‘Love Is Blind’: Uche on Skipping the Reunion, Lydia Drama & Aaliyah Breakup (Exclusive)

After skipping the “Love Is Blind” Season 5 reunion, Uche Okoroha is breaking down all the season’s drama.

“Extra’s” Mona Kosar Abdi spoke to Uche, who delved into his past with Lydia, breakup with Aaliyah, and more!

Uche explained that he skipped the reunion due to a “scheduling conflict,” adding, “I had a really good business opportunity and I just couldn’t pass that up.”

He also admitted, "I really don't think that is a conducive environment to have productive discussions."

Uche also said he wanted to remain positive about his past with Lydia, but things changed once he heard that she was talking negatively about him behind the scenes.

Lydia accused him of cheating on her in an interview. He insisted that he didn’t, saying, “She said that in an interview, but she didn't say that to my face when we were speaking, because she knows that’s not true. We were never in a relationship."

He says they dated but were never exclusive, and then they didn't see each other for seven months. "Three months into that seven-month period, that's when I started getting those messages from girls saying that she was stalking their Instagram accounts."

Uche argued, “I think she was more of bringing that up as a way to divert attention from the things that I was saying and revealing about her.”

As for the cast barbecue, what was his intention for his confrontation with Lydia and Milton? He answered, “I was trying to hold her accountable for what she had done.”

Uche wanted to confront Lydia, who he felt “bullied” Aaliyah. He added, “She didn’t deserve that, so I was trying to build into that discussion and I think [Lydia’s] defense mechanism was running away from that.”

Uche insisted that he wasn’t trying to split up Milton and Lydia. He said, “[Milton]’s a grown man. He can make his own decisions, but I did think that going to him and telling him that and giving him that information for him to be able to have that side if we were ever to be friends in the future... I think I would be a very bad friend if I didn’t at least reveal that we had that history.”

Uche also told his side about what happened between him and Aaliyah when they tried to date after the show.

According to Uche, they could have “gotten engaged” on the show. He commented, “What I also told her is, ‘I don’t care about going to Mexico if you want to leave. I will leave with you. Let’s just make that decision together.’ Then, six hours after she made me that promise, she left.”

He added, “The scene when we met up for lunch... people don’t know that was 2 1/2 weeks after she left. In that 2 1/2-week period, she, I believe, invalidated my feelings by just telling me how bad Lydia was and how bad of a situation it was, which I understood, but I was trying to get her to understand, ‘Hey, I understand how difficult that was with Lydia, but can you consider my feelings too?’ That you promised me that you would show up and I even said I would leave with you and you broke that promise to me...

“We went to lunch and I forgave her. The next day after that, she told me, ‘I don’t regret leaving and I did it for you.’ She said that if she did not leave the show right when she did, she was scared of what she was going to do to Lydia.”

He noted that he started asking Aaliyah more questions, which he claimed got her “very angry.” He added, “I started feeling like I had to walk on eggshells.”

Uche claims that the relationship ended due to him not persuading her to stay in Houston and not leave for California for a job opportunity. He said, “I don’t think that she’s able to deal with the guilt of the situation and she even told me in a text message… She said, ‘I feel like this is all my fault. I wish I wouldn’t have left... I seriously can’t stop myself from crying because I think I messed up a chance at true love.’”

As for Aaliyah’s claims that she wasn’t his type, he commented, “Yes, I had a private discussion with one of the castmates and I said, ‘Yeah, my initial impression was probably not my type, but I still love her and I still want to pursue a relationship with her,' and I saw her in person and I was immediately attracted to her. So I don’t know why she’s trying to make that an excuse like I didn’t put everything that I had into that relationship, and she’s trying to deflect any guilt or any responsibility for our relationship not working out by saying that.”

Uche also explained sending the same text message to Lydia and Aaliyah once the show was airing, something that came up at the reunion.

"I don't understand why that was a big deal," he insisted. "It wasn't a love letter. It wasn't an apology note. It wasn't anything personalized at all. I knew that we were in this very weird triangle situation, so the message just said, 'Hey, if you watch the show and there's anything you want to talk about, I'm available to talk.' ... I don't understand what was wrong with that, honestly."

As for his dating life now, Uche says he has a girlfriend and that it's "really going well." He elaborated, "We have a lot in common. We have fun together, and I like that we're very easily able to communicate our feelings to each other. I feel like her emotional intelligence is even much higher than mine, so I feel like I'm becoming a better communicator and better at expressing myself and my feelings by being with her."