the emotion to overlook flaws in their respective counterparts. Netflix's reality television show "Love Is Blind," which has now completed Season 3 with more on the horizon, takes this phrase a bit more literally and brings prospective couples together. However, there's a catch that gives the show its namesake, which is that the contestants of this reality television show spend time talking with each other without ever getting a chance to see what they look like. After the end of the courtship, one person is given the option of proposing marriage, and after this point, the contestants of "Love Is Blind" finally get a chance to meet each other in person.

One of the sets of contestants, Zanab Jaffrey and Cole Barnett, originally was set to marry, though Zanab eventually turns Cole down at the altar on account of her constant suspicion of Cole's behavior and actions. At one point before the wedding in "Love Is Blind," Cole asks Zanab if she suffers from mental illness or instability, which causes an immediate reaction in Zanab. However, despite these hiccups, even on their wedding day, Zanab still expresses hope that her and Cole's relationship will work out. After sharing some touching vows, Zanab eventually changes her mind and turns down the marriage, claiming that Cole has shattered her self-confidence. Unfortunately, Cole's misfortune didn't end there, and some fans have defended Cole after a scathing reunion episode, but why?

During the reunion episode of "Love Is Blind," all of the contestants are brought together to discuss issues and successes that may have arisen throughout the course of the season. Though two couples actually got married and stayed that way as of the time of this writing, several couples did not. One of the first aspects of the show to be brought up was about Zanab Jaffrey & Cole Barnett and the infamous pool party that sees Cole express some slight attraction towards Colleen Reed, a fellow contestant who actually got married to her respective partner, Matt Bolton. This was the moment that Zanab was referring to and part of the reason why she didn't trust Cole. As mentioned earlier, fans weren't the biggest proponents of the slander tossed Cole's way by his fellow cast members during the reunion special that made him seem like a bad person.

Over on Twitter, @TeamHadassah said, "plot twist: zanab is the real villain in #loveisblind season 3. seeing the cuties clip, cole did nothing wrong. zanab, out of her insecurity, made it a bigger issue than it was and blamed cole entirely. he did not deserve that humiliation at the reunion." @trinityxay was also confused by Zanab's gripes from the reunion episode and stated, "zanab made it seem like cole literally said 'omg your really going to eat two oranges?!' but in reality he was like 'don't eat so much we're going to have a big dinner tonight'...LIKEEEEE MISS GIRL WHAT?!!?!" They then clarified that they weren't taking Cole's side in this specific conflict but noted that Zanab was in the wrong at this moment in time.

The above comments weren't the only ones that didn't quite understand the hatred and vitriol levied at Cole. @rosanna_xo said, "Cole had so much light and excitement in his eyes when he started the show, then seeing the reunion it was all gone. Yes, he has childish moments like most 27yr olds but geez so much of it was blown out of proportion." @sierrakrug brought up the tangerines scene, and said how this moment shows how insecurity can make an individual believe that others are out to get them. They added that Cole was just an unfortunate stepping stone in Zanab's journey of self-discovery.

Others also felt the same way, with @HwangKkami91 saying, "I really don't like how they ganged up on Cole on the #LOVEISBLINDreunion. I know no one is perfect but imma need for everyone to be held accountable for their ****. Had that man in tears." @Mpire2020 agreed, and noted that they had disliked Cole for most of the season, but felt like at least Cole remained growing through "Love Is Blind." They then said that they felt like the personal attacks against Cole at the wedding altar and reunion special were just unnecessarily cruel.

@by_WHB wondered why the final episode of "Love Is Blind" turned into a Cole-bashing fest, and said, "How did Matt & Bartise leave that reunion unscathed?? Justice for Cole. Yeah he's immature & unfiltered and yeah he did not handle many situations with a ton of tact BUT he was sincere (to a fault) every minute." Either way, even though Cole definitely had some issues with Zanab, some fans don't think he deserved such a harsh response.