Spoilers for the first six episodes of Love is Blind season 9 ahead. The entire premise of Netflix’s mega reality hit Love is Blind rests on whether someone can let go of physical expectations for a partner and marry solely based on an emotional connection. For season 9 stars Madison Maidenberg and Joe Ferrucci, physical attraction seems to be driving a wedge between the couple that said “yes” inside the pods. Ahead, we break down everything we know about Madison and Joe’s relationship so far on Love Is Blind, including whether the couple might still be together after leaving the reality dating show.
Madison and Joe from Love Is Blind season 9.
What happens between Madison and Joe on 'Love is Blind' season 9?
When Madison, a 28-year-old UX/UI designer, and Joe, a 29-year-old sales representative, first meet in the pods, their interactions are silly. They plan a hypothetical date that involves karaoke and Flamin’ Hot Cheetos from 7-Eleven, and poke fun at each other’s choices that up the ante of the date. But things quickly become more serious when Madison reveals that she has a rare eye condition called Retinitis Pigmentosa, in which her eyesight is slowly deteriorating and she could become completely blind. Joe’s reaction is strong: He comforts Madison by telling her that he would like to be there for his wife, should they get to that stage of the experiment.
Her health issues open the door for more significant conversations. Joe tells Madison that he’d be comfortable moving into her condo after getting married, as she is a homeowner and he is not. He also reveals that he is divorced, but ended things because his former partner was too introverted, to the point where he’d often be doing things alone instead of creating memories together. In the pods, he writes Madison a love letter, and she says it made her feel chosen. By the end of episode 2, they’re engaged.
Shortly after they meet, Joe admits that Madison feels "like a stranger" in person.
At the reveal, their happy bubble seems to get its first puncture. Joe isn’t profuse about his love and attraction to Madison, and he later admits that he had a hard time connecting the women he had formed an emotional connection with in the pods to the person standing in front of him. He says a few times that she feels like a “stranger,” which isn’t exactly reassuring from the person you’re supposed to marry in a month.
In Baja, Mexico, their connection remains unsteady. Madison opens up more about her eye condition, they have sex (which she raves about to the girls), and he reassures her that he finds her attractive even though he’s still connecting the dots between the emotional and physical versions of her. In his confessional, though, he finally comes clean to say that Madison isn’t his typical physical type, and Madison picks up on the imbalance in their relationship when she points out that she’s always the one saying, “I love you,” first—except when they’re being intimate.
Things go from unsteady to properly bad by the end of episode 6, when Joe leaves the pool party with the rest of the Pod Squad early. Madison was already showing some annoyance towards him as he wasn’t being very attentive to her and kept talking over her to other people—but when she checks on him at the end of the night, she gets freaked out. Joe doesn’t recognize that she’s wearing the same outfit from earlier and repeatedly asks her the same questions. We don’t see exactly how many drinks he slung back (damn those opaque goblets!), but it’s pretty clear that Joe blacked out, and Madison isn’t here for it. We’ll have to see if that’s a hurdle they can get over, or if it’s a sign of things to come.
It seems like a rocky road may be ahead for the couple.
Are Joe and Madison from 'Love Is Blind' season 9 still together?
While Love is Blind contestants typically don’t engage with one another until after the season airs, Joe and Madison follow each other on Instagram. There aren’t any unsanctioned photos, likes, or comments that we could find, but the fact that the couple is in touch on Instagram could bode good things for the future.
