Joe and Madison Love Is Blind: Their Story, Split & Where They Are Now

Joe and Madison Love Is Blind is one of the most searched couples from Netflix’s hit reality series — and for good reason. Joe Ferrucci and Madison Maidenberg built a deep emotional connection inside the Love Is Blind pods during Season 9, got engaged sight unseen, and then watched their relationship unravel in the real world in dramatic, heartbreaking fashion. Their journey from whirlwind engagement to emotional split became one of the season’s defining storylines, and fans are still asking what really happened between them. In this article, we break down who Joe and Madison are, how their Love Is Blind romance unfolded, why it ended, and where both of them stand today.

Who Is Joe Ferrucci?

Joe Ferrucci is a Denver-based cast member of Love Is Blind Season 9 who entered the pods looking for a genuine emotional connection. Viewers quickly learned that Joe was a sensitive, expressive guy — the kind of contestant who wears his heart on his sleeve in the pods but struggles once the cameras follow him into real life. On the show, Joe won Madison over with a handwritten love letter and vulnerable conversation, earning her engagement early in the season. Post-show, Joe opened up about his drinking and emotional struggles during filming, admitting he ran from difficult feelings rather than sitting with them. As of late 2025, Joe is in a relationship with Averee Madison, a Denver dating coach he met at a friend’s birthday party; they got together in November 2024 and have been going strong since.

Who Is Madison Maidenberg?

Madison Maidenberg was one of the standout women of Love Is Blind Season 9 — thoughtful, articulate, and deeply invested in the experiment. In the pods, she connected with Joe over long, emotionally honest conversations and accepted his proposal by the end of episode 2. But Madison became increasingly concerned once the relationship moved into the real world, where she noticed Joe’s inconsistency and felt she was the one always saying “I love you” first. In later interviews, Madison spoke candidly about how the breakup affected her self-confidence, revealing that Joe’s comment about preferring “petite women” weighed on her and that she worked through the fallout in therapy. After the show, Madison briefly hard-launched a new boyfriend in January 2026, but confirmed she was single again by February 2026 — and has said she wouldn’t have wanted to go through the experiment with anyone else.

Joe and Madison’s Love Is Blind Journey

The Joe and Madison Love Is Blind story began the way the show’s producers dream of: two people falling hard through a wall. In the pods, Joe’s handwritten love letter made Madison feel truly chosen, and she said yes to his proposal early in the season. But the engagement bliss ended at the face-to-face reveal, where Joe began struggling to reconcile the emotional bond from the pods with the real Madison in front of him. Things worsened at the couples’ getaway in Baja, where a chaotic pool party night ended with Madison finding Joe incoherent after heavy drinking. She later told E! News she was disappointed he wasn’t “showing up” as the man she’d met in the pods. Though the couple patched things up temporarily, the cracks kept showing: Madison noticed she was always the first to say “I love you,” and Joe admitted something felt off. Their timeline compressed all the pressure of the experiment — engagement, move-in, wedding prep — into a few intense weeks, and the relationship buckled under it.

Why Joe and Madison Split

The split came in Episode 11, during wedding-prep week. Joe attended his tux fitting with friends and suffered what Madison later described as a “total breakdown” — he bolted from the tailor, feeling detached and overwhelmed. He told Madison that while he cared for her, she wasn’t “his person,” and that continuing to the altar would feel disingenuous because he would have said no at the wedding. In post-show interviews, Joe was remarkably self-critical: he said they had a strong physical connection but that physical chemistry and fighting were “the only two things we did,” and that it wasn’t a foundation for a marriage. He took full blame for his part, calling them “two very, very different human beings” with no common ground. Madison revealed they had actually broken up the night before the on-camera farewell, making the televised moment more of a staged closure. She also admitted it took her months to stop idealizing him — realizing she’d fallen for the version of Joe from the pods, not the uncertain man she came to know afterward.

Are Joe and Madison Still Together?

No — Joe and Madison are not together, and there has been no reconciliation since the show. Both have moved on separately. Joe’s relationship with Averee Madison has become public through the Reality Receipts podcast and social media, where the couple appears happy and stable. Madison’s post-show dating life has been more of a roller coaster: her January 2026 hard launch generated headlines, but she announced the following month that she was single again. For more stories about Love Is Blind couples, you can also read our piece on Vic and Christine from Love Is Blind — another pod-born romance fans followed closely. And if you’re curious about how reality-show couples handle the question of marriage under public pressure, our look at whether Zendaya and Tom Holland got married explores a very different kind of celebrity relationship journey. To learn more about the show’s format and history, see the Love Is Blind page on Wikipedia.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Joe and Madison from Love Is Blind still together?
No. Joe Ferrucci and Madison Maidenberg split before their wedding on Season 9, and both have confirmed they are not together. Joe is now dating Averee Madison, while Madison Maidenberg is single after a brief relationship ended in early 2026.

Why did Joe and Madison break up?
Joe called off the engagement after a breakdown at his tux fitting, telling Madison she wasn’t “his person” and that he would have said no at the altar. He couldn’t connect the emotional bond from the pods to the real Madison, and both agreed they had no real common ground beyond physical chemistry and conflict.

Who is Joe Ferrucci dating now?
Joe is in a relationship with Averee Madison, a Denver-based dating coach. They met at a friend’s birthday party, got together in November 2024, and remain together as of the latest updates.

What happened between Joe and Madison in Baja?
After a pool party in Baja, Madison found Joe incoherent after heavy drinking, sparking a major argument on camera. Madison told reporters she was disappointed he wasn’t showing up as the man she’d met in the pods, and the incident marked a turning point in their relationship.

Did Joe and Madison get married on Love Is Blind?
No. They never made it to the altar — Joe ended the engagement during wedding-prep week in Episode 11, before any vows could be exchanged.

Which season of Love Is Blind were Joe and Madison on?
Joe Ferrucci and Madison Maidenberg appeared on Love Is Blind Season 9, the Denver season, which premiered on Netflix in October 2025.

In the end, the Joe and Madison Love Is Blind story is a reminder of what the experiment really tests: whether an emotional bond built without sight can survive the light of day. Both have been candid about their faults and their growth since, and fans continue to follow each of their separate paths with genuine affection.