Love Is Blind UK star Nicole Stevens has blasted ex-fiancé Sam Klein for alleging on international TV that she wanted to sleep with him, but he rejected her advances.
Divorcee Nicole, 30, agreed to marry product designer Sam, 32, after they dated from behind a screen on the Netflix show, which is sought to challenge singletons to make deeper connections.
But within hours of meeting Sam face to face, Nicole came to the sudden realisation she had made a terrible mistake and her heart was with Benaiah Warrilow, who she eventually wed.
The landscaper, 34, had attempted to warn Nicole that he doubted Sam’s intentions on the dating series were genuine and he was chasing fame instead of true romance.
It was only after they called it quits that Sam dramatically returned to filming to tell Benaiah his then fiancée had wanted to bed him, a ‘false’ claim Nicole vehemently denies.
Love Is Blind UK star Nicole Stevens has blasted ex-fiancé Sam Klein for alleging on international TV that she wanted to sleep with him, but he rejected her advances
Divorcee Nicole agreed to marry product designer Sam after they dated from behind a screen on the Netflix show, which is sought to challenge singletons to make deeper connections
But within hours of meeting Sam face to face, Nicole came to the sudden realisation she had made a terrible mistake and her heart was with Benaiah Warrilow, who she eventually wed
In an exclusive interview with MailOnline, Nicole said: ‘No woman wants their private relationship to be exposed like that.
‘At the time I thought I was trying to take the high road when it came to the intimate details of our relationship, nonetheless what he said wasn’t true.
‘So, we need to address that because it was false information he said to Ben and in my opinion, it was really, really quite poor form.
‘All I can say is what you saw on camera was the tip of the iceberg.
‘From everything I have seen on screen and off camera, Sam disrespected me and he disrespected my husband, and that’s all I’ll say.’
Love Is Blind contestants agree to marry before meeting face to face and only have the opportunity to see each other for the first time once they’re engaged.
Nicole admits accepting Sam’s proposal despite being warned of his questionable nature was ‘delusional’ and she had been burying her true emotions.
Her anguish stemmed from previously being married for two years before the relationship failed and the fear of history repeating itself made her feelings even harder to process.
Nicole admits accepting Sam’s proposal despite being warned of his questionable nature was ‘delusional’ and she had been burying her true emotions
Her anguish stemmed from previously being married for two years before the relationship failed and the fear of history repeating itself made her feelings even harder to process
Benaiah was left devastated by the rejection and fled to Germany where he was consoled by his mother and sister, who revealed he even struggled to eat following the heartbreak
She explained: ‘I came into the experiment, and I wanted someone to be so sure about me. But I was delusional. I thought it had to look one way and therefore I was giving Sam the benefit of the doubt when it came to those red flags my body was warning me about.
‘I almost went into decision paralysis because you’re thinking I have done this before, and I really want to get it right and meet somebody who genuinely wants to have that lifelong marriage. I was so scared and at the time it felt like Ben was this risky choice because he may not want to commit, and I was in my head about Ben so much and it caused me to panic.
‘My instinct knew but I wasn’t trusting myself in the process and I was doubting myself. I have been married before and it didn’t work out so, when I realised I had made that mistake I tried to push it away. I had made the decision, but it was there.
‘I thought I am a person of my word, and I want to make sure I can at least give him a chance. But even when I first saw him, I was not excited if I’m honest… I didn’t feel it, which was my genuine truth, but I had been scared to say that. I was lying to myself.’
Benaiah was left devastated by the rejection and fled to Germany where he was consoled by his mother and sister, who revealed he even struggled to eat following the heartbreak.
The self-confessed nomad from Preston had never heard of Love Is Blind before producers approached him to star in the first UK series and after being single for the past decade, he jumped at the opportunity.
But Benaiah continued to keep his guard up after Sam attempted to put doubts in his mind in unaired scenes filmed from the men’s living quarters.
He said: ‘It hit me harder than I realised, I didn’t prepare for the rejection, so it shook me. Going away from that was difficult too. I had to wrap my head around it.
‘I thought it would be a couple of weeks and Nicole would see Sam for who he is and hopefully she would reach out when she was ready, but I didn’t think it would happen so soon.
‘I will take responsibility for not opening up but it’s because I heard things which weren’t shown about Nicole that put doubts in my head, but I heard them from someone else who wasn’t there for genuine reasons.
‘My guard went up and I looked back in hindsight and wished I was more open, but I didn’t want to get my heart broken on international TV.’
The self-confessed nomad had never heard of Love Is Blind before producers approached him to star in the first UK series and after being single for the past decade, he jumped at the chance
Following their wedding, which took place in September last year, Benaiah says his feelings towards Nicole have only grown
After living together for the past year, with Benaiah relocating to London, he and Nicole are looking forward to their future, including a trip to Ghana to meet extended family
Benaiah, who’s 6ft1, sobbed as he caught sight of 5ft Nicole for the first time, who wore a lace wedding dress with a trail
Benaiah has no regrets after he challenged Sam’s motives during the show, which was presented for the first time by married couple Emma and Matt Willis.
Following their wedding, which took place in September last year, Benaiah says his feelings towards Nicole have only grown, partly because of her warm-hearted personality, which he cites as her only ‘downfall’ during the dating experiment.
He said: ‘I had to protect Nicole and I will always pick that route. I had to call him out. I would do the same thing and I’m glad I managed to keep my cool on the whole.
‘I am a good judge of character so I can see through people pretty quickly. It didn’t sit well with me because I have come onto the show for pure reasons, I came on to find a partner because I have struggled for the past 10 years so it seemed like an unjust approach. I was trying to do the right thing.
‘Nicole is such a pure soul and always tries to see the good in people, which obviously translated into her downfall in some of the episodes but one thing that impresses me most is Nic never deviates from her true self and her core value and principals never crack and it’s just unbelievable.’
The couple made the ultimate commitment by saying ‘I do’ on their wedding day, cementing their connection which was first established behind a screen.
And unlike other dating shows such as Married At First Sight UK, their nuptials were official and they have entered a legally binding contract.
Benaiah, who’s 6ft1, sobbed as he caught sight of 5ft Nicole for the first time, who wore a lace wedding dress with a trail.
After living together for the past year, with Benaiah relocating to London, he and Nicole are looking forward to their future, including a trip to Ghana to meet extended family.
Nicole said: ‘I am very proud of Ben. It’s been hard in terms of the adjustment but it’s been a privilege to witness his growth and I mean this from the bottom of my heart, it’s been incredible. He impresses me a lot every day, genuinely, he really does.
‘What I love about us is there’s some flexibility in lifestyle, there’s so much unknown and I like that he’s not someone who wants to stay in one place… we’re fluid.
‘I thought I was going to be somewhere with someone forever but it didn’t happen. It is taking every single day with gratitude and he checks me on that. I really value the fluidity.’
Ben added: ‘I’m looking forward to friends and family finding out about us and we’re going to Ghana to meet Nicole’s family.
‘Our core family knows but I have friends and family all over the world and some of them don’t know about the end result so it’s being able to celebrate that. Perhaps we will have another ceremony or celebration. I want to be open about sharing our story and happiness.’
