It’s Instagram official between Love Is Blind season 8 stars Sara Carton and Joey Leveille.
Sara, 29, took to her grid on Sunday, July 13, to share two loved-up photos of herself with Joey, 35. One of the romantic snaps, taken on a rooftop, captured the pair kissing as they wrapped their arms around each other.
“Happy 🥹. My newest life chapter title,” Sara, who was originally coupled with Ben Mezzenga, captioned the carousel before Joey, who was originally coupled with Monica Danus, shared the post via his own Instagram account.
The confirmation comes after Sara initially denied she was dating Joey in March, then said on the May 8 episode of the “Dear Shandy” podcast that they were exploring their connection — but still not formally dating. “To keep it short and concise right now, a lot of people think of dating in different terms, so to keep it clear, dating officially — like boyfriend-girlfriend — we’re not,” Sara said. “[We are] dating in the sense of exploring our relationship and getting to know one another.”
The duo also liked one another’s Sunday Instagram posts, as did fellow cast members including Lauren O’Brien, who appeared alongside the pair during the season after she coupled up with (and split from before reaching the aisle) David Bettenburg. “Cute! How’d you guys meet?” Lauren, 31, teased in Sara’s comments.
David, 33, also commented on Sara’s post, sharing a gif of Michael Jackson eating popcorn.
Fans of the show began speculating that Sara and Joey were an item in March after the show wrapped its eighth season with a March 7 finale. At the season’s reunion, which aired on Netflix two days later, Sara was seated next to Joey on the couch.
Sara addressed the online speculation during the March 13 episode of “The Viall Files” podcast. “I’ve seen this a few times online in the past 24 hours,” she said in the episode. “Well, to be clear, me and Joey are not dating.”
She elaborated further at the time, “There was a love square between me, Monica, Ben and Joey. We were all talking to each other until the second to last day in the pods,”Sara recalled. “Of course, naturally in that circumstance, you do connect with people. I feel like me and Joey did establish a really great friendship.”
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Interestingly, Ben shared an Instagram video out dancing in a bar with Monica and Love Is Blind alum Chelsea Blackwell just hours ahead of Sara and Joey’s Instagram announcement on Sunday.
Sara added during the interview that she “didn’t really talk” to Joey any further until “five months” post-production. “[Joey] and five other people visited me in Nashville and we called ourselves the ‘Yee-Haw Crew,’ like, it’s such a good time,” she explained. “We grew really, really close with each other just because of the support for each other, knowing what we’ve all been through and being able to be there for one another. It’s been super important to me.”
She continued, “This whole situation, I’ve felt very close with Joey. I’m fond of our relationship, but I [also] feel very well-supported by all those involved. I’m just very grateful that I’ve met him, but, yeah, we definitely have a friendship. We’re definitely not dating.”