Netflix’s Love is Blind may have wrapped up its final episode but for anyone who’s just beginning the series and is on the Mark & Jessica rollercoaster, buckle up. It’s going to be a wild ride.
The premise of the show is to find out if love really is blind. After falling in love with each other’s personality before ever seeing them, Mark and Jessica fell for one another from the start. They had so many incredible commonalities that it was hard to think of a reason why they shouldn’t end up together. But once Jessica started having feelings for another man (Barnett), things between the potential couple got rocky. In the end, Mark decided to propose to Jessica anyway and she accepted. Now that the two of them are engaged to be married, did they really make the right decision?
Before wrapping up the series or reading any spoilers, let’s take a look at five reasons why these two should follow through with the wedding and five reasons why they should call it off and go their separate ways.
Stick It Out: They’re From The Same Home State
When Jessica and Mark are both in their pods, they start off with small chit chat and right off the bat, these two had remarkable coincidences. They’re both from the state of Illinois, they’re both huge Cubs and Bears fans, and they both had golden retrievers. Eventually, religion came up in conversation and they were the same faith and wanted to raise their potential family in the church. These were all small things that hooked each other in from the start and could make life outside of the pods incredibly simple for each other.
Break Up: The Age Gap Could Be Too Big
As you’ll see, there isn’t an episode where Jessica doesn’t bring up the age difference between her and Mark. At 34 and 24, there’s 10 years between them but if you listen to Jessica, you would think there was 20 years between them.
She thinks they’re on two different paths in life no matter how many times Mark tells her otherwise. At 24, Mark is very mature and is ready to start a family with Jessica. Jessica, on the other hand, believes their 10-year age gap will be a huge problem in their marriage, family, and friend group.
Stick It Out: She Won Over Mark’s Family
Mark is a huge family man and is considered a “mama’s boy” by Jessica. He’s very close to his family and wants his marriage to mirror the successful one that his parents created. Jessica was very intimidated by his close relationship with his mother and feared he would constantly compare the two, even though they’re two very different people. Jessica was also nervous to meet the woman who Mark held in such high regard. However, after meeting Mark’s family, it became clear that his mom just wanted him to be happy. The fact that she was 10 years older than Mark didn’t phase her in the least. In fact, she preferred it!
Break Up: Barnett, Barnett, Barnett
Similar to their age difference, Jessica bings up Barnett’s name in almost every episode. She simply cannot help comparing the man she chose to the one who got away.
While Mark fell in love with Jessica and only Jessica, Jessica fell in love with both Mark and Barnett. In fact, she seemed sold on Barnett more than Mark. But after Barnett decides to choose Amber, Jessica goes down a rabbit hole of darkness. Things only get worse when Jessica sees how handsome Barnett is. And sadly, it’s not fair to Mark who thinks the world of Jessica and only wanted her from the start.
Stick It Out: They Have A Solid Foundation
Unlike the other many of the other couples who slept together on the first night in Mexico, Jessica and Mark held off. Mark has said to be a very physical person and wanted to be physical with Jessica but she wasn’t at that level yet. Instead of partaking in bedroom activities, Mark and Jessica decided to get to know each other better mentally. Having that kind of passion and trust with each other is a solid foundation and not just lust (like so many other couples were rumored to be having).
Break Up: Is There A Physical Attraction Between The Two?
Mark has said to think the world of Jessica and can’t believe how beautiful she is when he first sees her. For him, love truly is blind and he fell for her personality first. The fact that she’s a stunner is purely the cherry on top. For Jessica, she also seemed to like what she saw in Mark, however, she has also said to be more fond of men who look like Barnett. She’s into bigger and taller men in comparison to her handsome fiance. Due to her fear of their age gap, commitment, and—sadly—his looks, these two didn’t sleep together for a few episodes. In a marriage, physical attraction can be just as important as their personality. Would Jessica ever get to that point with Mark?
Stick It Out: Jessica’s Friends Are On Board
We don’t see or hear about Jessica’s family too much on the show but that could be because she is in her 30s and is very well-off. She has done very well for herself and it shows in her stunning house, car, and lifestyle. But eventually, we meet Jessica’s friends and while they were shocked that Jessica found someone she loved enough to marry, they were also very supportive, which surprised her. What was more surprising to Jessica was the fact that her friends also didn’t care about the age difference between the two of them. If his parents didn’t mind, he doesn’t mind, and her friends don’t mind, why would she? This could totally work!
Break Up: Her Drinking Leads To Plenty Of Arguments
Before the couples go out into the real world, they’re secluded to their girls vs. boys houses, hotel rooms in Mexico, and later assigned apartments in the same complex as the other couples. It’s not until everyone gets back to their normal lives (working, social media, families, etc…) that things become cloudy for the couples. This was especially true between Jessica and Mark. But even before they had the privilege of having their phones back, a lot of late nights and glasses of wine were consumed. While everyone seemed to keep their composure, Jessica was on the hot mess express. Her drinking led to a few arguments with Mark and some very uncomfortable moments with the others.
Stick It Out: Their Age Gap Could Actually Be An Advantage
It’s obvious Jessica has issues with the 10-year age gap between her and Mark but this could be a good thing for the couple. For Mark, it could be inspiring to be with someone who has all their ducks in a row. She’s successful, has a lovely home, and she knows who she is and what she wants. For Jessica, it’s sweet to be with someone younger who can pull her out of her comfort zone and introduce her to new things. She appears to be set in her ways and being with someone a little more care-free could be good for her!
Break Up: This Relationship Appears To Be One-Sided
Before watching the final episode, it appears that this relationship is totally one-sided. It’s believed that Jessica really does love Mark but she has way more reservations about their relationship than he does. In fact, Mark can’t find one problem with Jessica besides the fact that they waited so long to be intimate. For Jessica, however, she can’t stop picking and prodding at small things and creating issues out of them.
