“Love Is Blind ”season 5's Milton discusses Lydia's past with Uche

Warning: This article contains spoilers about Love Is Blind season 5, episodes 1-4.

A secret past left two couples reeling after the first four episodes of Love Is Blind season 5.

In a first for the franchise, two cast members realized during a pod date that not only had they met before in the real world — meaning they already knew what each other looked like, which defeated the whole purpose of the reality dating experiment — they also had an entire relationship that ended only three months before filming began.

Flashbacks in episode 4 revealed that Lydia recognized Uche's name and voice during their first date at the beginning of filming, and after an awkward few minutes, Uche finally realized that Lydia was his ex. While Lydia wanted to keep dating Uche in the pods since she thought it was fate bringing them back together, he said it would ruin the authenticity of the experience, so he ended things with her. They both went on to form relationships with others while keeping their past a secret, until Uche finally revealed the truth to Aaliyah, who freaked out and later left the show. As for Lydia, she told Milton an abridged version of her past with Uche, and while he needed a break to process everything, he ultimately proposed to her the next day.

Love is blind
Love is blind

Netflix Milton on 'Love Is Blind'

"It was new information to me, and just like anytime I get additional information, I need to process that," Milton tells EW of how he reacted to Lydia's confession. "Typically the way that process looks is I revert back into my shell for a moment, so I snuggled back into my shell, my safe spot, and I think internally. I'm weighing my options, I'm thinking of my avenues, and I'm logistically moving through this process."

The data-focused engineer adds that it was important to figure out how he felt before going back to Lydia. "Mentally this is where I'm at, so what does my heart say? And they matched," he says. "It just made sense to continue to pursue Lydia. A relationship that she had prior to me doesn't affect how we met or the bond that me and her share independently."

That's why Milton never considered ending things with Lydia after learning about her past with Uche or that she kept it secret from him for so long.

"I don't think that ever truly crossed my mind," Milton says. "I went onto the show and I partook in the experiment because I really wanted the opportunity to potentially meet my future wife. I couldn't negate something so amazing based on a relationship that was had with somebody else. It still makes sense. It truly wasn't even a bump to me and I think it went well."

Love Is Blind season 5 releases new episodes on Fridays, leading up to the Oct. 13 finale.

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