Did Clay and AD get back together after their failed wedding on 'Love Is Blind'? Here's what we know
Amber Desiree "AD" connected with Clay and Matthew, and ultimately accepted a proposal from Clay.
Their relationship was affected by Clay's hangups about physical appearance, fidelity, and commitment.
They made it to the altar, but Clay said no. Here's what we know about their relationship now.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for the "Love Is Blind" season six reunion.
Amber Desiree "AD" Smith fell for Clay Gravesande in the "Love Is Blind" pods on season six, fully aware that he was a work in progress.
While AD initially struggled to choose between Clay and another contestant, Matthew Duliba, her falling out with Matthew and her obvious chemistry with smooth-talker Clay led her to accept Clay's proposal. But it wasn't a happily ever after for these two.
Clay's emotional baggage, including his struggles with fidelity and commitment, ultimately led him to say "I don't" at the altar after AD said "I do." His last-minute decision left AD devastated, but there was clearly a lot of love remaining between the two.
Here's what we know about AD and Clay's relationship today after that devastating breakup — and the chances of reconciliation.
Did AD and Clay get back together after 'Love Is Blind'?
During the "Love Is Blind" reunion on Wednesday, AD and Clay revealed that after their failed wedding, they didn't speak for several weeks. According to Clay, he wanted to "respect" AD by not reaching out right away and giving her space.
The two aren't on bad terms, but they're not together romantically — although Clay made it clear he wanted to reconcile. He said in the reunion that he "felt like the biggest dick" watching the finale back and even apologized to AD's mom and sisters for disrespecting them and "wasting their time."
Clay also declared his love to AD at the reunion, calling her the love of his life and saying that he made a mistake by going to the altar and saying no. He added that he's been putting in the work to change, going to therapy and even seeing multiple different therapists.
But AD wasn't willing to get back together with Clay, believing he played with her emotions because he knew he didn't actually want to get married. When asked whether she'd date Clay again, AD demurred and just said "next question," while Clay responded "1,000%" to the same question.
AD opened up more about why she felt so betrayed by Clay on Thursday's episode of Nick Viall's podcast "The Viall Files" after the reunion. She revealed that she and Clay "had so many conversations about not moving forward" that weren't shown and that each time she'd told him that she was OK to walk away, he would assure her that he wanted to try and move forward.
AD told "The Bachelorette" alum that Clay had promised not to "humiliate" her in front of her family and friends by going to the altar and saying no.
"And then what did he do? Embarrass me," she said.
However, AD also admitted that she "wasn't mad about" Clay's apology at the reunion and said that they're currently just "flirty friends."
The former couple's social media interactions while the season was airing definitely backed up the "flirty friends" label. AD and Clay are following each other on Instagram and TikTok, and have liked a bunch of one another's posts.
Even more tellingly, Clay commented some fire emojis on AD's post about her birthday weekend in November 2023 — which would've been several months after their wedding.
Most promisingly, Clay and AD had a sweet Instagram interaction on his post a day after the penultimate episodes dropped.
"Turn me up @amberdesiree 🔥," Clay captioned a series of photos and a video of them from filming.
"Turn me up Clay 🥂," AD commented.
So, are they together now? No. Could they be together again in the future? I wouldn't be shocked.
Clay and AD had an electric, but tumultuous, relationship on 'Love Is Blind' season 6
Clay and AD had sizzling chemistry from the moment they saw one another for the first time at the reveal and things started off strong for them. They were one of the few couples on pretty good footing throughout the couples' getaway trip in the Dominican Republic, barring one extremely WTF moment where Clay told AD he wouldn't let her ever get out of shape and would insist she go to the gym with him even when pregnant.
But that was only the beginning of the "Love Is Blind" process. More cracks began to show in their relationship when they returned to Charlotte and AD and Clay had several confrontations that made their deep-seated issues abundantly clear.
At the end of episode seven, when Clay was showing AD his house, the two had a serious conversation about Clay's hang-ups over fidelity. He told her that his dad used to take him on "infidelity trips" where he'd cheat on Clay's mom and that he'd never seen a Black man be faithful in a relationship, leading him to wonder whether it's possible for him to only be with one woman forever.
Then, when AD met Clay's mom and sister in episode nine, AD's dissatisfaction with Clay's hectic work schedule also became an issue. Clay's mom (the season's real MVP, to be honest) mediated the conflict, and things seemed to be settled for the moment.
Clay then met AD's mom in episode 10, and it went surprisingly well. AD made it clear to her mom that she knew Clay had some hang-ups. But her mom clearly loved Clay, encouraging AD to hang in there and not let their parents' broken marriages influence their relationship.
"That's a man. And he's just a little bit scared of how to move forward," AD's mom told her.
Unfortunately, the pendulum swung the other way when it came time to exchange vows in the finale.
While AD seemed very confident as she was getting ready — probably because of all those off-screen conversations she mentioned on "The Viall Files" — the writing was on the wall from the moment we saw Clay talk to his father right before the ceremony.
"When it comes to right and wrong, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if everybody else is in your ear telling you 'Do this, do that.' You gotta trust yourself," Clay's dad told him.
Clay's mom also gave him a pep talk right before they walked down the aisle, telling him he'd become emotional when he saw AD walk down the aisle. She advised him to just "yield into your feelings," and also noted that he was visibly nervous.
The stark difference in their vows also quickly signaled that things weren't going to go the way AD wanted them to go.
In his vows, Clay expressed his gratitude for AD and thanked her for supporting him in the "Love Is Blind" process. "I gotta give a shout-out to you for just looking out for me, man. For real," he told her.
In turn, AD gave Clay an emotional speech, praising all the things she loves about him and promising to support him, right before saying "I do." But Clay said he couldn't marry her.
"This has been the best process. AD, I love you. I don't think it's responsible for me to say 'I do,'" Clay said, adding that he still wanted to stay together and work on himself to be "100% in."
"If I'm not ready to give you 100%, I won't go there with you when I'm not ready," he continued. "I can't say yes right now."
A heartbroken AD walked away in tears, saying it had been a "waste of my fucking time" and that she was "so confused." Clay's parents both supported him and he reaffirmed he knew he made the right decision, telling the cameras that he knew he needed to work on his "emotional empathy" and that he realized he didn't understand AD's finances well enough to commit to marriage. He also admitted that he couldn't say he was "deeply in love" with AD (which apparently changed sometime between the time that was filmed and the reunion, where he called her the love of his life).
The two had one final emotional conversation where Clay apologized and tried to explain his perspective, telling AD it was a "game-time decision."
"It just breaks my heart seeing you like this because I love you. I really do," he told AD. "Me saying no was not to you, AD. I'm not ready, and that's hard for me to look at myself in the mirror and say that."
"I'm not rejecting you," he said, before apologizing again and asking AD if he could get a hug.
Interestingly, they exchanged "I love yous" and kissed and Clay assured her that he was going to go to therapy and put the work in. AD said she did her best in their relationship, but admitted she felt like it wasn't enough. She also said she felt like a "sacrifice" while Clay used the experiment to learn about himself.
"I can't drag him, I can't force him, and I'm not gonna fucking beg him to fucking pick me," AD told the cameras in her final word on their relationship before the reunion. "I'm done."
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