Deepti And Kyle Have A Weird Connection To Shaina's New Fiancé

The Love Is Blind universe is tight-knit — and it may have just gotten even smaller. As the dust from the dramatic second season has started to settle, Kyle Abrams and Deepti Vempati were seen grabbing brunch together at Kanela Breakfast Club in Chicago’s Wicker Park neighborhood on March 6, just two days after their gasp-worthy reunion special aired on Netflix. But, as it turns out, this wasn’t just any old brunch spot: Kanela Breakfast Club is actually owned by none other than LIB alum Shaina Hurley’s new fiancé Chris Lardakis.

OK, wait. Back up. What’s the connection here? LIB fans may remember that Hurley and Abrams got engaged in the pods, but it didn’t last long. She was widely criticized by viewers for initially accepting his proposal and then rejecting it shortly after on the basis of religious differences: She’s a Christian and Abrams is an atheist. Even though that relationship was a no-go, as of March 10, Hurley’s since found herself a new fiancé — this time, one who wears a cross around his neck — in Lardakis, CEO and founder of Wicker Park’s hottest brunch spot.

So why are Abrams and Vempati brunching all of a sudden? It might have something to do with the much-anticipated Season 2 reunion episode, when Abrams confessed his shocking regret for not proposing to Vempati while in the pods. “I should have asked Deepti to marry me,” he said during the reunion. “I love her so much. She's the best.” Vempati responded with a coy smile. Also on March 4, Abrams posted a TikTok with Vempati, further fueling relationship rumors.

But any romance that may have been budding between the two on the show would have been way overshadowed by each of their engagements to other LIB cast members: Hurley and Abhishek “Shake” Chatterjee, respectively.

Not unlike Hurley and Abrams, Vempati and Chatterjee also had a rocky and short-lived engagement with its own share of criticisms. Fans especially disliked Chatterjee’s repeated comments about not being attracted to his fiancée.

However, in an exclusive interview with Elite Daily on March 4, Vempati confirmed that, while Abrams’ confession might have shaken fans, she was decidedly not shook, because his confession didn’t come as a surprise. “I was really struggling to pick between Shake and Kyle [in the pods],” she told Elite Daily, adding that any dates between Abrams and herself never made it to air.

And though Vempati currently identifies as single and “focusing on [her]self,” in the months since filming ended, she and Abrams have reconnected and seem to be spending a considerable amount of time together (see: hot mimosa brunch date). “We’re just trying to figure it out,” Vempati said. “There’s a lot on our plate right now. ... We’ll see what happens.”

Yes, girl, we sure will.