‘Love Is Blind’ Star Joe Ferrucci Explains Breakup From Ex-Fiancée Madison Maidenberg

Will anyone say “I Do” at the altar in Season 9 of Love Is Blind? It doesn’t seem promising.

This season has seen more breakups than its predecessors, and we still have the finale episode to go. One of the most non-shocking splits was when Joe Ferrucci ended things with Madison Maidenberg after their bridal party fittings. 

In the episode, he told a tearful Maidenberg that she simply wasn’t his person. He told her behind the scenes that if they went along with the wedding, he’d say no at the altar and didn’t want to embarrass her. But in an interview with Us Magazine, Ferrucci said there’s a lot that viewers didn’t see.  

He said things between them took a turn after transitioning in the real world. “My connection with Madison in the pods was great. There were a lot of butterflies. It was a very deep connection. We had a lot of laughs,” he began. “When you’re going into [the pods], there is a little hesitation, and then the more you go forward, you get bought in and it is a pressure cooker situation. The conversations you have in there are very deep and exceed what would be in a regular relationship just by timeline. The more it went on, I could see it working out.”

The couple faced problems almost from the beginning of their meeting in person. He admitted she wasn’t his typical aesthetic, despite being intimate. And, he had a major drunken episode during the pre-honeymoon in Mexico where he was clearly incoherent and she was unable to deal. He now admits he used alcohol as a coping mechanism during his time on the show.

According to a recent interview she did, his comments about her led her to develop an eating disorder, per her chat with The Viall Files. For his part, he says he was caught off guard by her revelation. “Obviously, kind of a horrible feeling on my end if that’s something that affected her long-term or for a little while after. It was a surprising comment. Madison’s always been very confident in her body image, but you never know how somebody’s really feeling inside. I didn’t mean it to affect her in that way. It’s not a good thing to hear,” he said. 

As for why he waited to end things after tuxedo shopping, he said he couldn’t process his emotions, and that the shopping made it real and it was an eye-opening moment. She found the timing of their breakup odd, which she says occurred after they met with the singles in the group and she questioned whether he was interested in another woman. He says she’s wrong about that.

He says they have a “strong, physical connection,” adding, “I think that and fighting were the only two things we did. It is not the foundation for a marriage. It was hard. There’s no common ground ever. I’m to blame for my part in that. I can say that wholeheartedly, and I think somebody else would be a great match for her.”