Love Is Blind’s Marshall Debuts Girlfriend of One Year on After the Altar
Marshall Glaze has been blinded by a new love.
The Love Is Blind star—who split with fiancée Jackie Bonds not long after they left the pods—debuted his girlfriend, Dr. Chay Barnes, on season four of the Netflix hit's follow-up, After the Altar.
Introducing Chay, a nurse practitioner and nurse midwife, to costars Tiffany and Brett Brown in the series (filmed earlier this year), marketing manager Marshall discussed plans to mark their first anniversary.
"In July, Chay and I will have been together for a year officially," he said. "I asked her to be my girlfriend on July 15, and we've been rocking ever since."
The Seattle-based star gushed, "Chay is the perfect woman for me. She's the yin to my yang. Opposites attract. She's quite literally my opposite and we mesh so well. That's what I love the most about her."
As for what else drew him to the University of Washington alum? "Chay makes me feel loved every time she looks in my eyes," Marshall continued. "That's who I want to spend my life with."
Noting how "happy" he is now, Marshall said he can't compare their bond to the one he had with Jackie, who left him during filming for costar Josh Demas. As he put it, "Jackie and Chay are two different people."
And she seems just as enamored, marking their anniversary on Instagram by writing, "Our journey to where we are today is a testament of resilience and unconditional love for one another. Cheers to Year One and cheers to many more."
While Chay is Marshall's first serious girlfriend since filming Love Is Blind, she isn't the only woman he's dated. He revealed on the April reunion episode that he went on one date with fellow castmate Kacia Clark after filming.
"I actually reached out to Kacia," Marshall told E! News' Erin Lim Rhodes in an interview earlier this year. "We tried."
He said ending things with the family support specialist was "rough," but he just wasn't ready for a fresh start so soon after his engagement.
"I wanted to just distance myself from all of that, from that experience," Marshall explained to E!. "It was going to be difficult to try to make a relationship with Kacia."
But Kacia recalled their brief romance a little differently on After the Altar.
"It was definitely more than just one date," she told friend Jackie in one scene. "He literally was saying stuff like, ‘Dang, I made a mistake. If I would have chosen you, we probably would be married.'"
One year later, Kacia is "trying to move on" from it all, admitting to Jackie that she, too, blocked Marshall on social media.
"I really wasn't expecting for him to bring up my name," she noted of the reunion. "He was a little dismissive about it."
And how does Jackie feel about her friend having dated her ex? "Kacia dating Marshall after me and him broke up, that has nothing to do with me. That's their relationship," the dental assistant said on a confessional. "She pulled me aside and we had a conversation… That's fine. Everybody has their opportunity and everybody has the right to go be happy."
To check in on more Love Is Blind season four stars and their relationships statuses, keep reading.
Status: Married
Come on, not since season one's Cameron Hamilton and Lauren Speed has an LIB pairing seem so meant to be! The oldest couple in the experiment—Tiffany was 36 and Brett was 37—exchanged vows, even though Brett had a sartorial emergency when his pants did not fit properly on their wedding day. (Shout out to seamstress Lucia, you're a real one!)
Since filming wrapped, Tiffany and Brett moved to Portland and are still perfect! Phew!
Status: Didn't make it to wedding day
Fans watched with dismay as Jackie chose to give Josh Demas, the other man she connected with in the pods, a second chance, meeting up with him before ending her engagement to Marshall. However, during the reunion, Jackie set the record straight on the timeline of events. "I broke up with Marshall before I met Josh at the coffee shop," she said. "It looks like I'm a cheater. I am not a cheater."
Jackie then addressed the end of her relationship with Marshall, saying she "can take accountability" for her words and actions, but "I hope that he would do the same. We just weren't meant to be." As for her romance with Josh? They were still dating and living together in After the Altar, released in September 2023.
Unfortunately for Marshall, who was hoping for some closure with Jackie, he was unable to fully express his feelings to his former fiancé as she chose not to attend the live taping, conducting a pre-recorded interview with Nick and Vanessa Lachey. But in an interview with E!, Marshall revealed he briefly connected with fellow contestant Kacia after the show.
"We tried," Marshall explained, "But I wanted to just distance myself from all of that from that experience. It was going to be difficult to try to make a relationship with Kacia."
In After the Altar, Marshall revealed he's been dating girlfriend Dr. Chay Barnes for one year and wants to spend forever with her. "Chay is the perfect woman for me. She's the yin to my yang," he said. "Opposites attract. She's quite literally my opposite and we mesh so well. That's what I love the most about her."
Status: Separated
Opposites seemed to attract all season for this pair...until they got to the altar. Sensing Paul's hesitation, Micah asked him to give his answer first and it was a pass on marriage for Paul. "I literally feel like a disaster," Micah said. "If Paul would have wanted to marry me, I 100 percent would have said 'I do.'"
At the reunion, Paul apologized for his comment in a confessional about not being able to see Micah as a mother. "I think I phrased that really unfairly toward her," Paul explained. "I think the better way to phrase that would be that I can't see us as parents."
While the duo briefly reconciled after filming, they ultimately weren't able to make their relationship work, with Paul explaining they broke up for good when he visited Micah in Arizona.
In After the Altar, Paul revealed he is dating a new woman who enjoys traveling and his cooking skills.
Status: Married
Despite Kwame's mother refusing to attend the wedding and his arguably inappropriate conversations with Micah, whom he also connected with in the pods, Kwame and Chelsea were one of the three couples to exchange vows at the end of season four.
During the reunion, Chelsea revealed she has since met her husband's mom and Kwame offered an apology to his wife and her family for his behavior, saying his talks with Micah were "not the best representation." The couple is living in Seattle with their beloved dog Rocky.
Status: Married
Sure, they say love is blind, but occasionally it needs a little bit of time—or proposing to another woman—to realize you made the wrong choice. Which is what happened when Zack initially got engaged to Irina Solomonova, only for the couple to break up during their trip to Mexico. After asking Bliss for a second chance, the pair defied the odds (and Bliss' dad's wishes) and both said "I do" at the altar. (And, no, they did not sit it out, enjoying that all important first turn around the dance floor to Lee Ann Womack's "I Hope You Dance," the song that bonded them in the pods.) After the finale aired, Zack shared a photo of the couple on Instagram with the caption "Eternal Bliss."
Since filming, Bliss revealed, Zack and her father have become "best buds," one of the many reasons Vanessa predicted they would be the first Love Is Blind couple to have a baby.
Status: Sorry
Deemed the villain of season four due to her mean girl antics in the pods and for the way she treated Zack before their breakup, an emotional Irina showed up to the reunion ready to take accountability for her behavior.
"My intention was never to hurt anyone," she said, "but my impact did." Irina added that she had offered private apologies to the female cast members before addressing Zack.
"No one deserves to be treated like that," she told him. "I completely belittled you and made you feel so small. I was going through a lot mentally. That does not mean that was an excuse to do that, but looking back, I'm sorry."
As for Zack and Bliss, the couple said they have "100 percent" forgiven Irina, though Bliss did reveal Irina sent her a direct message on Instagram while the pair was in Mexico, telling her she "dodged a bullet."
Irina has since been focusing on herself, sharing her one-year fitness transformation from July 2022 to July 2023. "So proud of my body," she said. "Making little choices that just help me feel better inside & out."
