Love Is Blind star Zanab Jaffrey claims ex-fiancé Cole Barnett labeled her ‘bipolar’ TWICE

Zanab Jeffrey claims her ex-fiancé Cole Barnett ‘weaponised’ her mental health issues by labeling her ‘bipolar’ on two occasions and discovering the stag betrayal ‘tipped her’.

The Love Is Blind star, 32, who agreed to marry Cole, 27, who has not yet been seen on the Netflix series, told MailOnline there was no way she would go through with their wedding after he treated her “disrespectfully” and “dishonestly”. ‘

According to Zanab, hours before he was due to walk down the aisle, Cole admitted to trying to kiss another woman on his bachelor party night, which he later denied during The Reunion episode, where the couple first met again. since their big day.

After signing up for Love Is Blind in the hope of finally meeting The One after a decade of dating, Zanab says Cole’s kind comments about her body triggered her eating disorder and his “violent” behavior when she questioned whether she was it bipolar. therapy and not seeing anyone for a year.

She said: “He asked me twice if I was bipolar… The first time he asked me I was like you don’t mean it, but then he confirmed ‘did you hear what I said?’ And he asked again, a second time with a smile on his face.

“I found that very violent.” It’s funny how you can see my eyes move and I look almost dead into the camera like what the hell? I believe in fair fighting and not punching below the belt. I always treat my relationships with respect.

“It’s a century-old ‘call the woman crazy’… than do better, come up with something better. People heard it and ran with it. I will continue to talk about therapy and be open about mental health because people don’t feel safe talking about what they are struggling with.

“People who throw words around like that are the reason people don’t ask for help. It’s such an ugly side of society that’s why we have the mental health issues we face. Weaponizing mental health issues is completely wrong.

Zanab and Cole grew up in the show’s ‘pods’, where hopefuls date behind a screen for nine days before getting the chance to get engaged.

Couples are encouraged not to ask questions that reveal details about their physical appearance and instead be given “deeper” topics to discuss, such as future prospects, religious beliefs and childhood.

Despite falling for each other, Zanab’s relationship with Cole didn’t work outside of the experiment, when she told him “you disrespected, hurt, criticized, and single-handedly broke my confidence.”

Speaking to MailOnline, she said: ‘I didn’t date for a whole year after that and just poured myself back into it.

“As much as I hoped to end up with someone who was my crush and my cheerleader…you have to give a lot of that love.

“Right after the wedding, I decided to go to therapy. There were fundamental issues and a lot of disrespect, and you don’t go into a marriage with disrespect and dishonesty.

“We are not friends and there is no communication. We don’t talk, no relationship is the best for me, but I also knew I wouldn’t hear from him and we wouldn’t talk after the wedding either.

Zanab, who lives in Dallas but is originally from the UK, challenged Cole on the stag after he claimed he admitted to flirting and got another woman’s number.

During the Reunion episode, Cole tried to disbelieve the claim, stating, “We haven’t seen any girls.”

Former flight attendant Zanab stands by the conversation she and Cole had, saying: “Well, there were no cameras around at all… It’s easy to say it didn’t happen because you only remember parts of it.

“People think I was so tough at our wedding and question where it all came from, but if the last conversation you had with your fiancé before walking down the aisle was, ‘I have to tell you something that happened at my bachelor party.’ … me over the edge.

“You don’t do that to someone you love and respect.” There wasn’t even the slightest respect.

Zanab struggled to cope while filming the third series as her partner Cole subtly poked her body, even pressuring her to reduce her portion sizes or not eat at all.

The reality personality believes that Netflix producers refused to air scenes that showed Cole’s true colors to protect her, and as a result made her a “villain” for being honest about her experiences.

He said: “I looked like a liar because I said something happened and the viewer didn’t see it, so it didn’t happen. But for me, there was still a lot that aired.

“I went into the show pretty confident. I have a great personality, this was right after covid…so was I a bit fluffier than usual? Sure.

“But the men I dated really enjoyed my body and loved that I wasn’t a stringy, skinny girl and I never would be. I love my body, I love it, but not during the show because the person I loved and the person I found put so much pressure on how I looked.

“It erased and accelerated an insecurity I hadn’t felt since high school. In high school, girls are so small and it brought these things back to the surface.

The third season of Love Is Blind, presented by US hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey, has been filmed in 2021 and the new series is expected to premiere this month.

However, Zanab, who was inspired to enter the show by the success story of married Lauren and Cameron Hamilton, will not be watching the new cast’s journey.

He said: “I have no intention of watching the new series. It was very moving to look back at myself and considering the backlash and negativity I got… I talked to other women who were considered ‘villains’ and that’s not something to be a part of.

“I’m not the most villainous, but part of the internet liked to say I was. They were the chosen girls, absolutely his fans.

It may have taken her time to heal, but Zanab is back on the dating scene and teases that she’s met someone, even though she’s not ready to officially announce her relationship status.

He added: “There’s definitely a possibility that I’m going to get that excited, but I’m 100 percent going to take a long breath before I go public and let the guy get picked apart.”