Sabrina Vittoria. Courtesy of Sabrina Vittoria/Instagram
Love Is Blind UK star Sabrina Vittoria wished that she and estranged husband Steven Smith signed a prenuptial agreement.
During an appearance on the Monday, September 9, episode of the “Out of the Pods” podcast, Sabrina, 35, detailed the financial side of her reality TV marriage and subsequent divorce.
“We did [talk about finances] deeply, even in the pods and we had conversations that was very much, like, ‘What’s mine is mine [and] what’s yours is yours,’” Sabrina told podcast hosts Deepti Vempati and Natalie Lee, who appeared on season 2 of the U.S. version of the dating experiment.
Sabrina added, “It was very much, like, ‘Once we’re married, we’re a team but whatever you’re bringing to this marriage is yours.’ I really respected [that perspective] because I think that’s a great outlook. But, I think this is where I felt a little let down by the show in the sense that we’re not given prenups because there’s not enough time.”
Sabrina and Steven, 37, were one of 11 couples to get engaged — and five featured on the show — on the inaugural season of Love Is Blind UK. While Sabrina and Steven’s marriage was short-lived, they are still navigating divorce proceedings.
According to Sabrina, having a prenup would have been “beneficial” for both parties.
“I don’t believe that Steven’s ever gonna ask me for anything [because] that’s just not who he is as a person,” Sabrina recalled. “He’s not gonna say, ‘I want half this or I want this.’ Like, that’s not at all what I’m insinuating because that’s not who he is, but a prenup takes away that awkward [conversation] if everyone has to put everything out there, everything has to go into discovery — all your credit card statements, bank statements, everything — but it also protects everyone as well.”
A decision to get a prenup — LIB UK exes Freddie Powell and Cat Richards also butted heads on the show over signing one — is currently up to the individual couples, meaning Netflix does not provide an option to sign one during filming.
“I don’t believe it should be on the cast’s shoulders to vet people,” Sabrina said.
Sabrina’s marriage, however, did not break down because of finances. As she noted on Monday, they decided to split because of distance — Sabrina hails from Belfast, while Steven is based in London — and her husband’s alleged unwillingness to make space in his life.
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“We’re still technically married and I think that’s what’s really hard because, obviously, [since it’s for a show] you’ve broken up, but you can’t tell anyone if you’re having a really hard day or you’re really triggered by something,” Sabrina said on Monday. “I really struggled, like, I was diagnosed with depression [and] I was put on anxiety meds for the first time in my life. Like, I really struggled with my mental health the first few months after everything unraveled and the marriage broke down.”
Netflix has not publicly responded to Sabrina’s claims. Us Weekly has reached out for comment. A second season of Love Is Blind UK has already been ordered.