Did Love Is Blind Season 11 Just Give Us The Show's Most Awkward Reveal Ever?

The following post contains spoilers for the first five episodes of "Love is Blind" Season 11.

There are those who watch "Love is Blind" with legitimate, irony-free emotional investment in the relationships that form. And then there are those who watch "Love is Blind" to see those relationships crash and burn, often before the couples make it to the altar at all.

If you're in the latter camp: Boy, does Season 11 have a treat for you.

Netflix's reality dating show — in which singles date one another and get engaged well before they learn what their partners look like — returned for its 11th cycle on Wednesday, with the season's first five episodes dropping all at once. In those episodes, we meet 34-year-old Scott (who goes by Stew; pictured above) and 31-year-old Jax, a couple whose blossoming relationship — which is already not super-stable in the pods — nosedives into one of the show's most ill-fated connections ever when they meet face-to-face.

There's precedent for disastrous "Love is Blind" reveals, of course. In 10 previous seasons, many couples have walked out from behind those sliding doors to learn that love is not blind, after all, and the obvious lack of physical attraction reveals itself within minutes. ("You look like something out of a cartoon!" an unkind Irina told Zack in Season 4.) There's even precedent for "Love is Blind" match-ups to end shortly after the couples meet in person: In Season 7, Brittany and Leo's deeply awkward meeting led to an off-screen breakup a few weeks later; in Season 9, Kacie opted out of the Mexico honeymoon trip and broke things off with Patrick after a few days, citing the unlikelihood that her attraction to him would grow. (Ouch.)

Stew and Jax's connection, though, peters out even sooner than those others did, setting a new series record for quickest post-reveal split. Let's get into what happened.

Things between Jax and Stew start out well enough. They bond over their mutual love of design, and Jax doesn't hate that Stew seems to come from money. He describes the kind of engagement ring he would give her if they took that step, and it turns out to be the exact ring style that Jax has long wanted. For a few dates, it's a decent match.

But Stew's weirdly slick and ritzy way of speaking gives way to the revelation — surprise! — that he has commitment issues, which is to say that he's never told a girlfriend that he loves her. Even in long-term relationships! That gives Jax pause, but a couple of dates later, they've bounced back enough that Stew feels comfortable proposing to her. That's when he starts barreling into "Love is Blind" villain territory, delivering a long and rehearsed speech in the pods about his and Jax's relationship that ends with a joke about the New England Patriots right when he's about to pop the question. ("Jax, have you ever seen a cat play with a mouse when it first catches it? And you know how much fun that cat is having when it does it? That's how I feel right now," Stew says as he toys with his soon-to-be fiancée's emotions.)

Jax doesn't seem to love the way Stew goes about his proposal, even joking, "Let's get this over with" as Stew belabors the big question. But he finally asks, she says, "Sure, why not?" (yikes), and they're engaged. And when they meet in person, Stew couldn't be more thrilled with Jax's appearance, even commenting that "Love is Blind" should pay its casting team better. And hey, Jax goes in for a peck first, so early indications are positive.

But as their meeting goes on, Jax's regret appears to grow. When Stew jokes about what they'll name their first child, Jax downs her champagne, commenting that she's "gonna need more" to drink if they're going to be having kids together. She repeatedly mentions how weird it is to meet him in person. There's uncomfortable giggling, and when they stand up to part ways, she even blurts out, "I don't wanna do this anymore," which could simply mean she wants this drawn-out introduction to end, or that she doesn't want to hang out with Stew anymore, period.

Then, Jax sits down for her first interview after meeting her fiancé, and her face falls. She says she doesn't want to be mean. But a producer prompts her for more, and she admits she didn't have any romantic feelings for Stew when she met him. While Stew is celebrating how gorgeous Jax is in his own interview, Jax tells the crew, "I think I should go home." Does she at least want to talk to Stew first? "No. I can't meet with him."

Not long after, Stew is called in for another interview, and he's informed that not only did Jax leave "Love is Blind," but "she actually asked us not to provide any sort of situation for you to talk with her at this moment," the producer shares.

To Stew's credit, he takes all of this pretty well. He's getting brutally ghosted on camera, but he manages an understanding, "I guess the feelings were not mutual." He adds that coming on the show was still a "profoundly positive experience" for him, and he has no regrets about participating in the experiment.

And perhaps there's a glimmer of hope for this relationship. At the very end of Episode 5, we pick up with Stew as he's sitting in a Boston restaurant, and the hour ends just as Jax walks in to greet him. She's even smiling! But we'll have to wait until next Wednesday to see how that story ends.

So, what do you think, "Love is Blind" fans: Was that the show's most cringeworthy reveal ever? Do you hope Jax and Stew give it another shot? And which other couples from these first five episodes are you rooting for? Tell us below!