Love Is Blind 's Jessica Batten Reveals She Has a New Boyfriend: 'We've Been Hiding Out'
Love Is Blind star Jessica Batten has a new man in her life!
Although things didn’t work out for Batten on the Netflix reality show — her engagement to Mark Cuevas ended with her saying “I don’t” — she introduced her followers to her new boyfriend over the Fourth of July weekend.
“Happy Fourth! 🇺🇸 🇺🇸,” Batten wrote on Instagram, alongside two photos of herself and Benjamin McGrath, a California-based ankle and foot surgeon, who is also a father of two.
“Freedom isn't free. I'm thankful to be able to follow my heart and choose my own happiness. I hope you all do the same!” she continued. “For those who have asked, this is why I would do it all over again ☀️ 🌈 Can't wait to share some of our adventures.”
Shedding a bit more light on their relationship, Batten shared a few Instagram Story videos of the pair riding bikes together on the beach. “Favorite thing to do together. Also it’s how we met!” she added.
Jessica Batten/Instagram Jessica Batten and Benjamin McGrath
Batten went on to reveal that although McGrath was just making his first appearance on her Instagram feed, they’d actually been dating for a while.
Asked in the comments section by a fan about how long they’d been together, Batten replied, “4 months and it’s flown. We’ve been hiding out during quarantine hahah!”
Poking fun at her 10-year age gap with Cuevas, another fan asked if he was “24 or 34.”
“He was 34 at the time of filming so it turns out that’s exactly what I was looking for,” Batten quipped, going on to reveal that not only did her boyfriend watch the Netflix show but “he saw more of it than I did.”
RELATED: Love Is Blind's Mark Cuevas Denies Having a Girlfriend While Filming the Show: 'I Was Single'
Batten’s big announcement came shortly Lauren “LC” Chamblin, another cast member, also called it quits with Cuevas.
Chamblin revealed on Reddit last month that she had been dating Cuevas since early May, but ended things after a user on the website claimed that Cuevas was seeing someone else in a post titled, "My close friend's co-worker is dating Mark!!"
"This is awkward because I live in Atlanta and I’ve been dating mark since the beginning of May....🤔😤," Chamblin commented. “But I definitely just broke it off with mark so I really do appreciate you posting this and saving me the energy on dating another liar. 🙃🙌🏼"
In a statement to PEOPLE, Cuevas denied that he was in an exclusive relationship with Chamblin while they were together.
Instagram (2) Lauren "LC" Chamblin, Mark Cuevas
Shortly after Chamblin announced the split on Reddit, Batten also addressed a cheating allegation against the fitness trainer from an Instagram user who alleged that he was “sleeping with MULTIPLE women at the studio he trained at DURING the show.”
"Wow," Batten responded, as captured by the Instagram account Comments by Celebs. "News to me, I only know about one."
Cuevas' rep emphatically denied the allegation. “While Mark was on the show, he was fully committed to the LIB process and to Jessica,” his rep told PEOPLE.
