Every reality TV season needs a villain, and unfortunately for Cole Barnett, he was given this moniker after fans binge-watched season 3 of the Netflix series Love Is Blind. At first, Cole seemed like he could be a favorite cast member. He shared that he had been married once before, and he seemed eager to find lasting love. By the end of the season, though, viewers had seen a lot of bickering between Cole and Zanab Jaffrey. People took Zanab’s side and felt that Cole wasn’t mature enough to marry her.

Now that a few years have passed since Love Is Blind season 3 became available, the cast members have settled into their new lives. While Cole Barnett seemed to bond with his co-stars during filming, they might not feel that positively toward him today.

Does Cole Barnett Get Along With His Love Is Blind Season 3 Cast Members?

Only two of the Love Is Blind season 3 couples are married in 2023: Colleen Reed and Matt Bolton, and Brennon and Alexa Lemieux. Sadly, while Cole Barnett seemed like he wanted to marry Zanab Jaffrey, she said no and shared an impassioned speech at the altar. Cole was heartbroken and embarrassed. By the season 3 reunion, it was clear that his fellow castmates weren’t pleased with his behavior.

When viewers watched a clip of Cole and Zanab discussing cutie oranges, Cole became the “bad guy” of Love Is Blind season 3. Since he asked her if she was going to eat two oranges and mentioned that she shouldn’t ruin her appetite for dinner, it didn’t paint him in the best light.

Where does Cole stand with his co-stars today? It seems that he has had a complicated relationship with Alexa and Brennon in particular.

In February 2023, Brennon and Alexa talked about Cole in an interview with Us Weekly. Alexa explained that she and her husband don’t talk to Cole anymore. She said that they have bumped into each other, but they don’t make it a point of spending time together.

Alexa said, “We have not spoken but I had seen him a few times throughout the last year and a half. It was always, like, chill. We were never friends. I, honestly, I didn’t know him very well … but [seeing] someone’s kind of light diminish within them kind of just sucks to watch as a friend.”

Brennon and Alexa both dislike Cole’s actions toward Zanab. It doesn’t sound like the Love Is Blind couple ever made up with Cole or found a way to agree to disagree.

Brennon said to Us Weekly, “I don’t have any ill will towards Cole. I told Cole, ‘If he wanted to be friends with me, he could have reached out.’ We’re different people, we have different lives and just because we filmed the show for two months doesn’t mean we have to be best friends, and I told him that. I was like, ‘You know, we don’t have to be best friends. You don’t have to live your life based on what I think.’”

While it seems that Brennon was open to a friendship with Cole at one point, that ship has definitely sailed.

Cole Barnett’s other co-stars aren’t happy with him, either. Nancy Rodriguez spoke about Cole in an interview with Us Weekly in February 2023. She said that Cole went out with another Love Is Blind star, but he didn’t talk about it. No one is sure who this person is.

Nancy said, “The fact that he even reached out to one of our old castmates [and] met up with them not long after the weddings. To me, that sounds very false that he was thinking [he and Zanab] were going to be dating again when he didn’t reach out at all.”

How Does Cole Barnett Feel About Appearing On Love Is Blind?

While it wasn’t easy for Cole Barnett to watch the “Cuties” clip and see how he talked to Zanab Jaffrey, he admitted that he was wrong to talk about what she was eating.

According to The Independent, Cole appeared on the podcast Lauren Interviews and said, “I’m just so thankful that they played the ‘Cuties scene’ because it’s like: ‘I don’t know why you’d say that I was body shaming you as well.”

Cole told Cliche Mag that he wouldn’t call anyone on Love Is Blind “a villain.” He said, “Anytime I see someone being labeled as the villain, I really don’t think anyone deserves that. We all went on a dating show.”

Ultimately, Cole hoped that he would get married at the end of his season of Love Is Blind. This is what, of course, every cast member hopes for. But as fans have seen, some cast members fare better online than others. Cole received a lot of criticism for the statements that he made in the series. Many felt that he was always picking apart Zanab and criticizing her.

Cole reflected on Love Is Blind with PopSugar and said that he still feels that it was a good idea to go on Love Is Blind. However, he feels badly that his words and actions were painful for Zanab.

Cole said, “I’m not going to sit here and try to defend myself. I don’t regret doing [the show] at all. We gave it a run for love — that’s what you do in relationships that aren’t televised.”

Cole continued to PopSugar, “For me, it was a chance at another potential wife, spouse, partner, and a good life together. I don’t regret it, but I regret hurting her. I regret the aftermath of our relationship and how bad it was. But I don’t regret doing it because I didn’t intend, at any time, to hurt her. I think it came with the territory of the experiment and us not being compatible completely.”

Cole Barnett may never forget his experiences on Love Is Blind, but he appears to be moving forward in life. Fans noticed that he was posting a lot of Instagram photos with someone who he seemed to be dating. According to Meaww.com, her name is Karlee Garcia and she is a real estate agent in Fort Worth, Texas.