Love is Blind Season 5’s Izzy Zapata says he regrets his delivery during argument with Johnie Maraist

Love is Blind Season 5 cast member Izzy Zapata took to The Viall Files on Thursday for a mid-season interview in which he discussed the explosive confrontation that occurred between him and former flame Johnie Maraist in episode 7. Viewers will recall that Izzy was Johnie’s number one choice in the pods, however, he went with his number one choice Stacy and chose to end things with Johnie. Johnie arrived at a cast bbq during the episode and announced that she is now dating her pod second choice, Chris Fox.

During the bbq, Izzy and Johnie excused themselves for a private chat in which Izzy accused Johnie of being “sketchy AF”. He also added salt to the wound by pointedly telling her that everyone agrees with him. Johnie was clearly hurt and returned to Chris for some reassurance that this was not true. Viewers were left shocked by Izzy’s aggressiveness during the confrontation and were left confused, as both had happily moved with other partners. However, Stacy had allegedly caught wind that Johnie had some negative things to say about her, leading to some bad blood between the two. Izzy also expressed that he was standing up for his friend Chris and concerned that Johnie would hurt him, as he wasn’t her first choice.

On the Viall Files, Izzy stated that the confrontation was “so out of character” for him, and that he was heavily intoxicated. He also stated that his “delivery was poor” and looking back at it makes him cringe. He has since apologized to Johnie, but still stands by what he said. He also said, “I regret my delivery, but I don’t regret the message.” He also announced during the interview that he does in fact have real plates, and that they are kept in a separate cupboard from the paper plates. Next time, he will surely show his date the real plate cupboard to avoid confusion.