Love Is Blind’s Sarah Ann Continues to ‘Stand by’ Pursuing Jeramey: ‘I Am Not a Villain’ (Exclusive)

Warning: This story contains spoilers from the Season 6 reunion Love is blind.

Love is blindSarah Ann Bick has no doubts about her relationship with Jeramey Lutinski.

Speaking to PEOPLE after Wednesday’s season six reunion, Sarah Ann, 30, says she’s not ashamed of giving Jeramey, 32, a second chance after her split from Laura Dadisman, even after Laura warned her not to.

“I definitely listened to her … with the experiment, it’s such a high-pressure situation and everyone is dating everyone, so her experience with Jeramey was completely different than mine,” Sarah Ann explains. “But I took it [that] considering… At that point I felt she was being honest about how she felt, however after meeting Jeramey and based on the relationship we built together, I quickly realized they just weren’t compatible. ”

“So even though her perception of him was terribly human and whatever, I don’t think that’s what she said, but … I felt like I had to make that decision myself,” she adds. “And in the end I feel like I made the right decision and I stand by it, I’ll continue to stand by it.”

Love is blindJeramey and Sarah Ann confirm they are dating and living together as Laura calls them ‘disgusting’

During the season 6 reunion, Sarah Ann and Jeramey confirmed they started dating after his split with Laura, 34. The two dated for almost a year and now live together in North Carolina.

From left: Sarah Ann Bick, Jeramey Lutinski and Jessica Vestal at the ‘Love Is Blind’ Season 6 reunion.

Netflix

“I fell in love with Jeramey as a person and we had a strong connection from the beginning of this experiment,” Sarah Ann said at the reunion, noting that their relationship was “real” and that she was “sitting next to someone I love with all my heart.”

“We had moments when we thought about separating from each other, we had periods when we had to reconcile to make it work. And at the end of it, we ended up moving in together in October,” Jeramey added. “We realized that we were constantly we fight things to love each other… not everything was perfect but we still fight for it every day.”

However, news of their relationship was not well received by the rest of the cast, who blasted Sarah Ann for reaching out to Jeramey on Instagram while he was still engaged and later meeting him until the early hours of the morning without telling Laura.

Love is blindAd says she was ‘hurt’ by Sarah Ann’s actions before their tense clash (Exclusive)

One of those clashes involved Amber Desiree “AD” Smith, who had previously called out Sarah Ann for her “weird” actions that she said “lacked class” at a cast reunion near the lake.

Sarah Ann tells PEOPLE she doesn’t regret the way things went at the reunion, though she “wishes I had said something to AD” about “whether her discussion with me was appropriate or valid.”

“It had nothing to do with her and it just didn’t do me or Jeramey or the relationship any favors,” she notes. “So she obviously felt compelled to talk about my character and relationship when she actually had her own relationship to worry about, so I wish I’d never entertained the conversation. I wish I’d been able to say that… it would have been like: ‘I’m glad you commented on my relationship that has nothing to do with you, but thank you very much for your time.'”

AD Smith and Sarah Ann go head-to-head on ‘Love Is Blind’.

Courtesy of Netflix

And while the way she and Jeramey got together wasn’t ideal, Sarah Ann insists she’s “not a villain in real life.”

“I think the stories are real, the timelines sometimes deviate a little, but that’s okay,” she says. “I don’t feel exhausted and I don’t feel it [the reunion and overall show edit] was unfair. I was very aware of what I was signing up for, I read everything to make sure I knew it could go either way. I can tell you that I’m not a villain in real life.”

“It’s important to remember that in this experiment you’re looking at people from the outside lens of something you’ve never experienced before. The emotions are real, but you’re just coping the best way you know how,” she continues. “That was a year ago. And, gosh, again, obviously most of the women on the show and I don’t see eye to eye and whatever. But I will say that I don’t have a problem with anybody, and I really respect every person that stepped out of my comfort zone and tried something new. It’s one of the hardest situations I’ve ever been in, but one I’d never regret.”

Love is blind Star Jeramey Lutinski addresses rumors that he was engaged before the show’s 6th season

That line of thinking also applies to reaching out to Jeramey on Instagram, though she believes they would have rekindled with or without her message.

“I think when the relationship is as strong as it was, and even when I heard Jeramey say, ‘I really want to meet Sarah Ann,’ while he was still in the Dominican, I just as obviously felt the same way, because I sent a DM, ” she explains. “So we both had this sense of open doors and complete transparency… if you think you’ve met the love of your life or someone you can marry or have a really strong relationship and do not fight for it, then you are not what you thought you were. Simply.”

From left: Sarah Ann Bick, Jeramey Lutinski, Trevor Sova and Jessica Vestal at the ‘Love Is Blind’ Season 6 reunion.

Netflix

“Laura didn’t fight for the relationship,” she notes. “I think it’s very obvious that their relationship wasn’t where it needed to be, especially for marriage. But I think we would have come back to each other one way or another. Now, as it happened, maybe it could have been different, but then again, retrospective 2020, everyone did the best they could.”

Love is blindJeramey Lutinski reacts to his infamous jet-ski scene: ‘You’re watching this like WTF?’

As for her future with Jeramey? “We’re trying to build something stronger so that eventually we can hopefully get to the point of marriage,” she says. “Obviously that’s the hope, to go long term.”

“That’s always the hope. And Jeramey and I, again, we’ve had our ups and downs, but in what real relationship doesn’t that happen?” she continues. “There’s a lot of speculation about, ‘Do you feel like the second choice?’ And I’m like, ‘No way.’ I love him to death, I think he’s a great man and we’re not married off the show, but out of anyone I’ve ever dated in my entire life, he’s given me a lot of security… so now, that’s only 10 thumbs down for me to be sure I’m the best I can be in a relationship.”

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Love is blind season 6 is streaming in its entirety on Netflix.

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Source: HIS Education