Have Tyler and Ashley Responded to the ‘Love Is Blind’ Backlash? The Kid Drama, Explained

As season seven of Love Is Blind played out onscreen, Tyler Francis has been accused of lying about his children on the reality dating series—and the details just keep getting worse.

Despite connecting with 32-year-old marketing director Ashley Adionser in the pods, the 34-year-old account manager neglected to mention his biological children until after the pair got engaged and returned from their honeymoon. However, the internet has called bullshit on basically everything he said on the show after his confession.

Here’s all the rumors that have surfaced since season seven began airing on October 2—and how everyone involved has responded.

What went down on camera?

Tyler had not discussed his children in the first six episodes of Love Is Blind, which dropped on October 2. However, an off-screen confession led to a frank discussion about his three children (two girls and a boy) during episode nine.

Based on his conversation with Ashley, it seemed Tyler had acted as a sperm donor and was uninvolved in the children’s lives. At the time, Ashley was more upset about the timing of his revelation than the fact that he was a father. “Once you’re not given the full picture of something, it’s hard to not question everything,” she told him.

As Love Is Blind viewers know, Ashley decided to give Tyler a chance to regain her trust and we got a bit more context from Tyler during the next drop on October 16. “I had a very close friend, and her and her wife wanted to have a baby,” Tyler says in episode 10. “And they couldn’t afford a sperm donor. I thought that was God telling me, ‘Help someone else.’ And it felt good.”

What fans don’t know (yet) is whether or not the couple got married—or if Tyler was telling the whole truth about his connection with his children and their mom.

So, what’s the drama?

Before episodes seven through nine even dropped on Netflix, Love Is Blind fans were able to dig up that Tyler had children, among other allegations about a former relationship. In one photo shared online he’s wearing a shirt that says, “Dope Dads Raising Dope Kids.”

Things only got worse for Tyler after episodes nine and 10 finally aired. When asked if the children know what he looks like during episode 10, he told Ashley, “I don’t know.” Considering many viewers had already seen photos of him with the children, this was particularly hard to watch.

Ashley Adionser and Tyler Frances discuss his kids in episode nine.

COURTESY OF NETFLIX

Has the mother weighed in?

On October 19, Bri Thomas broke down her side of the story in a five-part Instagram series. In her videos she confirmed Tyler was helping her and her now-ex-wife conceive and “was not supposed to assume a father role” in her eldest child’s life. However, she claims Tyler stepped into a parental role when her ex-wife left the family.

“One day I received a text from Tyler and he asked me if I would be okay with him being a father to Kyreaux because he did not want Kyreaux to be raised by a single mother, as he had,” she said, per Page Six. As Bri and Tyler began coparenting, she says their personal relationship became complicated and they conceived their twins through “natural, unplanned intercourse.”

“He signed the birth certificate,” she said. “Again, there has never been any confusion or additional context surrounding the twins’ origin.” Ultimately, Bri says she’s hurt that he “disowned” his children on Love Is Blind. “I can’t wrap my head around why he felt the best way to do that would be to cut off the kids,” she said. “Then, to make matters worse, lie on national television and say they’re merely sperm babies and they don’t know what he looks like.”

What has Tyler said about the controversy?

Tyler has limited his Instagram comments section and kept his responses pretty vague. On October 9, Tyler told E! News that he has “no regrets” about his Love Is Blind experience, adding, “There’s maybe a couple conversations that could’ve been had at a certain time—who knows? I can’t sit back and wish that I could change something.”

More recently, he replied to an Instagram comment calling for an explanation about his choices. “I don’t owe anyone in this world an explanation. But I’ll give you one lol the conversation was longer than what was shown and a lot of off camera conversations were had,” he wrote.

Instagram/@tylerfrancis

What about Ashley?

Fans are convinced Ashley and Tyler got married based on an alleged Instagram comment. Like Tyler, Ashley has limited her replies but appears to have responded to one fan who brought up the “proof” surrounding the controversy.

“Do you know him personally to spread such slander about my cast mate? Regardless of the choice I make. I’ll do what’s best for me, the same way I’m sure you live your life,” Ashley allegedly replied, per screenshots shared by TikTok user @popcultureari on October 20. “Food for thought before I go, beware of social media and the alleged unauthenticated ‘proof’ you speak of. I pray that you’ll attempt to leave with kindness moving forward.”

So, what happens next?

Fans will find out if Tyler and Ashley got married when the Love Is Blind finale comes out on October 23. However, they’ll probably have to wait for the reunion for any kind of detailed explanation. The Love Is Blind reunion will air live on Netflix on October 30.

This post may be updated.