“Our Dream Became a Nightmare”: Love Is Blind’s Colleen Reed and Matt Bolton Heartbreakingly Announce Split After Nearly 4 Years of Marriage

It's over for Love Is Blind's Matt Bolton and Colleen Reed.

The couple, who met and got married on season 3 of Love Is Blind, announced their split in a joint statement on Instagram Friday, May 23.

"We wanted to share something personal, and this is not easy to do, but after nearly four years together, we've decided to end our marriage and move forward on our own paths," they wrote. "We've been separated for some time now and have being our best to work through everything privately and with care."

"This was an incredibly difficult decision, not one we made lightly. It came with a lot of thought and it's been an emotional process for both of us," they continued. "We met in the most unique and unexpected way, and we'll always be grateful for the love and memories we've shared. There's not one thing we would change and we continue to have deep respect and care for one another."

The joint statement ended with them thanking everyone who supported them through the years and asking "for compassion as we navigate this transition."

Matt and Colleen met during season 3 of Love Is Blind. In the pods, he popped the question and Colleen gave a tearful "yes." However, their relationship wasn't all smooth sailing outside of the pods. Once Matt and Colleen met in person, they found themselves in a few arguments related to another man on the series — Cole Barnett — as well as Colleen's desire to go out with friends.

Despite some tumultuous moments, both Colleen and Matt said "I do" during the season 3 finale. They were one of two couples to get married that season along with Alexa and Brennon Lemieux.

Shortly after their season premiered, Matt opened up to PEOPLE about the challenges that they faced on the show, why he was partially "looking for an out" of the relationship and what led him to ultimately say "I do" to Colleen.

"Obviously there were a lot of conversations that you guys didn't see," he said in November 2022. "Going through those, I'm glad that we did go through those little stir-ups though because it allowed us to learn how we handle certain things."

“We saw so much potential, and it was just on the day of, we still didn't know. But when I saw her walking down the aisle, I was like, 'Listen, we've got too much potential,' " he continued. “‘This is such a great moment. We are meant for each other.' So we just had to do it. Can't pass it up."

At the season 3 reunion, Matt and Colleen confirmed they were still married. Some viewers questioned how long their relationship would last after social media commenters pointed to an apparent discomfort from Colleen at the reunion, despite talking about their strong connection.

However, she addressed the speculation in a statement to Cosmopolitan. "Going into the reunion, I was not in good headspace as I was dealing with a lot of anxiety due to the negative commentary I had endured during the first few episodes," she said.

"While I knew what I had signed up for, at that point I was not prepared for the gravity of strangers critiquing my profession that I am incredibly proud of, my character, and tearing down my body/physical traits," she continued, noting that she was also "embarrassed" about having to watch her scenes with Cole back.

Matt and Colleen also faced breakup speculation when fans questioned why they weren't living together after getting married.

On Deepti Vempati and Natalie Lee's podcast, Out of the Pods in 2023, Colleen revealed the couple “practically live together already” with how much time Matt spent at her place, and said they wanted to know what their relationship would look like in the real world before moving into a shared home.

"To kind of adapt to now living with someone, it takes a while," she explained. "It takes a second, and both of us didn't want to rush changing that, all of a sudden expediting that for other people."

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They ultimately moved in together in June 2023 and marked their three-year anniversary in July 2024.