Love is Blind's Sara Carton and Joey Leveille finally confirm their relationship status on Dear Shandy podcast

The pair met on season 8 of the hit Netflix dating show, and although they both chose other people in the pods, rumours have been rife since the show aired that they are now together.

To recap, Joey got engaged to Monica Danús, while Sara got engaged to Ben Mezzenga. But they both decided not to get married on their wedding day. In Monica and Joey’s case, they both said ‘I do not’ because they didn’t feel ready. On Sara and Ben’s wedding day, she controversially rejected him as their politics and world views on issues such as Black Lives Matter did not allign.

Shortly after the season aired, Monica alleged that Joey and Sara were dating, and also revealed that the four of them were actually in a love triangle in the pods but that it wasn’t shown. But, the supposed couple have repeatedly denied that they are dating, but they have admitted their is a connection between them.

Now, however, Joey and Taylor have appeared on the Dear Shandy podcast together, where they have finally admitted they are dating - sort of.

When asked by podcast hosts, former The Bachelor contestant Sharleen Joynt and her husband, Andy Levine, if they were together or not, Sara said: “It’s a loaded question. . . a lot of people think of dating in different terms. To keep it clear: Dating officially, like boyfriend girlfriend, we’re not. Dating in the sense of exploring our relationship and getting to know one another, yes we are.”

She also said that the two had just started discussing the nature of their relationship, and whether or not it could become romantic, when Monica announced publicly they were together which was “a lot to handle”. Joey added: “We’re exploring with the future of maybe being boyfriend girlfriend.”

Sara went on: “We have gone through a lot together, he’s been huge with support these last couple of months. I very much trust and am confident in the relationship that I have with Joey. I feel like we could have a very happy, successful relationship.”

The TV bride explained that they haven’t even had their first proper date yet because they felt pressure as people now know the two of them from their LIB appearances and would be watching their every move.

Later in the podcast, the pair also revealed that they thought Monica would be more supportive of their budding relationship because she had allegedly told them privately that she thought they should have chosen each other in the pods, while she and Ben should have chosen to be together also. They said they were then shocked and confused when Monica hit out at them.

Appearing on the Love to See it podcast on Friday March 22, Monica alleged that Sara and Joey had been dating since the beginning of the year: “During this time when I’m venting to her about my relationship with Joey, giving the ins and the outs and the intimate details and my feelings and trusting her as a friend, she was with him that whole time.”

But, on the Dear Shandy podcast Sara disputed the timeline Monica gave, saying that she last spoke to Monica in mid-January, but didn’t have a conversation with Joey about their connection until the week before LIB season 8 aired, which would have been the beginning of February.

“I didn’t feel like I was betraying her because me and Joey never had that conversation. It’s not like I was thinking in the back of my head ‘I’m liking Joey while you’re telling me this’.”

She added that she did speak to Monica around a week or so after the reunion had been filmed and told her that, at that stage, her and Joey had discussed taking their relationship to a romantic level but had decided to just be friends. “It wasn’t a good conversation,” she said. “I don’t want to dismiss her feelings, but the timeline [Monica gave] was not true and that was really hard.”

When asked byJoynt and Levine what the timeline between them did look like, Joey said they became closer in the month leading up to LIB airing. Sara also confirmed it was Joey who initiated the conversation about their feelings for one another.

Discussing why the love square between her, Joey, Ben and Monica didn’t make it into the final edit of the show, Sara said: “It was probably because there was no drama. It was all very friendly. All four of us were cordial.”

*Love is Blind season 8 is available to watch on Netflix now.