2025-03-10T18:27:16Z Read in app Lauren and David from "Love Is Blind" season eight. Adam Rose/Netflix This story is available exclusively to Business Insider subscribers. Become an Insider and start reading now.Have an account? Dave said Lauren was the one who got away at the "Love Is Blind" season eight reunion on Sunday.Lauren and David made it out of the pods, but they split before the weddings.Here's what to know about their breakup and the aftermath.Warning: Major spoilers ahead for "Love Is Blind" season eight."Love Is Blind" star Dave Bettenburg knows he screwed up when it comes to his breakup with Lauren O'Brien, and even called her the one who got away.In season eight, Lauren, a 31-year-old working in educational sales, and Dave, a 33-year-old medical device salesman, were one of five Minneapolis couples who got engaged after dating through a wall. But they weren't destined to be one of the few successful "Love Is Blind" marriages, as they split in episode 11 before making it to the altar due to Dave's hangups about Lauren's past.Since the breakup aired, both Lauren and Dave have addressed what happened between them, and faced each other at Sunday's reunion. Dave, in particular, is facing backlash for his behavior. Here's a recap of their relationship and what they've each said about it since.Dave and Lauren got engaged in the pods after being in a love triangle, but their relationship quickly deteriorated Dave and Lauren's relationship was strong in Honduras. Netflix Dave distinguished himself early on in the pods portion of the season when he opened all his first dates by asking the women what was wrong with them. Despite this and the fact that he joked that Lauren was no longer attractive as a 30-year-old woman the two built a relationship.The first hint of what would become a major issue in their relationship happened on their second date in episode one, when they spoke about their families. He admitted that his sister wasn't "thrilled" with him participating in the show, though he felt like it was the right decision.The other major issue in the pods was that Dave also had a connection with another woman: Molly, a 30-year-old executive assistant. He continued to date both Molly and Lauren over the course of several episodes. Things finally came to a head in episode four, when Lauren confronted Dave and asked if he told Molly that she was his No. 1, as she'd heard Molly say in the women's living quarters. In episode five, Dave said that he didn't tell Molly that she was his No. 1, and that Lauren was the only person he had said he could see himself proposing to.Later in that episode, Dave broke up with Molly. Afterward, Molly and Lauren had a heart-to-heart in the women's quarters and agreed that David had put them in a poor position, ending their friendship on a good note.Despite the drama, Lauren and Dave reconciled, and in episode five, he proposed to her. During the post-engagement group vacation in Honduras, the two enjoyed getting to know one another, though Dave seemed rather fixated on finding out whether the other couples had had sex yet (he and Lauren, he made very clear, had not).And during a boat date in episode seven, Dave brought up what would ultimately be the downfall of their relationship: He had mutual friends with two guys Lauren had previously dated, and he didn't know she'd been casually seeing someone right before going on the show. "It's a little weird that I know them," Dave said. "I don't want that to affect our relationship when we go back."Spoiler alert: It did, in fact, affect their relationship.Dave didn't trust Lauren and his family didn't want to meet her, which ultimately led to their breakupDave's distrust of Lauren bled into the issues his family had with the whole process. He didn't feel comfortable bringing Lauren to meet his family, who also didn't seem eager to meet her, given their general dislike of the whole "Love Is Blind" process and what they'd heard from others about her.In episode 10, Dave and Lauren once again argued over his friends and family's refusal to meet her, saying he didn't want to waste their time because he doesn't have them meet just anyone. During a bowling date, Dave opined on how affected he was by everyone's outside opinions on Lauren and their relationship."If you don't see it with me, then I want to know," Lauren told Dave. "I don't know how much longer I can keep doing this."In episode 11, they went to an empty movie theater to continue the conversation, once again rehashing their different points of view over Lauren's pre-"LIB" hookup: Dave believed Lauren wasn't being truthful and hadn't ended the relationship, while Lauren said that she and the guy she'd been seeing had "different interpretations" of their time together and that there was no "relationship" to end.Ultimately, Dave broke up with Lauren after she said this was something he needed to work through himself. "You're not ready to choose someone else and be a team member with them," she said. Dave broke up with Lauren in an empty movie theater. Netflix Dave said he was still in love with Lauren and that it was hard for him to walk away, but Lauren didn't believe that was true and said that he would have tried harder to work through their issues if he'd really loved her enough.The two came face to face once again at the pod squad meetup in episode 11, where they each also spoke to Molly, Dave's other pod connection. Molly first talked to Lauren privately, thanking Lauren again for being kind to her when she and Dave broke up. She revealed that she had heard another woman was "all over him" when they were at the same bar with other cast members on a night that Dave stayed out and slept at his apartment after arguing with Lauren.Lauren was surprised to hear that but told Molly that she and Dave had already broken up the night before. They vented their mutual frustrations over Dave.Molly and Dave then spoke privately, where Molly laid into Dave about his treatment of Lauren and getting so hung up on Lauren's previous entanglement. She also criticized him for putting so much stock in his sister's opinion, at the cost of his relationship with Lauren.Dave told the cameras he wanted to text Lauren right after their breakup but didn't. He then pulled Lauren aside, and they had an emotional conversation where Dave took responsibility for their breakup and acknowledged that he'd been closed off to her."It was my fault. It was my ego that got in the way of like seeing what we had. I guess what I'm saying is, I'm really sorry," he told Lauren.He confessed his love to Lauren again and said what they'd had was real, hinting he wanted to try again. Lauren told him she was sorry he was feeling bad and wanted to believe what he was saying, but it was too late."I think we're past that," she said.Dave and Lauren confronted each other at the reunion Dave was apologetic at the reunion. Greg Gayne/Netflix At the reunion, which aired on Sunday, Dave was contrite. He said that he had finally gotten clarity regarding Lauren's pre-show hookup when he got a text that made him realize the man she'd been seeing had exaggerated the seriousness of their relationship in an attempt to get screen time. He said his friends and family now also knew the truth: that Lauren was being genuine all along.Dave also revealed that he and Lauren had been talking a lot in the last few weeks, but not to rekindle their relationship. He'd reached out to apologize and tell her he was wrong ahead of the reunion taping.When hosts Vanessa and Nick Lachey asked Dave if Lauren was the one who got away, he replied in the affirmative. Lauren, however, seemed completely uninterested in dating again. She said she "gained clarity" on their relationship within days of the breakup and realized she was light years ahead of him in emotional maturity.Lauren said she also didn't really care that Dave and his family have now gotten the clarity he needed on her dating history because she'd known the truth all along. Lauren wasn't interested in getting back together with Dave. Greg Gayne/Netflix Crucially, Lauren also said she didn't quite believe that Dave genuinely still had feelings for her she pointed out that he'd had her number all year since their breakup and never reached out until recently.However, Lauren defended Dave against the online hate he's been getting from fans, who are calling him a narcissist and manipulator in his Instagram comments. She said she doesn't think he's either of those things and just has a lot of growing and healing to do before he can enter a serious relationship.When Business Insider attended the "Love Is Blind" reunion watch party during the SXSW festival in Austin, Lauren and Dave were cordial. They stood next to each other and even talked at the bar. Dave said during the live Q&A with Vulture reporter Jason P. Frank that they'd even been taking shots together earlier in the night.The "Love Is Blind" season eight reunion is streaming on Netflix.