Love Is Blind contestant JP has been branded a ‘walking red flag’ after telling his new bride Taylor Rue that she looked ‘fake’ because she was ‘caked in make-up’ when they first met.
The 32-year-old firefighter – full name Jared Pierce – infuriated viewers when he unleashed his honest opinion while trying to discuss why their first face-to-face meeting was so awkward despite previously building a connection in the pods.
Jared revealed he wasn’t a fan of Taylor, 26, wearing makeup, and accused her of putting on a completely different face.
Speaking to his bride in bed on their honeymoon, he said of their first face-to-face meeting, “I understand you’ve tried to present yourself and look as good as you can, but I feel like if you were to put yourself like that presenting (obviously), without make-up it would have been better.’
Love Is Blind season 5 star JP told his new bride Taylor Rue that she looked ‘fake’ and was ‘caked in makeup’ when they first met
Taylor was forced to defend her use of makeup during the icy exchange in episode six
“So the way I looked made you communicate differently?” Taylor asked, after which Jared cheekily joked, “It felt like you were fake.”
Taylor then asked, “Is that why communication was lost?”
Jared laid bare his thoughts and continued, “That’s how it started. You had a caked-on face (and) fake eyelashes. I’m honest and I’m sorry it’s so hard to hear.
“You presented fake stuff… Lots of makeup… I had makeup all over my jacket.”
Hurt and frustrated by his sassy comments, Taylor stuck to her guns and doubled down on her use of makeup, telling him she will continue to wear it regardless of his opinion.
Defending her use of beauty products, she responded, “You didn’t know what I looked like, and I wanted to feel and look my best for the first time I saw you.”
‘Women wear make-up because they want to feel beautiful. Many girls and women do that.’
Soon after, kindergarten teacher Taylor explained that she would be staying in a different room – away from her husband-to-be.
JP, pictured with Taylor moments after coming face to face for the first time, accused the school teacher of leaving his face ‘caked’ with make-up during their opening meeting
The firefighter said he would prefer if Taylor didn’t wear makeup and went au natural instead
JP made his feelings known during a discussion about the awkwardness between them
Outraged viewers quickly sided with Taylor and flooded her social media
The next day, she decided to end the engagement, citing the fact that Jared “wasn’t the person I fell in love with.”
“In the pods it was real,” she explained. ‘This just makes me feel so uncomfortable, it feels so forced. I keep having to drag things out of you and the whole makeup thing isn’t the reason why our emotional bond went out the window.”
Love is Blind sees singletons enter a series of pods and connect with potential suitors through a wall before choosing whether or not to pair up and meet in person.
Outraged viewers quickly sided with Taylor and flooded her social media with supportive comments following the awkward scenes.
“JP is literally a walking red flag, I can’t stand him,” said one, while another commented: “So proud of you for standing your ground, knowing your worth and walking away!!”
Taylor broke off their engagement the next morning, saying she wasn’t in love
Taylor later admitted that neither she nor JP were “100 percent” for each other
“You are beautiful with and without makeup, the fact that he tried to control you with makeup and feeling like you were at your best was wild as hell,” said another.
A fourth wrote: ‘Omg you are so beautiful!!! The episode where JP said, “I don’t like the way you wear makeup” and based that on why he couldn’t talk or open up to you… that’s so messed up. I’m sorry you had to go through that!’
‘YOU DESERVE BETTER AND YOU KNOW IT, THANK GOD!’ a fifth commented.
Commenting on her decision to end her relationship with JP, Taylor told Variety, “I had one foot in the door, one foot out, and no one deserves that.
“Everyone deserves someone who is 100 percent about them and I also know he wasn’t 100 percent about me.
“You don’t change the way you act entirely based on what someone looks like.”
The current season was thrown into chaos when contestants Lydia Velez Gonzalez and Uche Okoroha revealed that they were once in a relationship.
The blow came when 32-year-old geologist Lydia immediately recognized 34-year-old Uche’s voice during their first meeting in the pods, prompting producers to intervene and move them into separate rooms.
After the pair spoke individually, it became clear that neither party was interested in exploring a relationship with each other and they were allowed to continue on the show – on the condition that they did not reveal to their fellow contestants that they knew each other.