“I’m Willing to Do That”: ’Love Is Blind’s Lauren O’Brien Calls Out Ex for Slut-Shaming

The 8th installment of Netflix’s Love Is Blind had viewers rooting for Lauren O’Brien and David “Dave” Bettenburg until their relationship eventually fell through because Dave wasn’t comfortable with O’Brien’s recent relationship coming into the show — the fact that she was dating this man three months prior and even staying at his place. However, she is now clapping back at Dave and insinuating that he should’ve been ready for a “mature relationship.”

During the March 25, 2025 episode of Not Skinny But Not Fat podcast, O’Brien expressed surprise that Dave, who had initially dismissed concerns about her dating history, would abruptly reverse course like that. According to her, before cameras rolled, Dave allegedly told her, “I don’t really give a s--- who you slept with.” Yet once word took root that O’Brien had been romantically involved with a man who was connected to Dave’s social circle — his sister knew the best friend of the guy — their relationship immediately crumbled. According to Lauren, the tension hinged on how her past was suddenly judged and went on to share her sentiments in the following words:

“I'm the bad guy in this situation. I'm the one that's gonna sit here and defend myself for being the Minneapolis w---- on national television. And I'm willing to do that. I just didn’t understand why it mattered. I do think that there was love there. But I don’t think he loved me enough to put me above the ego.”

David Bettenberg Learned Lauren O’Brien Was Seeing Someone Prior to ‘Love Is Blind’ Season 8 Began

The major point of contention here is the fact that Dave’s knowledge of O’Brien’s past casual relationship had come shortly before joining the experiment on the show. As per how things unfolded, it appears that his friends and family had alerted David to Lauren’s recent dating history as the couple settled into their new routine following the show’s initial pod phase and romantic getaway.

Although Lauren maintained that her previous involvement was never a committed relationship, and despite Dave allegedly initially letting her know that he was okay with it, it eventually ended up bothering him. O’Brien, at the same time, believes that deep down, Dave is a good person and he was just having trouble dealing with his ego:

“I do think that deep down, he is a good person who was trying to do his best. I think where he was lacking is putting his ego down, the emotional maturity, being able to be fully ready for an actual mature romantic relationship.”

All eight seasons of Love Is Blind are available to stream on Netflix.