David Needs to Apologize to Lauren at the ‘Love Is Blind’ Season 8 Reunion

Past Love Is Blind villains can rest easy because David Bettenburg has earned the title of uncontested red flag contestant across all seasons of the show. He spent the entire time in the pods, spilling his heart out to Lauren O’Brien about how he recognized he was a toxic guy in the past but had completely changed himself. Cut to the most recent episode of Love Is Blind Season 8, he gaslit, shamed, and emotionally abused Lauren for having been involved in a friends-with-benefits scenario with someone he had mutual friends with before she came into the experiment.

Despite relentless justifications from Lauren, her friends, and family, David couldn’t take his fiancée’s word for it. Instead, he kept insinuating how he knew that his friends and family were right in their assumptions about Lauren. Moreover, he refused to introduce Lauren to them and even insulted her on multiple occasions. After taking her through hell and back, he acted like a crybaby when Lauren’s dad called his behavior into question. What’s infinitely frustrating is that he had the liberty to end their relationship and only offered Lauren a sloppy apology in a drunken state. Lauren deserved way better and, at the very least, a more sincere apology.

Lauren O’Brien Was Subjected to Layered Levels of Emotional Abuse

The most recent batch of Love Is Blind episodes kicks off with David returning to his and Lauren’s shared apartment after a night of partying. He had left Lauren to sit and despair over the state of their relationship and chose to hang with his friends instead of staying back to comfort her. Despite repeatedly reassuring her that he loved her, David refused to let Lauren meet his friends or family and even held off from delivering a handwritten letter she had addressed to his sister. At multiple points during this relationship, I was shocked at David’s entitled behavior as he repeatedly brought up Lauren’s past situationship. He took advantage of her emotional vulnerability and constantly pushed her towards a breaking point.

David Bettenburg Made Offhand Remarks About His Relationship

Throughout the recent episodes, Lauren practically begged David to introduce her to his family. While meeting them seemed like a far cry, he’d give her rude justifications with ridiculous lines like “My family doesn’t meet just anyone.” I think David needed to realize that Lauren is his fiancée, not just anyone! I fail to understand where he thought this relationship would go, given that he belittled her on multiple occasions and refused to trust her. After a point, it felt like he was milking all he could from her dating history in an attempt to make her end the relationship so he wouldn’t seem like the bad guy.

In an exclusive interview with PEOPLE, Lauren opened up about how their movie theatre conversation was her breaking point. David was also not enthused about Lauren’s dad calling out his behavior after his relentless ill-treatment of his daughter and likely telling him that he wasn’t ready for marriage. In later episodes, David was also seen telling fellow contestant and pod ex Molly Rose that he had promised his sister that he wouldn’t get engaged on the show — which is problematic on so many levels.

David Bettenburg’s Apology Lacked Remorse and Sincerity

David and Lauren ended things on a bitter note. In fact, he even lacked the decency to say he wanted to end the relationship. He gaslit Lauren to the extent that she had no choice but to end things. David’s behavior toward Lauren was utterly unacceptable. Later, at the cast reunion party, when Molly gave him a piece of her mind for how he treated Lauren, and with what seemed like a hefty amount of liquid courage, David approached her to apologize. His drunken apology with slurred speech was hard to watch and mildly more infuriating than his antics throughout the season. It lacked even an ounce of sincerity, and Lauren shut down his hints towards a possible reconciliation.

While David eventually took to his Instagram to offer yet another meek apology — likely after all the online backlash — that simply isn’t enough. Considering all the disgusting ways in which David ill-treated Lauren, I need Nick and Vanessa Lachey to call him out and force him to give Lauren a heartfelt public apology during the Love Is Blind Season 8 reunion. While it’s obvious that doesn’t even come close to making up for how he treated Lauren, he’s got to start somewhere. David needs to be made aware that treating a woman the way he did Lauren is utterly preposterous and unacceptable.