Love Is Blind’s Jessica Batten Debuts New Boyfriend on Fourth of July

Jessica Batten is ready for a second chance at love this summer.

While celebrating Fourth of July weekend, the Love Is Blind star took to Instagram and introduced fans to her new boyfriend. Ladies and gentlemen, meet Dr. Benjamin McGrath.

“Happy Fourth! Freedom isn’t free. I’m thankful to be able to follow my heart and choose my own happiness. I hope you all do the same!” she shared on social media. “For those who have asked, this is why I would do it all over again. Can’t wait to share some of our adventures. #followyourheart #happyfourth #244.”

Many fans were quick to congratulate the reality star including her co-star Kelly Chase who was able to meet the special guy last weekend. And when one viewer asked the important question—Is he 34 or 24?—Jessica didn’t hesitate to reply. 

“He was 34 at the time of filming so it turns out that’s exactly what I was looking for,” she wrote alongside a face with tears of joy emoji. “Thanks for asking.”

Fans first met the Chicago sports lover on Netflix’s massive hit reality show Love Is Blind where she got engaged to Mark Cuevas. Jessica ultimately left him at the altar during their wedding and cited their 10-year age difference as the main reason for the hesitation.

With Jessica off the market this summer, you may be wondering where other Love Is Blind stars stand. Check in with our favorite cast members in our gallery below.

The pod squad’s most solid and seemingly content couple, of course, made it official at the altar, both going through with the marriage (despite some early hesitation on Lauren‘s part). 

In December, both Cam and Lauren posted vacation photos from Cancun, though they didn’t tag each other or post photos of one another. They also happen to be wearing the same pair of sunglasses, so…

But also, Lauren revealed in an interview with Elite Daily that they are still together. “Oh my God. We’re so happy,” she gushed. “It’s just, like, every day we learn more and more about each other, and we honestly fall more and more in love with each other.”

Cameron posted a photo from their wedding day, simply captioning the pic, “The happiest day of my life.”

Despite some chilly feet on Barnett‘s behalf on the morning of the ceremony, Barnett and Amber exchanged vows in the finale’s final wedding. And over a year later, they are still married. 

For their respective Fourth of July Instagram snaps, the husband and wife duo both wore the same American flag cowboy hat.

OK, if you thought these two were actually going to end up married at the end of this thing after their many, many struggles (the 10-year age difference, her being attracted to Barnett, Jessica not really being into Mark physically, etc., etc.), well…bless your naive little heart. 

Since their failed wedding, with Jessica being the one to pull the plug (duh), Mark revealed to the New York Post that he had not spoken to Jessica since that day, though he had reached out at one point.  

“I didn’t hear back, but to me, it’s just sending love out there,” he said, adding the LIB experiment was still the “best” thing to happen to him. “Without Jessica, there would not be a Mark of today.” As for Jessica, she’s moved on with Dr. Benjamin McGrath. 

Damian delivered one of Love is Blind’s most shocking moments when he blindsided Giannina by revealing he didn’t think they should get married at the altar. Fortunately, things have taken a turn with the couple together and stronger than ever. 

“29 you so fine and this year, I’M your gift,” Giannina wrote on Instagram when celebrating Damian’s birthday in June 2020. As for future wedding plans, never say never.

“I wouldn’t say that it’s out by any means, but if it’s done, I want to make sure it’s right,” Damian shared on Daily Pop. “I want to make sure it’s the wedding of her dreams.”

Viewers were surprised when Kelly revealed she didn’t feel a real physical attraction for Kenny and chose not to go through with the marriage, much to her family’s surprise. 

Since their wedding day, Kenny has moved to Charlotte, North Carolina, while Kelly still lives in Atlanta working as a health and empowerment coach. One of her recent Instagram posts was about being single in your 30s—”I know boundaries now. I love myself so much that I won’t just be with a guy bc I’m lonely.”—so we’re guessing they haven’t reconciled.

While they were one of the six couples to get engaged in the pods (well, at least the six that the producers decided to continue filming with), Diamond and Carlton didn’t make it to the end of their trip to Mexico, breaking up in an explosive fight after Carlton revealed to her that he was bisexual. 

But with time, the former engaged couple could end up as friends, with Carlton telling People, “At this point, whatever happens, happens. It would be great. But it takes time I think. I think we both have to still process the way we feel. We still have different views on the way things panned out and what was done wrong.”

Diamond added, “We have a lot of growing, both of us, to do and I am willing to grow. I love growing but I feel like we can at least come now to a medium and be able to sit and now talk because this is a very touchy subject. And both of us still get emotional about it. Even though it happened over a year ago, it still feels like it was yesterday.”

Back in June 2020, a fan shared a post in Reddit that questioned Mark’s relationship status. “My close friend’s co-worker is dating Mark!!” the user wrote while including a screenshot of Mark’s picture and another woman who appeared to be on a date.

LC then confirmed that she and Mark had been seeing each other by responding, “This is awkward because I live in Atlanta and I’ve been dating Mark since the beginning of May…Oh and btw, this is LC from Love is Blind…”

The couple would later confirm they were not together. 

Love Is Blind (produced by Kinetic Content) is slated to return to Netflix in 2021 with two new seasons.