Ingrid Santa Rita suggested during the reunion of Love is Blind that she was sexually abused by Leandro Marçal.
Marília Pinheiro, one of the participants of Love is Blind Season 4, stated that Leandro Marçal should have left the reunion of the reality show in handcuffs. This statement comes after Ingrid Santa Rita, who married Leandro on the show, hinted at having suffered sexual abuse from her now ex-husband.
Responding to questions via her Instagram stories on Wednesday (7/10), Marília said: “This is an extremely delicate and tense subject. I love Ingrid, and I feel very sorry for what she went through. I feel sorry for any woman who has gone through this.”
“I think he should have been taken out of there arrested, in handcuffs, or any other term of that level would fit,” she added.
Understanding What Happened Between Ingrid and Leandro
Netflix released the reunion episode of Love is Blind: A Fresh Start on Wednesday (7/10). Besides revealing the couples who stayed together after the show, Ingrid Santa Rita’s account of her relationship with Leandro Marçal caused a strong reaction among the reality show’s audience.
During the reunion, Ingrid shared that she is no longer married to Leandro and explained what led to the end of their relationship. It’s worth noting that they said “yes” at the altar but did not maintain their union after the show ended.
According to Ingrid, Leandro disrespected her after the wedding and tried to maintain the relationship in a “dirty” manner. She also described having a panic attack in front of her daughters, begging her now ex not to touch her body.
“When I chose you as my husband, I imagined that, having three sisters, you would know what not to do. You didn’t know. You disrespected me numerous times. I protected you every day within the reality show, from the first day, from the honeymoon. For those who have doubts, the sexual problem was with Leandro. Leandro was impotent,” she began.
“I understood, I supported you as a man, as a Black man, dispelling the stereotype that a Black man always has to be ready for good sex, just like a Black woman. But when we went to my house, you wanted to solve it alone, Leandro. I told you: ‘Go to therapy. I will wait. I will be patient with you, and when all this passes and settles, I will still be here waiting for you. We will reconnect. We will do couples therapy and we will reconnect,’” she continued.
The show participant then explained that she started sleeping clothed and stopped lying in her own bed to avoid her then-husband.
“At first, I slept naked, then I slept in underwear, then I started sleeping in pajamas, then I took the pillow and went to sleep on my couch, avoiding you in my bed, in my room, in my house. You didn’t respect me any day, and that’s why I broke up with you,” she recounted.
“The day my daughters found me on the floor having a panic attack, begging you not to touch my body, I asked you not to touch me. I asked more than once, Leandro, for you not to touch me and you didn’t respect me. You didn’t listen to me. You wanted to solve your erectile problem by yourself. It was your ego. It was your lies. Because you just wanted to maintain that marriage in your dirty and filthy way,” Ingrid said, crying.
Besides expressing her disgust for her ex-husband and insisting on keeping him away, Ingrid concluded: “I am making this very clear for everyone to hear, I don’t want this man near me. You don’t have the right. Tell me the name, Leandro, of what you did to me,” she said.
What was Leandro’s Response to the criticism
On the show, Leandro apologized and claimed that despite what was shown on the program, the relationship with Ingrid was never “healthy.” The participant also mentioned seeking help for his erectile dysfunction, but understood that the problem was psychological.
Read his full statement:
“When I participated in the show, we started having a relationship and it was never friendly, never truly healthy. We could never really connect. Our sexual part was something that affected me a lot. At a certain point, I did tests, sought help, and tried to understand what was happening. We understood it wasn’t a physical problem. It was a psychological problem.
I felt that we weren’t 100%, but I was completely in love with her. Totally involved. She was helping me a lot; she is someone I love and someone with whom I saw a future. My ‘yes’ was always sincere; I never wavered in my ‘yes.’ At certain moments, I sensed that Ingrid was unsure about whether she wanted to be with me for the rest of her life. We tried to understand this, the problems each of us brought.
In the sexual part, I never said I was right. Yes, I was wrong in trying to solve a problem within our relationship that was the main pole of our issues, saying: ‘50% of the relationship is sex, we need to adjust this.’ I sought help, yes, but things are not that fast. By the time I was already in that, we were already nearing the end. Our relationship was really terrible. The sexual part was our problem, yes, and I thought solving it would fix our relationship. And then the ego took over, and I thought that if I solved this, our relationship would improve.
Our relationship really didn’t work out. I apologize as I have apologized to you many times. I understand my mistake, but I also understand that a relationship involves two people. Our relationship didn’t end that week. Our relationship had ended; you just didn’t have the courage to say you didn’t want it anymore.”
Leave a Reply Cancel reply