- Amber Desiree "AD" connects with Clay and Matthew, and ultimately accepts a proposal from Clay.
- Their relationship is affected by Clay's hangups about physical appearance and fidelity.
Warning: Spoilers ahead for the "Love Is Blind" season six finale.
Amber Desiree "AD" Smith falls for Clay Gravesande in the "Love Is Blind" pods on season six, fully aware that he's a work in progress.
While AD initially struggles to choose between Clay and another contestant, Matthew Duliba, her falling out with Matthew and her obvious chemistry with smooth-talker Clay lead her to accept Clay's proposal.
Clay and AD are one of the few couples on pretty good footing throughout the couples' getaway trip in the Dominican Republic, barring one extremely WTF moment where Clay tells AD he won't let her ever get out of shape and would insist she go to the gym with him even when she's pregnant.
But that was only the beginning of the "Love Is Blind" process. More cracks begin to show in their relationship when they head back to Charlotte and AD and Clay have several confrontations that make their deep-seated issues abundantly clear.
At the end of episode seven, when Clay is showing AD his house, the two have a serious conversation about Clay's hang-ups over fidelity. He tells her that his dad used to take him on "infidelity trips" where he'd cheat on Clay's mom and that he's never seen a Black man be faithful in a relationship, leading him to wonder whether it's possible for him to only be with one woman forever.
Then, when AD meets Clay's mom and sister in episode nine, AD's dissatisfaction with Clay's hectic work schedule also becomes an issue. Clay's mom (the season's real MVP, to be honest) mediates the conflict, and things seem to be settled for the moment. But AD's issues with how Clay prioritizes his free time aren't exactly resolved.
Clay then meets AD's mom in episode 10, and it goes surprisingly well. AD makes it clear to her mom that she knows Clay has some hang-ups. But her mom clearly loves Clay, encouraging AD to hang in there and not let their parents' broken marriages influence their relationship.
"That's a man. And he's just a little bit scared of how to move forward," AD's mom tells her.
In the 'Love Is Blind' finale, Clay says 'I don't' at the altar
The finale starts off on a high note, at least for AD, who lives it up at her bachelorette party with her friends and fellow season six bride-to-be Amy. But Clay, for his part, still sounds very uncertain when he talks to his friends and to the camera during his bachelor party.
"I do wanna fight for AD," he tells Johnny in the last we see of him before the wedding. "I can see myself married to AD."
Unfortunately, the pendulum swings the other way when it comes time to exchange vows.
While AD seems very confident as she's getting ready, the writing is on the wall when we see Clay talk to his father right before the ceremony.
"When it comes to right and wrong, it doesn't matter. It doesn't matter if everybody else is in your ear telling you 'Do this, do that.' You gotta trust yourself," Clay's dad tells him.
Clay's mom also gives him a pep talk right before they walk down the aisle, telling him he'll become emotional when he sees AD walk down the aisle and to just "yield into your feelings," and also noting that he's visibly nervous.
The stark difference in their vows also quickly signals that things aren't going to go the way AD wants them to go.
In his vows, Clay expresses his gratitude for AD and thanks her for supporting him in the "Love Is Blind" process. "I gotta give a shout-out to you for just looking out for me, man. For real," he tells her.
In turn, AD gives Clay an emotional speech, praising all the things she loves about him and promising to support him, right before saying "I do." But Clay says he can't marry her.
"This has been the best process. AD, I love you. I don't think it's responsible for me to say 'I do,'" Clay says, adding that he still wants to stay together and work on himself to be "100% in."
"If I'm not ready to give you 100%, I won't go there with you when I'm not ready," he continues. "I can't say yes right now."
A heartbroken AD walks away in tears, saying it's been a "waste of my fucking time" and that she's "so confused." Clay's parents both support him and he reaffirms he knows he made the right decision, telling the cameras that he knows he needs to work on his "emotional empathy" and that he realized he didn't understand AD's finances well enough to commit to marriage. He also admits that he can't say he's "deeply in love" with AD.
The two have one final emotional conversation where Clay apologizes and tries to explain his perspective, telling her it was a "game-time decision."
"It just breaks my heart seeing you like this because I love you. I really do," he tells AD. "Me saying no was not to you, AD. I'm not ready, and that's hard for me to look at myself in the mirror and say that."
"I'm not rejecting you," he says, before apologizing again and asking AD if he can get a hug.
Interestingly, they exchange "I love yous" and kiss and Clay assures her that he's going to go to therapy and put the work in. AD says she did her best in their relationship, but admits she feels like it wasn't enough. She also says she feels like a "sacrifice" while Clay used the experiment to learn about himself.
"I can't drag him, I can't force him, and I'm not gonna fucking beg him to fucking pick me," AD tells the cameras. "I'm done."
While their wedding was definitely heartwrenching — and AD's "I'm done" doesn't exactly bode well — there are some hints that these two may have rekindled their relationship post-filming as Clay intended. Here's what we could dig up.
Are AD and Clay from 'Love Is Blind' still together after the show?
Clay and AD have both played coy when asked about their relationship status in recent interviews. "I would say you would have to wait and see," AD told Entertainment Tonight, while Clay just told the publication "TBD."
AD also told Us Weekly in an interview that she knows Clay was a "walking red flag," which isn't exactly a great sign.
Of course, "Love Is Blind" contestants aren't allowed to spoil their seasons by being open about their relationship status while episodes are airing. But we did a little digging, and there are some indications that these two may have made things work, despite all the odds.
AD and Clay are following each other on Instagram and TikTok, so it seems like they're on good terms at the very least. Clay liked AD's post announcing she'd be appearing on "Love Is Blind," and has consistently liked most of her posts dating back to one from May 2023.
AD also liked Clay's announcement post about being on the show and has liked a few of his posts dating back to one from April 2023. She also liked a photo of Clay with their "Love Is Blind" costars Trevor Sova and Johnny McIntyre.
Even more tellingly, Clay commented some fire emojis on AD's post about her birthday weekend in November 2023.
It's unclear when season six was filmed, but it was likely sometime in early or mid-2023, since season five was reportedly filmed in early 2022. If that's the case, Clay's comment would seem to indicate they stayed together after he said no at the altar.
Most promisingly, Clay and AD had a sweet Instagram interaction on his post a day after the penultimate episodes dropped.
"Turn me up @amberdesiree ," Clay captioned a series of photos and a video of them from filming.
"Turn me up Clay ," AD commented.
On Saturday, ahead of the finale, they had another similarly playful exchange on Instagram. AD posted a video of herself mouthing along to the preview clip of the show on Instagram where she argued with Clay in the pods about divulging what she looked like before they met. Clay dropped some laughing emojis in the comments.
These Instagram interactions are the strongest evidence that these two stayed together after filming. Either that, or they're simply the chillest ex-fiancés ever. Of course, we'll need to wait until these two show up at the reunion to find out for sure.
The "Love Is Blind" season six reunion premieres March 13 at 9 p.m. ET.