The Love Is Blind Season 5 Reunion dropped on Sunday, almost a year and a half after filming wrapped on the regular season.
There was A LOT of crazy drama that went down in that year and a half, but it seemed like most everyone had forgiven and forgotten all of their past grievances. Heck, Izzy Zapata not only forgave “sketchy” Johnie Maraist, but the two met up at a bar and made out in his Jeep!
However, there was one cast member at the Love Is Blind Season 5 Reunion who couldn’t seem to let bygones be bygones in regards to a co-star. Stacy Snyder was still on the offensive (and the defensive) when it came to Johnie.
Stacy went on a long tirade about how she felt wronged by Johnie and how Johnie talked bad about her to other cast members during filming. Stacy’s anger seemed to increase exponentially as she saw Johnie ignoring her rant and using that time to catch up with Chris in a side convo.
Stacy’s lingering animosity towards Johnie spilled over to social media as soon as the Love Is Blind Season 5 Reunion dropped on Netflix. Stacy took to Instagram to share a lengthy, 4-part statement explaining why Johnie was the real bully.
“This statement was created to give clarity and context and will be the last that I want to discuss this aspect of my experience,” Stacy captioned the text graphic gallery. “I am someone that wants to move forward and I do not believe that I should be made out to be a terrible person for not wanting to engage with someone who does not have good will towards me for any reason.”
Here is Stacy’s gallery, followed by a transcript in case she decides to delete it later:
Stacy Snyder statement on Johnie Maraist
“I have anxiously been waiting in silence to address the context of where my frustration and anger comes from regarding Johnie. During and outside of filming, she bashed me as a person as well as my physical appearance.
“While in the pods, she told my fellow castmates, ‘Izzy would never be happy with her,’ ‘If that’s what he wants he’s going to have bigger problems outside of here,’ ‘Stacy is the safe choice,’ ‘If Izzy chooses Stacy, he’s going to be disappointed at reveal because she is not hot.’
“Some of these things were said while I was in the room, and some were said to my friends behind my back, who in turn told me. I never once called her out or attacked her for doing these things because I was focused on my relationship and engagement with Izzy
#LoveIsBlindS5 Stacy's lavish lifestyle is impressive for a 34-yr-old with a bachelor's degree in retail & consumer science whose 1st job out of college was assistant manager at Abercrombie & Fitch. How does she afford it? Does she work for her dad now? https://t.co/TWnfyX93MV
— Starcasm (@starcasm) October 5, 2023
“At the bbq, Milton, Johnie and I were sitting together, and Milton said, ‘Man Johnie, I don’t remember Stacy from the pods but we met in Mexico and she’s super cool!’ Johnie scoffed And replied, ‘Not memorable, shocking!’ with a sarcastic tone making me feel like I shouldn’t be a memorable person.
“I had yet to reply to her in any negative manner, but she crossed my boundaries with that final remark which is why you see me respond the way I do after she approached me with the deceitful comment.
“The comment I made about Johnie’s face was because I was shocked that someone who was supposedly Lydia’s closest friend was acting like she believed Uche’s awful accusations about her and finding humor in it. It felt like a betrayal of the friendships I knew were built in the pods and while my reaction may have been inappropriate, I know I owe it to explain why I felt disturbed by that.
“It feels very ironic that I am being portrayed as a bully when in fact the actions of Johnie very much come across to me as antagonizing for which I stood up for myself and others against. I strongly encourage anyone feeling attacked or belittled to stand up for themselves.”
Stacy lists LIB cast who support her
“Many of my fellow castmates witnessed all of which I am stating and have encouraged me to speak up,” Stacy wrote in the last panel of her statement. Stacy then tagged eight Love Is Blind Season 5 participants, including Izzy, Milton, Lydia, Taylor, Renee, Miriam, Paige, Linda and Shondra.
Miriam, Paige and Renee commented on the post with messages of support for Stacy.
Love Is Blind Season 5’s Josh Simmons, who got engaged but was edited out of the show, shared an Instagram story with Stacy’s statement and added the #TeamStacy hash tag.
Johnie Maraist new boyfriend
Just like at the Reunion, Johnnie seemed to pay no attention whatsoever to what Stacy was talking about on Instagram. after the Reunion dropped, Johnnie made no mention of Stacy as she took to Instagram herself to show off her not-so-new boyfriend!
Johnie also shared a gallery of photos with her new boo:
“Hell was the journey but it brought me heaven,” Johnie captioned the gallery. “Happy one year, Alex – thank you for showing me what true love is.”
Who is Johnie Maraist’s new boyfriend?
Johnie Maraist’s new boyfriend is Alex Yovanovic. According to his LinkedIn profile, Alex is a graduate of Texas Tech University who currently works as a structural aerospace engineer at NASA’s Johnson Space Center.
If you’re curious to know more about what Alex does at NASA, he revealed in a July, 2022 Facebook post that he worked extensively on a spacesuit used on the Artemis mission.
From Alex:
Hello World! Allow me introduce the Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit or xEMU Spacesuit!👩🚀 This project has been the main focus of my work during my early career and will allow the next generation of astronauts to explore the moon and beyond during NASA’s Artemis program. This suit has had many upgrades since the Apollo era and is essentially a mini spacecraft full of life support systems and increased mobility to work on the lunar surface more effectively.
Working on this project has fulfilled a lifelong ambition become reality. We’re all looking forward to the maiden launch of the Space Launch System next month and I’m very excited for what is to come!
It’s unclear what Alex’s credit score is.
Congratulations to Johnie on her one-year anniversary! If I’m ever in Houston I will be sure to pop into the only bar there in hopes of seeing the happy couple — as well as the rest of the Love Is Blind Season 5 cast. 😂
Asa Hawks is a writer and editor for Starcasm. You can contact Asa via Twitter, Facebook, or email at starcasmtips(at)yahoo.com
