- Sara and Ben were one of four “Love Is Blind” season eight couples who made it to the altar.
- Sara said no because she and Ben weren’t on the same wavelength about politics and religion.
- Ben asked to keep dating at the altar, but Sara was unsure. Here’s what we know about their relationship status.
Warning: Major spoilers ahead for “Love Is Blind” season eight.
“Love Is Blind” has resulted in relatively few marriages, but sometimes couples try to continue their relationships even after saying “I don’t” at the altar. Were Sara and Ben one of them?
Season eight featured a cast of singles from the Twin Cities area, and from that group, five pairs coupled up and had producers follow their journey.
One of those couples was Ben, a 28-year-old account executive, and Sara, a 29-year-old oncology nurse, who got engaged despite some bumpy political and ideological discussions in the pods. Ultimately, though, Sara couldn’t get past their major differences and said no at the altar.
Of course, they wouldn’t be the only failed “Love Is Blind” engagement to try dating again after filming. Here’s what we know about whether they reunited.
Ben and Sara hit it off and talked through politics in the pods
In episode two, Ben and Sara bonded in the pods over a love of food, and the fact that both of their fathers make great steak. Their discussion eventually moved to deeper subjects like faith: While Ben is Christian, Sara isn’t particularly religious and worries about discrimination against her sister, who is gay. In turn, Ben reassured her that he’s comfortable with LGBTQ+ people and doesn’t believe queerness is a sin.
During a date in episode four, Ben told Sara that he was falling in love with her. Sara thanked him, but wanted to talk more about their political beliefs. She became more engaged in politics after the election of Donald Trump in 2016, and the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis in 2020.
Ben, however, said that he didn’t vote in the previous election and that he doesn’t have opinions on the Black Lives Matter movement. Sara candidly told him that she didn’t like his responses.
“I will tell you, basic human rights, equality,” she told him. “I need someone to be on the same page with me about that. I feel like that speaks volumes about who you are as a person and morals and values and, you know, how you think of others.”
In episode five, the couple continued to deepen their relationship. Sara, however, still had some reservations about Ben’s social beliefs and politics. Ben reassured her that he intended to grow and learn, and felt that his beliefs align with her own.
Ben proposed to Sara in episode five, and she said yes. The pair finally met face-to-face later in that episode, and were one of five couples producers selected to follow on the couples’ getaway in Honduras.
Courtesy of Netflix
Sara’s doubts about their compatibility grew once they were back in Minneapolis
Ben and Sara had a great time during the engagement trip and didn’t encounter any major drama. They even talked about how physically compatible they were. Unfortunately, once they returned to the real world, things took a turn.
While their parents approved of the match and seemed relatively okay with the speed of their engagement, Sara was still hung up on Ben’s religion. As a devoted Christian, he attends church regularly. Sara was willing to give it a shot and attended a service with him, but she was lukewarm on it. When Ben didn’t know his church’s stance on LGBTQ+ issues, Sara looked for a sermon about it and didn’t like the traditional and regressive messaging she found.
Though Ben clarified he didn’t agree with the sermon and said he would be open to exploring other, more progressive churches with her, Sara remained uncertain. Sara’s sister and her sister’s partner also met Ben and questioned him over his beliefs, leaving Sara feeling even more unsure.
“I caution you as your sister, it is not real right now,” Sara’s sister told her after meeting Ben.
Sara also discovered a viral TikTok that Ben said was about him, where a woman alluded to a “Love Is Blind” season eight contestant having treated her poorly when they dated. Ben, for his part, admitted it was probably true but that it had happened so long ago he had no memory of it and hadn’t thought to disclose it to Sara.
Sara said no at the altar, and didn’t seem keen on dating Ben after filming
Ben expressed essentially no doubts about wanting to marry Sara, and made it to the wedding day as certain as ever that he would say yes. Sara, on the other hand, was plagued with doubt and even spoke about their differences while getting ready in the bridal suite.
Ultimately, she said no at the altar.
“Ben, I love you so much. But I’ve always wanted a partner to be on the same wavelength, and so today I can’t,” Sara told Ben. “I’m sorry but I don’t want that to be misunderstood. I still love you and everything about you is amazing and I care about you so much.”
Ben took it on the chin and seemed unfazed, quickly responding that he understood, still loved her, and wanted to stay together to grow their relationship. Sara, clearly taken aback, demurred, telling him they’d talk about it later.
Netflix
After the ceremony, Ben’s friends comforted him and they all said they were surprised by the outcome. Then they prayed for healing for both Ben and Sara. Meanwhile, Sara debriefed with her mom and sister in the van, telling them about her dissatisfying conversations with Ben about LGBTQ+ issues and Black Lives Matter. She also told cameras she felt there was no “curiosity” coming from Ben to explore and expand his mindset. She also said their relationship may simply have been only on the surface level.
Both Ben and Sara are still following each other on Instagram, which seems to indicate they’re at least cordial. However, it doesn’t seem like a romantic reunion is in the cards for these two.
A teaser for the reunion showed that Sara got more information about the TikTok dragging Ben, even saying that knowing what she does now, a TikTok like that about him makes sense. She also appeared to accuse Ben of sliding into another cast member’s DMs, as well as getting advice from a previous season’s contestant to make sure he stayed on good terms with Sara.
In an interview with People, Sara also said she didn’t like that Ben asked to stay together right after she said no at the altar. She revealed that she and Ben had discussed what her answer would be before the wedding, saying that they “were on the same page, and he knew coming in what I was going to say.”
“And so when he asked that, I wasn’t shocked he wanted to do that or be together still after, but I was shocked he asked that at the altar, knowing the circumstance of we are here to say yes or no,” she told People, adding that it seemed “disrespectful” of the whole conceit of the show, where you’re supposed to get married or walk away forever.
She also told People that she continued her relationship with Ben on the show after the initial speed bumps because she expected it would deepen and grow after the pods. “But it just never evolved,” Sara said. “It never really got to that point. And so that’s what made me think, okay, actually maybe there’s no depth at all.”
It seems pretty clear that Sara has closed the book entirely on her and Ben’s relationship, but we’ll need to check in on Sunday’s reunion to learn for sure whether they decided to try dating again.
The “Love Is Blind” season eight reunion will stream Sunday at 9 p.m. ET on Netflix.
