- Monica and Joey were one of the engaged couples who made it to the altar on “Love Is Blind” season eight.
- They didn’t get married in the end, but things ended cordially — at least initially.
- Major tea spilled at the reunion painted Joey in a negative light.
Warning: Major spoilers ahead for “Love Is Blind” season eight.
Turns out the secret villain of “Love Is Blind” season eight was Joey Leveille — at least based on what we learned during the reunion on Sunday.
Joey, a 35-year-old physician associate, and Monica Danus, a 28-year-old who works in digital marketing, were one of five Minneapolis couples who got engaged after dating in the pods. The producers followed them through the couples’ getaway in Honduras all the way to their wedding day, where Monica said she couldn’t marry Joey, to Joey’s apparent relief.
Things ended cordially, but the season eight reunion revealed that a lot more drama went down behind the scenes and after filming ended. Here’s a recap of Monica and Joey’s relationship and what they’ve said about their split.
Monica and Joey were the first couple to get engaged, but doubts crept in when they returned from the engagement trip
Netflix
Monica and Joey went on a date in episode one, where they spoke about their families. Monica said she had a “decent-sized” family in Chile, while Joey said he’s close to his parents and three sisters, one of whom died when he was a teenager.
On another date later in episode one, the pair learned that they had a surprising connection. They’ve both seen “The Sound of Music” multiple times”: Monica because it’s her family’s favorite movie, and Joey because he frequently spent time at his grandmother’s house as a child.
In episode two, Monica revealed that she stepped away from her job to help care for her grandma. Joey reassured her, saying that he understood her decision to prioritize her family over her career, cementing that they both had similar values when it came to their families.
Later in that episode, the two became the season’s first couple to get engaged when Joey proposed to Monica. In episode three, the couple met face-to-face for the first time and had a sweet exchange — albeit one that was giving “good friends” more than romantic partners.
“You look like Tarzan,” Monica told him.
“Hopefully that’s a good thing,” he replied.
“It’s a good thing,” she said.
Monica and Joey were one of the five couples that producers followed on an engagement trip to Honduras in the second batch of episodes, and things went smoothly for them there. They initially seemed very compatible, but doubts started to creep in once they got back to Minneapolis and met one another’s families.
In particular, Monica’s sister, who she’d called her best friend, didn’t like Joey after meeting him and suspected that he wasn’t genuine. This rattled Joey, who found it difficult to get past her disapproval.
On their final date pre-wedding, Monica brought up the other major issue in their relationship: She didn’t feel like Joey was all that into her. She mentioned that her love language was physical touch, which Joey confirmed wasn’t in his typical wheelhouse. He assured her he’d work on it, and she acknowledged that he’d improved somewhat.
During the wedding episode, it was still a toss-up whether they’d say “I do.” In the bridal suite, Monica confided in her family that she was holding back in her relationship with Joey because she felt she hadn’t gotten 100% from him. Joey, for his part, told the cameras it would be a yes if that’s how he was feeling at the moment.
Most tellingly, Monica teared up during an on-camera interview, admitting that she felt she was basing her decision on what she thought Joey’s would be.
In the end, Monica was asked first and said, “I don’t, right now.” She explained that she didn’t think they were there yet. Joey quickly agreed with her and indicated he was going to say no too. After walking away from each other post-ceremony, they both gave different takes on why they hadn’t gotten married.
Monica maintained that it was more about her feeling a lack of interest from Joey.
Netflix
“If Joey had told me with his words, I am 100% in. It is you. I know it’s you, I’m certain, I feel like it could have been a lot different,” she told the cameras. “I would have liked a different outcome, but I want to be chosen. I deserve to be chosen. It’s sad that he doesn’t feel as strongly for me as I would hope. I was hoping he would be my person for the rest of my life.”
Joey, meanwhile, believed that Monica said no because her sister’s disapproval was an “inhibiting factor” for both of them. He also brought up his lack of physical affection and mentioned that Monica had never said “I love you” until the altar.
Joey and Monica were initially cordial after filming ended, but the reunion revealed more drama
Ahead of the season eight premiere, Joey and Monica still followed each other on Instagram. Joey had also liked some of Monica’s posts on the platform, ranging from April 2024 to December 2024. Monica also liked Joey’s post featuring clips from his appearance at the “Love Is Blind” season seven reunion, as well as two other posts from May 2024 and April 2024.
All this seemed to indicate that they were together, if not at least cordial, before the season concluded. Eventually, though, things changed.
During the reunion on Sunday, Monica admitted she felt embarrassed watching the show back, saying it was clear to her now that Joey was never interested in her romantically. Joey acknowledged that they’d been stuck in the friend zone, but maintained that it was because of Monica’s sister’s disapproval.
Even worse, Monica said that she found out Joey slid into other cast members’ DMs shortly after the pod squad meet-up — while they were still engaged. Joey admitted it was true and that he had reached out to past pod connections, but said it was because he just liked to check in on people.
One of the people he’d reached out to was Madison, who was also present at the reunion. He acknowledged that his message, in which he said he wished they’d gotten to talk more, was inappropriate and came off as flirty. Monica also claimed that Joey had told her Madison was “after him” and coming on to him; when she later confronted Madison, Madison told her it wasn’t true. When Monica told Joey that Madison called it a “crazy lie,” Joey said he hadn’t told her that Madison was coming on to him.
Joey said at the reunion that Monica had just been jealous of Madison, though he wasn’t able to answer why that would have been the case if he hadn’t given her a reason to be.
Both Madison and Monica seemed like they were done with Joey. Monica said that she recognized he was a good son to his parents, a good brother to his sister, and a good friend to others, but he was now nothing at all to her — and she was fine with that.
“I’m ready to shut the door. We are humans on this earth together,” Monica said.
They’re no longer following each other on Instagram.
The”Love Is Blind” season eight reunion is now streaming on Netflix.
