Zanab Jaffery, a participant on Love is Blind, experienced profound loss in her early years. Her mother succumbed to a brain tumor when she was just 18, while her father tragically passed away in a water skiing accident when she was only 13. This double tragedy left her to navigate her formative years with her white stepmother after her parents’ untimely deaths.
Zanab’s Personal Tragedy
Zanab was born in Scotland to a Pakistani family. She moved to the US when she was in fifth grade and has a sister who is eight years older than her and lives in the UK. Her parents divorced when she was still young, and that was not the end of her hardships. Her father died in a waterskiing accident when she was 13, and her mother died from brain tumors when she was 18.
After her father’s death, Zanab’s stepmother became her legal guardian. Zanab has known her stepmother since she was eight and also has a stepbrother named Ryan. Zanab said on the show that she felt like she had grieved for a decade and that losing both of her parents made her grow up very fast.
Zanab’s Fiancé Cole
Zanab joined Love Is Blind hoping to find a partner who is loyal, supportive, and caring. She also said she likes tall, handsome men with a good smell. She connected with Cole Barnett, a 28-year-old sales manager from Texas, and they got engaged after 10 days of talking through a wall.
Cole and Zanab seemed to have a good chemistry, but they also faced many challenges. Cole had trouble understanding Zanab’s cultural background and sometimes made insensitive comments. Zanab also felt insecure about her appearance and self-worth and often criticized Cole’s cooking and cleaning skills. They had a huge fight in one episode, where Cole asked Zanab if she could be bipolar, a remark that angered many fans online.
Despite their conflicts, Cole and Zanab managed to reconcile and stay together until the end of the show. They also hinted on Instagram that they may still be in a relationship, and many fans are rooting for them to make it work.
Not Meeting Cole’s Parents
One of the most shocking moments on Love Is Blind was when Zanab revealed that she had not met Cole’s parents yet, even though they were engaged. She said that Cole’s parents did not approve of their relationship and did not want to be on the show. She also said that Cole’s parents were racist and homophobic and that they had a problem with her being Muslim and bisexual.
Zanab’s confession had a huge impact on their relationship, as Cole felt hurt and betrayed that she had kept such a big secret from him. He also felt torn between his love for Zanab and his loyalty to his family. He said that he wanted to marry Zanab, but he also wanted his parents to be happy and accept her.
Zanab and Cole had to face the ultimate test of their love at the altar, where they had to decide whether to say “I do” or “I don’t”. Will they choose each other over their families? Will they overcome their differences and challenges? Will they live happily ever after? The answers will be revealed in the Love Is Blind finale on Nov. 9.
