“I feel like everyone and their mom has an opinion about me,” Ciara tells Tudum about her Love Is Blind: UK journey. “I knew social media was going to have a reaction to me because I’m quite a strong character. I didn’t realize it was going to be so polarizing.”
Of everyone in the Season 3 pod squad, perhaps no one generated more debate than Ciara. The Pilates instructor from London made her criteria clear from day one, pushed back on Jack in Ibiza, and somehow got tangled in Joseph and Francesca’s love triangle with Chevanique. Was she a girls’ girl looking out for the other women, or was she acting with malicious intent?
Tudum sat down with Ciara to talk through why she got involved in conversations that weren’t technically hers to have, the real reason behind her expensive expectations for her partners, and what it’s been like watching a year-old version of herself after she’s grown.
What’s it been like for you since the show premiered?
Ciara: Watching it back, I see such a difference between myself a year ago and now. When I look at that girl in the pods, I think, “Oh my goodness.” I see how alone she was. What I probably didn’t expect was how many opinions people would have about every single thing.
Has social media reaction changed how you see your own story — for better or worse?
Ciara: People can just take the smallest thing and make it massive. It’s quite funny watching back the argument with Jack — well, it’s not even an argument. It’s like a strong conversation, because it’s the most polite thing ever. We don’t swear at each other. We don’t shout at each other. It’s all so tame.
When you actually look at the bigger picture, nobody’s done anything terrible. You have to remember who you are, who you have around you, and that the people who know you best still love and support you. So that’s kind of what I’m holding on to.
Speaking of the conversation with Jack in Ibiza, how do you view it now? Do you wish you had handled anything differently?
Ciara: Jack and I are quite similar in that we both want the last word. If that conversation happened today, I would’ve just been like, “OK, fine. That’s how you feel. This is how I feel. Let’s just both move forward with our partners.” Because we both knew that we had a much stronger connection — myself with Ajay, Faye with Jack — it was never about feelings toward each other.
For me, it really was just getting [Jack] to admit that he had gone into the lounge and said that I said he was my No. 1. That was the whole issue because it upset Ajay. At some point, Ajay did say it made him want to leave the experiment, which, of course, would’ve been completely detrimental to our relationship. So I just wanted [Jack] to be honest and apologize.
How did you feel about Jack’s comment about your last date with him being “boring”?
Ciara: It just felt like such an unnecessary thing to say. But no, I don’t take it personally. I know he wasn’t calling me boring. He was calling the date boring. But, yeah, at the time he was just definitely trying to wind me up.
In and out of the pods, you made it your mission to keep the women informed of any potential untruths the men were telling — by talking to Faye about Jack, then with Fran about Joseph. Can you share your thought process there?
Ciara: With Faye, talking about the letter [from Jack] was genuinely just about letting her know what he had told me. We were all really transparent about what was happening on our dates because we figured out pretty early on that he was saying one thing to one girl and another thing to another girl. With Jack, it was best to make sure we were sharing notes.
Similarly, with Francesca, I obviously got Chevanique’s side of her and Joseph’s relationship more than Francesca’s side. I knew how much of a strong connection they had because Chev’s somebody who wouldn’t chase somebody if there was no reason not to. She’s a very strong woman, and Chev felt her connection with Joseph was strong enough to be worth going back and having a chat with him.
When that conversation came up with Cuba, it felt more natural than it probably looked. I know people are like, “Why didn’t you go directly to Fran?” I knew Cuba and Francesca were super close. And I honestly didn’t think it would be that big of a deal. Maybe, naively, I didn’t think Joseph would be that upset by it.
What do you say to people who assume bad intent?
Ciara: I was a little surprised that there’s such a strong agreement online that I was being malicious or mean. I really wasn’t there to try to stir the pot. Though I did look like I was very busy talking about everybody’s business. But one, I never said anything untrue. And two, my intent was never to meddle.
Where I come from is I’ve been hurt so badly in the past by really deceitful men. I’ve been cheated on. I’ve seen it happen time and time again with my friends. My ex literally said the words to me, “I’ve been living a double life.” So I’m like, “God, men can do crazy, mad things, and they can look you in the eye and tell you one thing and be doing the complete opposite.” So I just thought, “Let’s just be super sure we know who we’re marrying. Just cross-reference everything that’s come up.” And I have these occasional conversations before we get down the aisle.
Your connection with Ajay was clearly so strong, but there was a moment when you first moved in together when it looked like you might not walk down the aisle. From your perspective, what happened?
Ciara: Once we got into the apartment, the self-sabotage kicked in. It felt like maybe things were too good to be true. Why is this man such a green flag? Surely there’s something wrong with him. That was me pushing his buttons a little bit.
The argument we had was so minimal, but I reacted by letting everything out. I was being completely attention-seeking and throwing all of my toys out of the pram.
The night we had apart did us wonders and put everything into perspective. My walls completely came down after that point because by then [Ajay] had seen the good, the bad, the ugly. So I was like, “OK, here I am. Take it or leave it.”
There is another topic that keeps coming up, which is about your standards for potential suitors, particularly around money.
Ciara: What I have said is quite bold, and I think people are going to pick out certain parts of that and run with it. To be clear, the £15,000 date was a one-time thing, and I would never ask anyone to spend that amount on me. And the £300 minimum spend is for the first date, not every date, not every day.
A key piece of context is that I set my standards high because they used to be very low. I would invest so much time into these men — as in time, love, money — and receive nothing back. So I was like, “OK, something’s not working. What can I do?” If somebody wants to actually spend time with me, literally invest time in me. And I spend a lot of time getting ready for these dates, so why shouldn’t they take the time to plan and pay for that first date?
Obviously, take it with a pinch of salt. I’m not pulling out a card machine and asking for a deposit. And I think girls should have their version of that — like, ask for flowers every week or expect to get picked up on the first date. I don’t think these standards are unreasonable. There will truly be men out there who will do that if they want to.
