• Lots of couples have gotten engaged on "Love Is Blind," but only a few actually marry each season.
• Two season seven couples — Taylor and Garrett, and Ashley and Tyler — got married.
• Ashley said in January 2025 that she and Tyler had split, leaving just 10 couples still together.

Dozens of couples have formed connections on "Love Is Blind," the hit Netflix reality show that debuted in 2020 and has since spawned spinoffs in multiple other countries. But not every pair makes it to the aisle, and even fewer have stayed married.

Only 10 "Love Is Blind" couples have gone the distance — and of those couples, three have even expanded their families in the years since we saw them walk down the aisle and say "I do." 

Here's a refresher on every "Love Is Blind" couple who's still married and where they all are today.

Libby Torres and Esme Mazzeo contributed to previous versions of this article. The article was first published in 2023.

1. Cameron Hamilton and Lauren Speed-Hamilton

Cameron and Lauren met and married on "Love Is Blind" season one and are widely considered one of the franchise's biggest success stories. The couple, who share a dog named Mr. Sparx, celebrated their five-year anniversary in November 2023.

Cameron posted a sweet selfie of him and Lauren to Instagram in January 2024, captioning the post: "Taking over the [world] together." Later that year, the two launched a podcast called "The Love Seat," and in an October episode, they opened up about their attempts to conceive a child.

The couple, who revealed they tried IVF without success, said their fertility struggles had made them "more connected" and stronger as a couple.

"I feel like in marriage, or any type of relationship, when you go through something that's big and heavy or weighs on your heart, it creates a bond," Lauren said.

2. Matt Barnett and Amber Pike

Matt Barnett and Amber Pike also got married on "Love Is Blind" season one. Like Cameron and Lauren, they celebrated their five-year anniversary in November 2023.

In October 2024, the couple revealed that they were expecting their first child together on the inaugural episode of "The Love Seat," the podcast hosted by their season one costars.

Amber also posted about her pregnancy on Instagram. 

"Just to confirm: No, you weren't seeing things. Yes, I am pregnant," she wrote in a post accompanied by a photo of her standing poolside and holding her stomach.

3. Brennon and Alexa Lemieux

Brennon and Alexa Lemieux met on "Love Is Blind" season three and married in 2021.

In January 2024, they revealed that they were expecting their first child. In an interview with People announcing the news, Alexa said the two had been trying to conceive for more than a year, and she'd undergone fertility treatments that didn't work before unexpectedly conceiving naturally.

"I feel like it's just the next chapter for us. It was good timing," Alexa told People. "We're looking for a house right now, and so it's also very different looking at everything now, like where the nursery will be, and the backyard."

The two also appeared at the season six reunion, which was filmed in early 2024. They welcomed their daughter, Vienna Ziva Lemieux, in July.

"She has mommy's hair and daddy's dimples and we couldn't be more in love," Alexa captioned several photos of herself and Brennon posing with the baby.

4. Matt Bolton and Colleen Reed

Like Brennon and Alexa, Matt and Colleen met on "Love Is Blind" season three and got married in 2021. 

Colleen and Matt are quieter than many "Love Is Blind" cast members on social media, but they sparked conversation online because of their unconventional living arrangement. 

They were married for about two years and lived separately before announcing they finally moved in together in June 2023.

The couple appeared together at the season six reunion in March 2024 and celebrated their three-year anniversary in July 2024. Colleen last posted a video of her and Matt in September, leading fans to speculate that the two are no longer together, but they haven't commented on their relationship status publicly.

5. Brett Brown and Tiffany Pennywell Brown

Brett Brown and Tiffany Pennywell Brown met during "Love Is Blind" season four, which aired in 2023. They were married in May 2022.

Appearing on the "Love Is Blind" season six reunion episode in March 2024, Tiffany and Brett confirmed they're still happily married. At the time, Tiffany said the two were househunting in Portland and had an upcoming trip to Japan planned. They closed on their new home in September 2024.

6. Kwame Appiah and Chelsea Griffin Appiah

Kwame Appiah and Chelsea Griffin Appiah met in the pods on season four and also got married in May 2022, though Kwame's mother didn't initially approve of the relationship. Despite some friction, they've managed to go the distance.

Chelsea and Kwame celebrated a year of marriage in May 2023 by adding to their engagement and wedding jewelry, and Chelsea shared in July 2023 that the couple had honeymooned in Santorini, Greece. 

Chelsea announced in August 2023 that she was working for Netflix and helping cast people on "Love Is Blind." She and Kwame also appeared at the season six reunion in March 2024, confirming they're still happily married.

7. Zack Goytowski and Bliss Poureetezadi-Goytowski

Zack Goytowski and Bliss Poureetezadi-Goytowski met on "Love Is Blind" season four, but they didn't get engaged sight unseen like most couples on the show. 

Zack chose Irina Solomonova in the pods, got engaged to her, and went on the couples' trip to Mexico with her before they decided they weren't a good match and swiftly broke up. 

After connecting in the pods, Bliss and Zack met in person when Zack returned from Mexico and had instant undeniable chemistry. Zack proposed to Bliss while the season was being filmed and she said yes. "Love Is Blind" followed the rest of their journey up to their wedding day in May 2022. 

Like all of the other season four couples, they had to keep their marriage a secret until April 2023, when the wedding episodes aired. They celebrated a year of marriage in May 2023 and announced in November that they were expecting their first child together — the first pregnancy announcement from a couple who married on the show.

Their daughter, Galileo Terri Rayne, was born on April 26, 2024, their rep confirmed to People. Most recently, the two appeared on the season seven reunion in October (and even brought baby Galileo along backstage).

8. Milton Johnson and Lydia Velez Gonzalez

Lydia and Milton met on "Love Is Blind" season five and bonded over their shared love of science. Their age gap worried Lydia at first, but they got married at the altar in June 2022. They later had a second wedding in Lydia's native Puerto Rico.

In October 2023, Lydia told Entertainment Weekly that she and Milton were in a long-distance marriage because Milton relocated from Houston to Long Beach, California, for work. They're still very much together, though, frequently posting cute couple pics on their respective Instagram accounts.

Milton even surprised Lydia with a special date night in Dubai while they were vacationing there in February 2024.

9. Johnny McIntyre and Amy Cortés

Amy and Johnny had the most unproblematic romance on "Love Is Blind" season six. In the finale, they became the only couple from their season to both say "I do" at the altar.

Johnny and Amy confirmed that they were still together at the season six reunion, which aired in March 2024. The reunion even featured a cute montage of their first year of marriage, including goofy moments at home and their trip to Paris.

10. Taylor Krause and Garrett Josemans

Taylor and Garrett had the most drama-free romance on "Love Is Blind" season seven, despite one disagreement over Garrett acknowledging a text from his ex. They were one of two couples to eventually make it to the altar. They confirmed at the season seven reunion, which aired in October 2024, that they were still married.

During the reunion, Taylor and Garrett laughed at speculation that his glow-up — mostly longer, more styled hair — was due to Taylor's influence, though she said that he had driven the transformation. They also revealed that they had decided to move to Washington, DC rather than San Diego, as they had discussed on the show.

Three other couples on the show got married but later split.

Split: Ashley Adionser and Tyler Francis

Ashley and Tyler were the second couple to make it to the altar on season seven. Before they married, they had one obstacle to overcome: Tyler told Ashley that he had donated his sperm to a friend and her wife and fathered three children, something that he hadn't disclosed to her in the pods. 

When the show started airing, however, speculation and claims about Tyler's relationship with the three children circulated online. Despite breakup speculation, Ashley supported Tyler at the season seven reunion in October 2024, where the two reaffirmed their commitment to one another, and she publicly defended him in post-show interviews.

However, on January 21, 2025, Ashley announced that she and Tyler had separated several weeks earlier and decided to divorce.

"While I had hoped for mutual understanding and transparency in our relationship, it has become clear that our paths are no longer aligned, making it impossible for me to continue in this marriage," Ashley said in a statement to People, also asking for privacy as she focuses on "healing and building a new future."

In a statement to Business Insider via Instagram DM, Tyler called the decision to split "an incredibly difficult and emotional process" for both of them and added that he takes "full accountability" for his role in their relationship difficulties.

"I respect Ashley's decision to move forward in a way that prioritizes her peace and happiness," he said. "Ashley is an incredible woman, and I have nothing but admiration and gratitude for the love and support she has given me. I ask for kindness and understanding as we both move forward separately, focusing on healing and growth."

Split: Iyanna McNeely and Jarrette Jones

Jarrette and Iyanna's path to the altar on season two of "Love Is Blind" was relatively smooth. Though they encountered road bumps due to their differing lifestyles (Jarrette likes to go out, while Iyanna is more of a homebody), the two married and were still married when that season's "After the Altar" was filmed.

The two announced their separation with a now-deleted joint statement on Instagram on August 17, 2022, about a year after their marriage, and finalized their divorce in November of that year. The post-show special, which aired in September, revealed the cracks that had been forming in their marriage prior to the split, including that Iyanna had moved out of their home because of Jarrette's partying.

Despite initially being amicable in their separate announcement, Iyanna later said on a podcast that Jarrette had cheated on her during their marriage, which Jarrette denied.

Iyanna hard-launched her new relationship in a 2023 wrap-up post on Instagram, and the two appear to still be going strong. Jarrette hasn't posted about his relationship status.

Split: Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson

Danielle and Nick were another season two couple who didn't make it. The two only had eyes for each other and seemed like a perfect match — which is why fans were shocked when People reported in late August 2022 that Danielle had filed for divorce from Nick earlier that month.

Initially, the split was contentious but they later reconciled and became friendly, with Danielle even appearing on Nick's podcast in May 2023.

Danielle hard-launched her new relationship on Instagram in July 2024. Nick hasn't shared whether he's dating anyone new, mainly using his social media presence to advocate for mental health.

"Love Is Blind" season eight premieres February 14 on Netflix.

• Theo Vonn fell out of a broken folding chair at the Trump inauguration and blamed Logan Paul.
• Logan denied tampering with the chair, and eventually, the beef was squashed.
• I wish I never knew any of this.

Inauguration Day for Donald Trump was a time of heightened emotions for a nation healing from a contentious election. For one man, this was tumultuous not just in the soul, but literally: Podcaster Theo Vonn fell out of his folding chair in the audience at the inaugural ceremony.

Here's what happened:

Vonn's folding chair seemingly collapsed, and Logan Paul, who was sitting right behind him, posted a video of it to X.

For some context, Trump appeared as a guest on both of the men's separate podcasts during his 2024 campaign.

Trump's various podcast appearances were considered a cunning strategy to appeal to young male voters that helped him win the election.

Vonn, Paul, and other podcasters like Joe Rogan were invited to attend the inauguration.

After Vonn fell out of his chair, he accused Paul and his brother Jake of somehow tampering with the chair as a prank, quote-tweeting his post with: "thought we was past the pranks boys."

In a reply to a fan, Vonn had some harsher words about the Paul brothers:

Logan Paul denied that he was involved. He suggested that Vonn was to blame as he sat in a chair that he knew had a structural flaw.

But thankfully, two days later, the two podcasting giants had worked out their beef.

(Vonn and Paul did not respond to requests for additional comment, and to be fair, we can't say for 100% certain the chair mishap wasn't a stunt, although it does look real.)

As a side note, I'd like you to please observe in Paul's video that you can see OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Scale AI CEO Alexandr Wang looking on first in apparent shock and then amusement.

I know what you're thinking: Why should I care about this, and in fact why should I even know about this? You're desperate to rewind to two minutes ago before you knew any of this ever happened because now you are forever cursed to walk this earth until your dying day with the sentence "Theo Vonn and Logan Paul squashed their beef over inaugural chairgate" rattling around in your brain.

But you can't go back. You have this knowledge now. You know that Theo Vonn fell out of his chair and blamed Logan Paul (who denied it), but now they have made up. Don't look away from this. Accept that you are now changed. This is who you are. You're someone who knows all the details of a feud that started in the overflow audience room at the presidential inauguration.

Like the folding chair, our nation and our democracy can be unstable. But like the bonds of friendship between two men who podcast, our nation can always heal.

• Ticketmaster and Live Nation want a judge to boot 27 states from the DOJ's antitrust lawsuit.
• The event goliath argued Wednesday that the states can't prove a direct injury to their residents.
• Opening their venues to multiple ticketers and promoters could raise ticket prices, they argued.

Lawyers for Ticketmaster's parent company asked a judge on Wednesday to stop 27 states from participating as plaintiffs in an antitrust lawsuit filed by the Justice Department last May.

The 27 states can't prove direct injury to their residents as a result of Live Nation's actions, lawyers for the entertainment giant argued in federal court. More competition could actually result in higher — not lower — costs for concertgoers, the lawyers said, arguing that without proof of injury, the states have no standing to seek damages in the case.

"If Ticketmaster wasn't doing what it was doing, then multiple ticketers could sell for an event, and then the customers would be better off in that world? That is only a theory," Live Nation attorney Andrew Gass told the judge on Wednesday.

The 8-month-old lawsuit is still in its early stages, with no trial date set. It seeks to break up Live Nation, saying the company controls 60 of the country's 100 largest event amphitheaters.

Artists who use these venues are forced to hire Live Nation's own promoters and use its own ticket distributor — Ticketmaster — creating a monopolistic "ecosystem" that harms competitors and hikes costs for artists and fans, the lawsuit alleges.

The 27 states Live Nation is seeking to remove from the case are seeking triple monetary damages on the argument that their residents have been injured by the inflated ticket prices resulting from this lack of competition.

In his arguments before US District Court Judge Arun Subramanian on Wednesday, the Live Nation attorney said concertgoers are too far removed from the alleged monopolistic conduct for states to sue on their behalf.

"There is such an attenuated chain of causation" between the ticket consumer and any exclusivity deals involving artists, promoters, and venues, he argued.

It is inefficient for the states to be "piggybacking" on the federal goverment's claims over the exact same conduct, Live Nation also argued.

In downplaying the idea that competition would cut ticket prices as just "a theory," Gass offered the judge a hypothetical.

Let's say Live Nation allowed its rival promoters to bid for access to its amphitheaters, the lawyer told the judge. Rival promoter "A" would then offer Live Nation a sizable cut of its profits, only to be outbid by rival promoter "B" offering an even bigger cut. "And then the price of the event goes up," Gass argued.

The judge voiced some skepticism.

Subramanian said the idea that consumers would save money if Ticketmaster competed with other ticket sellers for the same event "seems like a very straightforward theory."

Other arguments Wednesday focused on Live Nation's request that the judge dismiss another major part of the lawsuit: the government's claim that artists who use Live Nation event venues are barred from using their own promoters, and instead must pay in-house promoters.

"The policy is that third-party artists may not rent their amphitheaters unless those artists purchase Live Nation promotion services as well," DOJ attorney Arianna Markel told the judge.

"The artist is essentially forced to use Live Nation for its promotion services if it wants to use those amphitheaters," she said. That's exactly the kind of "tying" arrangement that is barred under antitrust case law, she said.

Live Nation is asking the judge to dismiss this claim. On Wednesday their lawyer countered that this isn't "tying" at all — it's simply a company refusing to do business with its rivals, as is its right.

Here, the judge appeared to agree with Live Nation. "I can't force them to rent these amphitheaters to rival promoters," he said.

The judge gave the parties until Monday — and no more than five pages — to file final arguments for and against Live Nation's dismissal motions.

• My dad always makes avgolemono soup when someone in the family is sick.
• The classic Greek soup traditionally features chicken, rice, eggs, and lemon.
• My dad's recipe is super simple, and I think it's even more comforting than chicken noodle soup.

I grew up with avgolemono soup, a classic Greek dish that traditionally combines chicken and rice with the special avgolemono sauce.

My dad — who also makes a delicious Greek pasta and a baklava you'll never forget — always whips it up for dinner when someone in our family isn't feeling well.

There are many variations of the recipe, but my dad keeps it classic, just like his parents did, and only adds chicken and rice to the dish.

"You don't want to make it very heavy," he told me. "Because if someone's sick, you need something light."

Chicken noodle may be many Americans' favorite soup for a sick day, but my dad thinks avgolemono soup is far superior — and I agree.

While it'll never be as easy as opening a can of Campbell's, my dad's recipe is still super simple. Here's how to make it.

My dad's avgolemono soup only needs a few ingredients, and you probably already have most of them in your kitchen.

To make my dad's classic avgolemono soup for four, you'll need:

• 2 chicken half-breasts (with bones)
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups chicken broth (or 2 chicken bouillon cubes)
• 1 lemon
• ⅔ cup medium-grain white rice
• ½ onion

Feel free to mix things up with the chicken. You could throw in chicken legs if you prefer, or even the whole bird! And if you'd rather go meat-free, this soup is still plenty comforting when it's vegetarian-friendly.

My dad's family recipe always kept things simple, but he said the soup also works with some carrots and celery added in as well. The star of the show, though, is always the avgolemono.

Our first step is some very minimal prep, which is just chopping up the onion …

Just roughly chop half an onion — you still want chunky pieces.

… and seasoning the chicken.

My dad recommends sprinkling salt and pepper on both sides of your chicken pieces.

Then, add a tablespoon of olive oil to your pressure cooker or pot and let it warm up.

My dad now makes avgolemono soup in his pressure cooker, which allows him to finish the dish in around 20 minutes.

But if you don't have one at home, you can always use this recipe with a regular pot over the stove (which should take around 30-35 minutes instead).

Once the olive oil is hot, add the onions and then the chicken.

Cook the onions over medium heat. (If you're using a pressure cooker, turn it to the browning setting.)

Before the onions have fully browned, toss in the chicken pieces and let them brown for around one to two minutes on each side.

Then, add water and either the chicken broth or chicken bouillon cubes.

If you're using chicken bouillon cubes, my dad recommends adding 5 cups of water and 2 cubes to your pressure cooker or pot. If you're opting for chicken broth, add 3 cups of water and 2 cups of chicken broth.

Then, add salt to taste, but remember that some bouillon cubes and chicken broth can already be quite salty.

Now, throw in your rice.

Cover the pot and let your chicken and rice cook.

If you're using a pressure cooker, this should take around 11 minutes on the high-pressure setting. However, the time will vary depending on your model.

While your soup is cooking, it's time to prepare the avgolemono.

First, break your eggs gently, separating the whites from the yolks over a small saucepan.

Carefully set your yolks aside.

You'll need those in just a second.

With a whisk or fork, beat the egg whites in the saucepan until they're fluffy.

You're already almost done with your sauce!

Then, add the egg yolks to the mixture and whisk everything together.

"You can mix the egg whites and yolk together, but mixing the whites first makes the avgolemono fluffier," my dad told me.

Juice one lemon and add it to your beaten eggs.

Whisk everything together, and voila! You've just made your very own avgolemono sauce.

Once your chicken and rice have cooked, remove the chicken from the pot and set it aside.

Let your soup cool for a few minutes, which will help when mixing the avgolemono into the broth.

Scoop some of the hot broth with a ladle and slowly pour it into the avgolemono, continuously mixing them with a whisk or fork.

Because the avgolemono is cold and the soup is hot, you can't just dump the whole sauce into the broth. The eggs in the avgolemono would cook with the heat and curdle, ruining the soup.

This tempering technique helps combine everything, creating a silky and creamy soup.

Repeat the tempering step three to four times.

By this point, the avgolemono sauce should be hot enough.

Then, take your avgolemono-broth mixture and pour it back into the big pot.

You're almost ready to serve!

Add your chicken meat to serving bowls along with the broth, season with some pepper, and enjoy!

What I love about avgolemono soup is that it is both rich and light. The broth has the comforting thickness of, say, a chicken tortilla soup, but the lemon gives it that lightness you'd find in a classic bowl of chicken noodle soup.

It's such a simple recipe, but still so satisfying. I think the best word to describe the taste would be gentle — perfect for an upset stomach, a sore throat, or just a soul that needs to be soothed.

My dad's avgolemono soup has gotten me through many colds and many cold nights. I hope his recipe can soothe you, too.

Whenever I was sick as a kid, avgolemono soup ended up on the dinner table. I actually had a sore throat when my dad taught me how to make this recipe over the holidays, and smelling that lemony broth again immediately made me feel better. This recipe isn't just a reminder of home; it's medicine.

So, as we get through the January blues and chilly temperatures, I hope my dad's easy avgolemono soup will help you feel a little better.

• Ashley and Tyler from "Love Is Blind" faced a ton of off-screen drama.
• Tyler was at the center of controversy over his admission he fathered three children.
• The couple confirmed they are getting a divorce.

"Love Is Blind" season seven may be over, but the drama won't stop coming.

One of the biggest storylines from the season, which followed singles in Washington, DC, focused on the relationship between 34-year-old account manager Tyler and 31-year-old marketing director Ashley. They were one of only two couples (out of the six engaged pairs producers initially followed) to ultimately make it to the altar and get married in the finale.

Early in the season, Ashley and Tyler's relationship was relatively drama-free. That was complicated later on by Tyler's revelation in episode nine that he had been a sperm donor for a female friend and her wife — something that hadn't come up pre-engagement in the pods.

But this is "Love Is Blind," and much of the drama happens outside of the millions of eyes (and in turn, subscribers) that Netflix brings to each new season.

News that Tyler had fathered children broke on social media before it was ever addressed on the show, and claims that Tyler was more than a distant sperm donor to his children circulated as well. Ultimately, Tyler's sperm-donor controversy kept the show — and Netflix — in the news.

Now, three months after season seven was released on Netflix, Ashley confirmed that she and Tyler have split. Here's a recap of how their relationship played out on the show, the controversy that unfolded on social media, and the decision to end their marriage.

Ashley and Tyler bonded in the pods and made it all the way to the altar, despite a brief hiccup over his kids

In episode one, Ashley is enamored by Tyler's nerves on their first date. They also bond over their shared love of cooking and food, their religious faith, and the fact that they both used to ride horses.

In the same episode, Tyler opens up to Ashley about how hard his mother worked to raise him and his siblings after his grandmother died and his grandfather cut his mother off. As a result, he says, he wants to have a "big family" — someone with whom he could share his love.

The couple celebrates Tyler's birthday on a date in episode three. Tyler proposes to Ashley, and she accepts. Later in that episode, they meet in person for the first time — and luckily, producers choose them to take the post-engagement trip to Mexico with five of the other couples.

Unlike some of the other couples, Ashley and Tyler don't have any significant on-camera tension while on vacation. All in all, the first batch of episodes, which premiered on October 2, leaves their relationship in a good place.

In episode eight, things continue moving along as Tyler gets Ashley's father's blessing. But their story takes a major turn in episodes nine and 10: Cameras capture Ashley and Tyler debriefing about an off-screen conversation in which he revealed that he already fathered three children.

Tyler tells Ashley that he served as a sperm donor for a female friend and her wife, who wanted to have a child. He also told her that the children didn't know what he looked like, and said that he wouldn't be upset if Ashley decided she didn't want to get married because he'd initially kept this information from her.

"I'm not upset by you trying to help a couple have kids. I think that's admirable in certain ways, but the issue comes in with me feeling like I was not getting the full picture of you," Ashley says in episode nine. "And once you're not given the full picture of something, it's hard to not question everything."

But the couple patches things up, and Ashley tells Tyler in episode 11 that she still wants to marry him — though she warns him that any similar revelations going forward may put that in jeopardy. Later in that episode, they make good on one of Ashley's pre-marriage wishes: going skydiving with her fiancé.

In the season seven finale, Ashley and Tyler go on their respective bachelorette and bachelor parties, and then get married. They end the ceremony by jumping the broom — a wedding tradition with roots in American slavery, when Black slaves weren't able to legally wed and jumped a broom instead. Today, some Black Americans have reclaimed the tradition, incorporating it into their weddings as Ashley and Tyler did.

Ashley and Tyler were still married at the reunion — and said that their on-screen conversations didn't tell the full story

At the season seven reunion, which aired on October 30, Tyler and Ashley confirmed that they were still married. Tyler said that the almost-year that they had been married had brought "growth." Before the show premiered, they lived in a "bubble" — but after, they were subject to online commentary about their relationship.

In early October, soon after the first batch of episodes premiered on Netflix, allegations circulated online that Tyler had fathered three children, but lied to women that he'd dated about it. Photos appearing to show Tyler posing with the children, including one showing him wearing a shirt that says "Dope dad raising dope kids" while holding two of them, circulated online.

Of course, Ashley and Tyler addressed his children — and the fact that he didn't mention them in the pods — on the show. But what he told Ashley appears to contradict what people are saying online: namely, that the children don't know what he looks like.

Bri Thomas, a woman who identified herself online as the mother of Tyler's children, said that Tyler, who she said was her best friend at the time, had served as a sperm donor for her and her wife. However, after she and her wife separated, Bri said that Tyler became a co-parent to that child, and they later conceived twins naturally together.

According to Bri, the twins even have Tyler's last name. Bri said that she and Tyler didn't date, and she supported his decision to go on the show. However, she said that Tyler hadn't seen the children since September 30, 2023, the day before he left for filming.

Tyler and Ashley didn't explicitly address the controversy while the show was still airing. But after someone accused Tyler on Instagram of "trying to delete your past," he told them to "just be patient" and that he would "explain it all very soon."And on Tuesday, the day before the reunion aired on Netflix, he reposted a morning prayer from the Instagram account @kingofsolomon on his story.

"Help me to turn my trials into my testimonies," one bolded phrase in the prayer reads.

At the reunion, the couple finally spoke about how the controversy had played out both on- and off-screen.

"Those kids, that family, they did not sign up for this," Tyler said of the online controversy.

Tyler said that he had helped his friend and her wife have a child. After his friend's wife "left her high and dry," he decided to help his friend out with the children. According to Tyler, that's why he had been photographed spending time with the kids.

He did not explicitly name Bri as the friend. Bri did not immediately respond to an Instagram DM request for comment sent outside standard business hours.

"Ashley knows all this. This is news to the world. This has never been news to us," he said. "I'm giving this explanation now, because I feel like the world is waiting for it. But I don't owe anyone an explanation but my wife."

Ashley said that what viewers had seen wasn't the full picture and that she and Tyler had an off-camera conversation before they filmed their discussion about the issue. She said that while Tyler didn't want to speak about it on camera, she felt that they needed to address it so that she would be able to continue participating in the show.

However, Ashley said that there was some information that Tyler wasn't comfortable sharing on camera. In turn, she said that Tyler had lied to the cameras that the children didn't know what he looked like.

"Of course he divulged that information to me," Ashley said.

The couple said that they weren't letting online chatter affect their relationship.

"When I said 'I do,' I said 'I do' to all of it. I was aware and I took on what I wanted to," Ashley said. "And this is a once-in-a-lifetime kind of love. This is a rarity, and it's something that is worth risking anything for."

In a November podcast appearance, Ashley again defended Tyler and their marriage

Though Tyler hasn't given any interviews, Ashley has been making the rounds on the press tour and directly shutting down criticism. She most recently appeared on "The Viall Files" podcast in an episode released Wednesday, where she discussed the controversy in detail and further clarified what she knew about the situation when she decided to marry Tyler.

Ashley explained that Tyler had told her about the kids for the first time after a night out with fellow cast mate Nick Dorka. In that conversation, which wasn't filmed, Ashley was angry at him for withholding the information from her, feeling that he robbed her of the ability to make a fully informed choice. According to Ashley, the two spoke for hours, from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m. the next morning.

The first filmed conversation after that revelation, shown in episode nine, happened the following day. At that point, Ashley said, she had packed her things and left the apartment, and Tyler believed she was leaving him and informed producers. Despite Tyler wanting to keep everything private to protect the kids and family, Ashley told him they needed to speak about it on camera because people would be able to tell her energy had changed.

After their first on-camera conversation about it, Ashley said they had an additional conversation later that night where Tyler went into more detail about the nature of his relationship with the kids. During that conversation, he showed her photos of him with the kids and explained how the situation had blurred the lines of a traditional sperm-donor arrangement.

Ashley said Tyler told her that all three of the kids were conceived via sperm donation with the intent that they'd be raised by Bri and her then-wife and that Tyler only stepped in when Bri's wife left her (which Ashley said happened while Bri was pregnant with the twins). Tyler told her that he'd previously been involved in the kids' lives in an uncle capacity, and that they were aware he was their biological father, but that he took on a bigger role in order to avoid Bri being a single mother.

Ashley maintained that Tyler was never in the kids' lives on a regular basis and that they'd never been to his apartment. She was aware of the photos of Tyler with the kids that circulated on social media while the season was airing (including the one where he was wearing a shirt that said "Dope dad raising dope kids") and claimed that Bri's mother, Lovetta Thomas, was the one who bought those clothes for Tyler and encouraged the kids to view him as their father.

Tyler told Ashley that before going on "Love Is Blind," he realized he needed to begin pulling back from the kids because the situation was getting confusing and he didn't feel connected to them because they were never meant to be his children. Bri was unhappy with that decision, according to Ashley, but Tyler cut ties with her and the kids before leaving for filming. She also said that the idea of Tyler and Bri having slept together was a "false narrative." She called it a mistake on Tyler's part to have blurred the lines so heavily.

Ashley also said that Bri had reached out to her on Instagram to apologize and say that she was praying for them and never intentionally meant to cause Ashley pain. According to Ashley, this outreach happened after Bri initially shared, and then deleted, a post insinuating Tyler abandoned the kids. However, Bri posted again about the situation on October 19, and those videos are still up; it's not clear whether Ashley's "Viall Files" conversation was recorded before or after Bri's new claims about Tyler and their relationship were made public, though host Nick Viall states in the episode that the conversation was recorded prior to the finale airing (October 23).

The major difference in Ashley's version of events and Bri's version is that Tyler told Ashley the twins were conceived via sperm donation. Bri, meanwhile, has said they were unplanned and conceived naturally and even had Tyler's last name.

Ashley said on "The Viall Files" that she had never seen the twins' birth certificate.

Ashley confirmed in January 2025 that she and Tyler had split

Ashley told People that she and Tyler had decided to end their marriage after they'd been separated for "several weeks."

"While I had hoped for mutual understanding and transparency in our relationship, it has become clear that our paths are no longer aligned, making it impossible for me to continue in this marriage," she told People.

"This was not a decision I made lightly, but one I know is necessary for my own growth and peace," she continued. "While this chapter is ending, I will always hold respect for the time and love we shared. I kindly ask for privacy during this deeply personal time as I focus on healing and building a new future. Thank you for your understanding and support."

In a statement to BI, Tyler confirmed the split, describing it as "an incredibly difficult and emotional process" that they approached with care and respect.

"While our journey together began with so much hope and love, we came to realize that there were challenges we couldn't overcome. I take full accountability for my role in the difficulties we faced, and I respect Ashley's decision to move forward in a way that prioritizes her peace and happiness," Tyler said.

"Ashley is an incredible woman, and I have nothing but admiration and gratitude for the love and support she has given me," he continued. "I ask for kindness and understanding as we both move forward separately, focusing on healing and growth. Thank you to everyone who has been a part of our journey."

"Love Is Blind" season seven, including the reunion, is now streaming on Netflix.

• When I got a Costco membership at the end of 2021, I quickly realized the warehouse wasn't for me.
• Instead of saving money, the bulk-buy structure enabled my worst shopping habits.
• The expensive grocery bills and the number of items I was bringing home eventually overwhelmed me.

The first time I tagged along on a friend's Costco run, I was so enchanted that I signed up for a membership right after checkout. 

Not long after, I realized the bulk retailer wasn't for my two-person household. It's not that I hated Costco's quality or options — I actually really like the products and have few complaints.

Instead, I realized the membership program and structure enabled some of my worst shopping habits.

I became a very impulsive shopper at Costco

At first, being able to buy in bulk helped me plan ahead and stock up on supplies and personal-care items, like toilet paper.

But if I ever wanted to try a new product, satisfying that curiosity involved a commitment. Exploring new products, which Costco sells in large quantities or big sizes, had a more significant financial and spatial cost than purchases at regular grocery stores.

I'd often grab something because I thought it was good to have on hand, only never to use it. It took me months to use a jar of capers from the warehouse, and I didn't even touch a large pack of canned tomatoes for almost a year. 

It became really easy to waste food and money, too

If I can't see an item when I open my fridge or pantry, I completely forget it's there. This was bad news for buying in bulk at Costco. 

Though this wasn't as much of an issue with shelf-stable items, it was still frustrating to realize that I'd buy the same trail-mix bundles, trash bags, or Lysol wipes we already had at home.

Meanwhile, my refrigerated or frozen items, like salad greens or massive bags of chicken thighs, would often spoil or get freezer-burned before I could go through them.

Obviously, this wasn't Costco's fault, but I hadn't wasted this much food or money before I had my membership.

Buying snacks in bulk also led me to become a pretty bad snacker 

Large quantities of snacks such as trail-mix packets were an asset to my fiancé, whose job involves intense physical labor. But I work from home and found large portions and boredom often made a perfect combination for mindless snacking.

The two of us could easily wipe out a bulk box of Simple Mills crackers within a week of purchasing it, and special sweets such as Thin Mints pretzels didn't stand a chance. Because we'd go through snacks so quickly, I found myself doubling up on items at the warehouse to save myself an extra trip.

My worst offense was having to replace a massive bag of Halloween candy that I picked up in September because we whittled the whole thing down before the holiday even came around. 

My house also became overridden with large items

I live in an older home with a shallow pantry, so storing large food items is already challenging. To combat the lack of space, I had to put my Costco buys wherever they would fit.

I ended up storing food among my kitchen supplies and equipment, which took up valuable counter and cabinet space. When I ran out of room there, I stored boxes of snacks and tea on top of my refrigerator, even though they routinely fell onto the floor.

Costco didn't save me much time, either 

Although Costco is a great place to stock up on basic staples, from cleaning supplies to salt, I couldn't always find everything I needed at my local warehouse. After shopping there, I'd still have to supplement with trips to other supermarkets, specialty stores, and farmers' markets to grab herbs or spices.

I've since let my Costco membership lapse and found that my pantry and kitchen have become better organized and less overrun with stuff. I still find bulk buys I've never opened. 

My new shopping habits better fit our lifestyle, and although I enjoyed shopping at Costco, I don't think I'll ever get a membership again. 

This story was originally published on September 28, 2023, and most recently updated on January 22, 2025.

• Amara Barroeta is struggling to find a school for her daughter next year following the LA fires.
• The Eaton Fire burned down the private school she was planning to send her daughter to next year.
• The fires have also slowed business at her café, and Barroeta can no longer afford private school.

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Amara Barroeta, a 41-year-old café owner who lives in Pasadena, California, with her husband and her 5-year-old daughter, Barbara. Barroeta's business has been struggling since the LA fires broke out on January 7, and her daughter's school burned down in the Eaton Fire.

Several massive wildfires, including the Eaton Fire and the Palisades Fire, devastated parts of Los Angeles and Ventura Counties, destroying over 12,000 structures, likely causing at least 27 reported deaths, and leaving up to $275 billion in damage.

The following has been edited for length and clarity:

I came to the US from Venezuela in 2010 to attend business school at UCLA.

I'm a chemical engineer by trade, but I had to flee Venezuela with the political situation there.

When I came here to study, I was hoping to return, but things got worse. So my Plan B became my Plan A. And in 2012, I decided to open my restaurant, Amara Café, in Pasadena. And ever since, that's what I've been doing.

I always loved our food and the culture of Venezuela. And my restaurant is a way to preserve our cultural heritage — it's something that has brought more purpose to my life.

This is a place that has so many opportunities, but it can be very frustrating being a small business owner in California. I know I'm not going to be rich out of a little restaurant.

I don't need to spend money on clothing, or shoes, or an expensive car. But one of the few things that I want to afford for my family is a good education for my 5-year-old daughter, Barbara.

So I've been sending her to private school at the Oak Knoll Montessori School since she was two years old. They have two campuses — a smaller one on Lake Avenue in Pasadena where they have the toddlers and the little children. And then the main Loma Alta campus near the mountain in Altadena holds children from elementary and middle school.

This year, my daughter has still been attending the Lake campus, and she was really looking forward to starting at the "big kid" school next year, which is sort of a second home to all the Lake campus kids.

And now that possibility is gone.

It was chaos as the fires began

The week the fires started, Barbara returned to school from the winter break just for one day — on Tuesday.

That day, the director of the school sent an email saying they're not going to bring the kids to the campus on Wednesday because there's all these winds and they don't know how it's going to pan out.

It was kind of chaos that Wednesday — everybody was trying to make sure their friends and family were safe. And so we were evacuating from our home in Pasadena, driving to this friend's home in Marina Del Rey.

And this person from the school called me and she was telling me, "No, my house is gone." And we're talking on the phone and she's like, "Most likely, the school is not going to be there anymore."

And Barbara hears that, and she's not saying anything, but when I hang up the phone, she's like, "Is my school gone? Is my house going to be burned?"

So by Wednesday, the school was burned down due to the fires. It was a big shock.

The campus on Lake didn't burn down, but it's still full of ashes and it had a lot of smoke damage, so they have to do a big cleanup, and they're still waiting for someone to come and inspect the facilities before it can reopen.

Anybody who goes through something like this, the first thing that happens through your mind is you're paralyzed because you don't know, like, what should I do now?

Thank goodness we didn't lose our home, and we were able to move back into it a few days later, on Saturday.

Without school last week, my friends came to my house and our kids would keep each other entertained while we worked.

And this week, the school has provided us with this opportunity to have camp for our children from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

But right now, we still don't know what's going to happen for next week.

And for next year, I don't know what the future holds for these schools. I'm still trying to see where I'm going to send my daughter.

The tuition at Oak Knoll is about $19,000 a year, which is in the lower end for any private school in the area, but that was about as much as I could afford.

My business has suffered since the LA fires

Since the fires started, my cafe has been seeing about 20% of our normal business, on top of being closed completely for three days.

I don't think there's any way that we can recover from those losses. It feels like COVID all over again.

I'm struggling to pay my employees and run my business. And I've supported my crew in difficult times for our business in the past, but this time around, I don't have the same amount of cash in my account to pay for their regular hours.

I haven't cut any positions completely, but I'm just trying to give them 60% of the hours or 70% of the hours that they normally have.

So with the business looking as it's looking right now, I have to think that public school is going to be the definite choice for my daughter. I can't really do the economic commitment that I had planned for my daughter's education anymore, so now the plan is going to change.

I've been submitting all the paperwork for the Pasadena Unified School District lottery to see if I can get her into one of the dual-immersion programs, which are bilingual, for the next year. And then, of course, we also have our local school, but we don't know how those are going to be — thinking that there are also schools in Altadena and Pasadena that were lost, that got burned and were affected by the fires.

What we'll learn from the LA fires

I know we're going through a tough moment, but I keep trusting that we will get out of this.

When a situation drives you to do something different than you had planned, that is not necessarily bad. It's just different and it will make you work harder. And that's OK — I've been through that. When I left my country, I knew that nothing is entitled to you because you're born somewhere, or you're born a certain way, or you have a certain education.

What I want my daughter to learn from this is that the only things people can't take away from you is your soul, your values, and your education. After a fire, there's so many things that can happen and can strip you away from your privileges, but that is what remains, and that's what will help you build your future again.

• Government contractors told BI that DOGE could bring both challenges and benefits to their industry.
• Reducing the federal workforce could open opportunities for government contractors.
• They said DOGE could help make federal contracting more efficient, though uncertainty remains.

The looming changes expected to be recommended by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency mean swirling uncertainties for federal employees.

However, government contractors — those who work with the US government but are not directly employed by it — told Business Insider they feel secure in their jobs, even if some have fears over how things will ultimately play out.

"I still view it as 100% very stable," government contractor Wes Fisher told Business Insider about the wider industry.

"Without a doubt, we are a little scared," said Tyler Pinson, CEO of Navarre Corporation, a company that provides non-emergency medical transportation to VA hospitals.

Pinson said there's uncertainty in the contracting industry and he's curious about where federal cuts will be directed. However, he said he thinks "services are less likely to be interrupted" or eliminated, and past administrations haven't impacted demand for Navarre's services.

BI spoke to more than half a dozen business owners and consultants in the government contracting space about how they feel DOGE could impact their work. Many of them said they see it as an opportunity, even if it comes with uncertainties and challenges, such as potentially lower contract amounts or more ambitious deadlines.

"We envision a lot more contracts coming out to outsource to government contractors," said Derek Hoyt, CEO of government contracting platform GovSignals.

Deniece Peterson, senior director of federal market analysis at Deltek, which provides enterprise software for government contracting and other project-based businesses, told BI that if federal workforce reductions occur and specialized expertise is still required, it could create opportunities for other contractors. She said areas of opportunity depend on the particular market government contractors are working in.

For example, contractors working in federal offices might face challenges from agency budget cuts or return-to-office mandates. However, Peterson said the return-to-office mandates could also result in additional IT, maintenance, catering, and janitorial service contracts awarded.

"When there's gaps in the federal workforce, that can be an opportunity for contracts," Peterson said.

Limits on how much federal agencies can rely on outside contracts have already emerged as more details about President Trump's federal hiring freeze are distributed. A government memo sent to the heads of executive departments and federal agencies on Monday said that contractors can't be hired to take on the work that would have normally been filled by the roles in impacted job listings.

"Agencies shall not acquire by contract with a commercial vendor services that are substantially similar to those that would have been provided by a Federal civilian in a vacancy covered by the [presidential memorandum]," the memo said in reference to Trump's executive order.

Hoyt said the directive ensures that "a prospective federal civilian hire could not be brought in as a contractor" to fulfill the original role. Peterson said that the instruction "may not make much difference" since contracts "to replace certain functions could take longer to put into place" than the length of the current hiring freeze.

Symoné Berry, a tech worker in government contracting, said she doesn't think federal cuts will happen "in one fell swoop," but even if there are some reductions, there will always be "work to be done" in the realm of government contracting. She said that when it comes to modernizing technology or making upgrades, tasks in line with DOGE's new mandate, government contractors are often hired to do the work.

A more efficient government could remove a 'major pain point' for contractors

Rich Weber, a partner for advisory firm Moss Adams, which works with government contractors, told BI in an interview ahead of Trump's inauguration that there will likely be a push for efficiency that begins with federal workers and trickles down to contractors.

Adaptability will become "critically important" for government contractors as will being able to expand into needed areas, he said.

Hoyt, who runs a platform that helps clients win government contracts, said DOGE's push for operational efficiency could accelerate the contract award process, helping to remove "a major pain point for our clients." Speedier processes could also open up opportunities for smaller businesses, he added.

Hoyt said that with the current system in place, it can take up to 18 months to win a contract, which could create national security risks in situations where agencies can't get access to what they need fast enough. He added that the extensive processes, rules, and regulations surrounding government funding awards often lead to lengthy timelines, especially given the many procurement opportunities that can arise daily.

"For almost 20 years I've seen the compliance around the entire contracts life cycle kind of grow into this massive mountain of paperwork and documentation and bureaucracy," Weber told BI.

Weber said DOGE could help simplify procurement procedures, speed up project initiation, and standardize requirements across agencies. He also said "accelerated funding allocations" could "improve cash flow," especially for small business contractors.

Higher standards, increased competition, and doing more with less

Ripple effects from DOGE could work their way to government contractors in the form of smaller federal budgets to fund contract work and pressure to fulfill contracts for less money.

Vivek Ramaswamy, who was co-leading DOGE with Elon Musk before backing out ahead of an expected run for Ohio governor, previously said he anticipates "massive cuts among federal contractors and others who are over-billing the government." The US Government Accountability Office posted in June 2024 that the federal government committed about $759 billion in contracts in the 2023 fiscal year, a roughly $33 billion year-over-year increase when adjusting for inflation.

Weber said it's possible that the government could place "increased scrutiny" during the bidding phase of contracts. He also said there could be "stricter evaluation criteria" on projects.

"That would be the whole idea behind the agency," Weber said, which is "trying to bring up the quality and efficiency of government projects."

Weber said cost efficiency will likely become a higher priority, and delivering results under budget and ahead of schedule will become increasingly important. He added that there's a high potential that the number of contracts awarded could decrease.

"Let's say the overall budget decreases, then each individual line item may decrease and then you're going to have potential increased competition and cost cutting," Weber said.

If the overall budget for contracts gets reduced, Weber said contractors could see more competition and cost-cutting. That could also mean getting the job done with fewer individuals staffed on a project, or doing it for less money in a shorter span of time.

Some government contractors have also shared concerns about the future of minority set-aside funding for small businesses, which directly award contracts to certain subsets of qualifying small businesses.

Weber said set-asides could remain a key part of initiatives given the "entrepreneurial spirit" of the administration. However, Hoyt said it's possible that the panel puts an "emphasis on different types of set-asides."

While many in the government contracting space struck an optimistic view about their industry's future, it is clear they are bracing for change.

After all, the potential trickle-down impacts on the sector sound right out of Musk's playbook: Do more with less — and faster.

Are you a government contractor or a DOGE worker? Contact the reporter from a non-work email and device at [email protected]

• These Hollywood stars have opened up about not fitting into a strictly "male" or "female" category.
• Demi Lovato, Sam Smith, Janelle Monáe, and Emma D'Arcy all identify as nonbinary.
• Others, like Ruby Rose and Nico Tortorella, have embraced a more fluid, label-free approach.

As society's understanding of gender and sex has evolved beyond a traditional binary, Hollywood has begun to reflect that shift.

The actors, musicians, and reality stars listed below have opened up about being nonbinary, embracing fluidity, or, to put it most broadly, not feeling comfortable within either a "male" or "female" category. Some have also been outspoken against the recent wave of anti-trans healthcare laws in the US, which threatens members of the LGBTQ+ community at large.

Angélica Acevedo contributed to a previous version of this post.

Jack Haven has said they "always felt a lil bit boy, lil bit girl, lil bit neither."

Shortly after President Donald Trump announced his administration's "official policy" regarding biological sex, which aims to erase all gender identities beyond male and female, the actor previously known as Brigette Lundy-Paine, star of "I Saw the TV Glow" and Netflix's "Atypical," announced they are changing their name to Jack Haven.

The surname was inspired by the actor's great uncle, the songwriter Haven Gillespie.

"First name Jack has stuck," Haven wrote on Instagram. "Two years ago in a workshop led by @saman_arastoo I began using this name. I said I was using it in safe spaces. Saman said use it in dangerous spaces. So I use it in the mens bathroom."

Haven previously came out as nonbinary (sometimes shortened as "NB" or "enby" online) in a 2019 Instagram post.

"Always felt a lil bit boy, lil bit girl, lil bit neither. using they/them as of late n it feels right," Haven wrote. "scary af to come out n been rly putting this off. But I feel I owe it to myself and to all of us who struggle w gender. If you're NB comment and celebrate yourself! u r beautiful and u r whole."

"The Last of Us" star Bella Ramsey is nonbinary and uses all pronouns interchangeably.

Bella Ramsey became one of Hollywood's biggest rising stars after stealing scenes as Lyanna Mormont on HBO's "Game of Thrones."

More recently, Ramsey cemented that reputation with their starring role alongside Pedro Pascal on "The Last of Us."

In early 2023, Ramsey said her gender "has always been very fluid," adding that she identifies with the nonbinary label — although she isn't picky about pronouns.

"I'm very much just a person," Ramsey told the New York Times. "Being gendered isn't something that I particularly like, but in terms of pronouns, I really couldn't care less."

In another interview with GQ, Ramsey opted to use she/her, but also clarified that she does not define herself as a woman.

"This is what bothers me more than pronouns: being called a 'young woman' or a 'powerful young woman', 'young lady,' but I'm just not," Ramsey said. "'Catherine Called Birdy,' I was in dresses. 'Young Elizabeth,' I was in a corset. And I felt super powerful in that. Playing these more feminine characters is a chance to be something so opposite to myself, and it's really fun."

Emma D'Arcy said being nominated for "best actress," despite identifying as nonbinary, was "beautifully ironic."

Emma D'Arcy rose to mainstream fame playing Rhaenyra Targaryen on HBO's "House of the Dragon," the critically acclaimed "Game of Thrones" prequel.

D'Arcy competed for best actress in a TV drama at the 2023 Golden Globes, where they described the nomination as "surreal."

"When I was starting out, I really felt that I had to pretend, to present as a woman in order to find success in this industry," D'Arcy told E! News on the red carpet.

"Anyway, it wasn't sustainable, and I stopped pretending, and weirdly, it's at that point that I got nominated for best actress at the Golden Globes. Which is beautifully ironic," they continued. "I think the most important thing is that, for me, it implies that the space for trans people and gender-nonconforming people is getting bigger all the time. So, I feel very privileged."

D'Arcy also said they have a "complicated relationship" with their high profile following the runaway success of "House of the Dragon."

"But I suppose being able to help the broad spectrum of gender identities sounds like a good reason to have one," D'Arcy told Entertainment Weekly.

D'Arcy was nominated again at the 2025 Golden Globes for the same award, which was renamed to best performance by a female actor in a television series — drama.

Demi Lovato is nonbinary and pansexual.

Demi Lovato, best known for pop hits like "Sorry Not Sorry" and child stardom on Disney Channel, said they were "proud" to share their gender journey on Instagram.

"Today is a day I'm so happy to share more of my life with you all," Lovato wrote. "I am proud to let you know that I identify as non-binary & will officially be changing my pronouns to they/them moving forward."

"This has come after a lot of healing & self-reflective work," they continued. "I'm still learning & coming into myself, & I don't claim to be an expert or a spokesperson. Sharing this with you now opens another level of vulnerability for me."

Lovato later clarified that she's comfortable using both they/them and she/her pronouns.

The "Cool for the Summer" singer had previously come out as pansexual and said they feel "so fluid now."

Janelle Monáe came out as nonbinary on social media.

In 2020, Janelle Monáe reshared a gif of a nonbinary character from the animated Cartoon Network show "Steven Universe" with the caption "'Are you a boy or girl?' I'm an experience.'"

"There is absolutely nothing better than living outside the gender binary," the original poster wrote.

In Monáe's retweet, she added the hashtag "#IAmNonbinary" with the Saturn emoji. She later told Rolling Stone that her pronouns are she/her, they/them, and "free-ass motherfucker."

Back in 2018, the "Dirty Computer" singer said they identify as pansexual.

Sam Smith began using they/them pronouns "after a lifetime of being at war with my gender."

In a 2017 interview with The Sunday Times, Sam Smith said they feel "just as much woman as I am man."

In a subsequent conversation with actress Jameela Jamil, Smith discussed their gender identity as well as other topics relating to body image.

"I'm not male or female. I think I float somewhere in between," Smith said during the interview, which was part of Jamil's Instagram show "I Weigh Interviews."

Smith later took to Instagram to announce that they've officially decided to change their pronouns, despite understanding "there will be many mistakes and mis gendering."

"After a lifetime of being at war with my gender I've decided to embrace myself for who I am, inside and out," they wrote in a lengthy caption. "I'm so excited and privileged to be surrounded by people that support me in this decision but I've been very nervous about announcing this because I care too much about what people think but fuck it!"

"All I ask is you please please try," Smith added. "I hope you can see me like I see myself now."

In 2024, Smith contributed to the compilation album "Transa," spearheaded by the healthcare nonprofit Red Hot Organization to celebrate transgender artists and allies.

"Nosferatu" star Emma Corrin is queer and nonbinary.

Emma Corrin, who rose to fame portraying Princess Diana in the fourth season of Netflix's "The Crown," previously said their gender journey "has been a long one."

"I think visibility is key with these things," Corrin told IVT in 2021. "I think that we are so used to defining ourselves, and that's the way, sadly, society works, within these binaries."

"It's taken me a long time to realize that I exist somewhere in between and I'm still not sure where that is yet," they added.

Now, the Golden Globe winner explicitly identifies as queer and nonbinary.

"The next generation is so much more chill," Corrin said in a 2022 cover story for Vogue. "They are finding a way to express themselves which is less binary in a very organic way."

"Yellowjackets" star Liv Hewson would "love to play a nonbinary person."

Liv Hewson previously starred alongside Drew Barrymore and Timothy Olyphant on Netflix's dark comedy, "Santa Clarita Diet."

Now, Hewson is making waves in Hollywood as Van, a star soccer goalie and plane crash survivor, on Showtime's psychological thriller series "Yellowjackets."

Hewson, who is also a playwright, opened up to A Beautiful Perspective about coming out as nonbinary when they were 16.

"For a long time, though, I had no idea how I was going to be open about it professionally," Hewson said. "For ages it seemed like a possibility so out of reach, it never really crossed my mind, because I felt like it was impossible."

Jonathan Van Ness is gender-nonconforming.

Jonathan Van Ness stole the hearts of many when Netflix's rebooted "Queer Eye" premiered in 2018. Since then, the hairstylist has become a beacon for self-love and self-expression, by unabashedly sharing his own journey of acceptance and making killer fashion statements on the red carpet.

In an interview with Out Magazine, Van Ness explained that the older he gets, the more he identifies as nonbinary.

"I'm gender-nonconforming," they said. "Like, some days I feel like a man, but then other days I feel like a woman."

The Netflix star also clarified their pronoun preference in an interview with Cosmopolitan.

"I am literally OK with 'he', 'she' or 'they,'" Van Ness said. "I've never felt the binary was something I fit into anyway, even though I didn't know there was anything I could do about it."

Amandla Stenberg identifies as nonbinary, though she doesn't need gender-neutral pronouns "to feel comfortable."

Amandla Stenberg, who broke out as a young actor playing Rue in "The Hunger Games," came out as nonbinary with a Tumblr post in 2016. Stenberg, who also identifies as gay, wrote that she doesn't feel like a woman all the time.

She subsequently shared that she'd like to begin using they/them pronouns, even as followers criticized her for it: "I'm allowed to explore myself and how I see myself in the world however the fuck I want," she wrote.

In 2018, the "Bodies Bodies Bodies" star told the Washington Post that she realized she "didn't need those pronouns to feel comfortable... And it felt almost detrimental to those who really did need them." 

Ruby Rose's short film "Break Free" was an ode to gender fluidity.

In 2014, the Australian model and "Batwoman" star shared a five-minute video on YouTube, described as "a short film about gender roles, Trans, and what it is like to have an identity that deviates from the status quo."

"I put this video out that I really intended to be therapeutic for myself and was intended to be viewed by, you know, the hundred-or-so-thousand people that are on my Facebook," she told the Guardian. "Obviously it's very autobiographical."

Rose went on to say that she spent her childhood "convinced" she was male, despite being assigned female at birth: "I used to pray to God that I wouldn't get breasts," she said.

Now, Rose embraces a more fluid identity. She uses feminine pronouns, but told the Guardian that she's neither male nor female.

"I feel like I'm a boy, but I don't feel like I should've been born with different parts of my body or anything like that," Rose said. "I feel like it's just all in how I dress and how I talk and how I look and feel, and that makes me happy... I really sit in a more neutral place, which I'm grateful for as well."

Nico Tortorella has described himself as gender-fluid.

Nico Tortorella, the breakout star of TV Land's "Younger," originally came out as gender-fluid in a 2018 video for Them, describing himself as "not fully cisgender."

Tortorella also wrote about his approach to gender, sexuality, and monogamy in the 2019 book, "Space Between," including his polyamorous marriage to Bethany C. Meyers.

"When Bethany and I met in 2006, I was a boy and she was a girl, whatever that means," Tortorella wrote. "Today Bethany and I both identify as nonbinary."

Tortorella has also written about gender identity on Instagram.

"We are ALL multidimensional dynamic creatures and as much as I understand the spectrum, the less I believe in the binary of gender, the more liberated I myself am becoming," he wrote in 2018.

Tortorella primarily used they/them for several years but has since said he prefers masculine pronouns.

"I use he/him pronouns at this point," Tortorella said on his podcast "Full of Shift," which he launched with Meyers in 2024. "Not to say that we're, like, opposed to they/them pronouns... I just really don't care about it in the same ways that I did back in the day."

"I feel like a man more than I ever have in my entire life right now," he added. "That's not to say that I won't feel more fluid in the future."

Asia Kate Dillon asked for their "John Wick" character to be nonbinary.

Asia Kate Dillon appeared on the silver screen alongside Keanu Reeves in "John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum."

In a 2019 interview with Business Insider, the actor revealed how they advocated for bringing a bit of their own identity to their role as the Adjudicator in "John Wick."

"I just said to [director] Chad [Stahelski] and Keanu, you have a real opportunity here," Dillon said. "I'm a nonbinary person. This character could be nonbinary."

Dillon added that they were all on board to include an aspect of gender diversity in an already-diverse franchise.

"It was a real thrill for me to get to bring that to the table and have it be warmly received," they said.

Dillon is also known for their role as Brandy Epps on Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black" and Taylor Mason on Showtime's "Billions," a character who's also nonbinary.

Bex Taylor-Klaus is trans nonbinary.

In an interview with Autostraddle in 2018, the actor, who's appeared in Netflix's "Dumplin'" and "13 Reasons Why," AMC's "The Killing," The CW's "Arrow," and MTV's "Scream," spoke about their struggle to freely explore gender, both in our society and in the industry.

"In this day, exploring gender is taboo and stigmatized but to a lesser extent [than in the past], and it's something that I've always been a little bit afraid of because my industry can be a little bit brutal," Taylor-Klaus said.

A month later, Taylor-Klaus wrote on X (formerly Twitter) that they identify as trans nonbinary.

"I came out as trans nonbinary in a room full of people today," Taylor-Klaus wrote. "Guess it's time for me to do that on here, too … Hi. I'm Bex, and the rumors are true. I'm v enby."

Indya Moore has described themself as trans, nonbinary, femme, and agender.

Indya Moore began their career as a model, but they broke into TV and films by playing background characters.

Moore made headlines with their portrayal of a trans woman named Angel on FX's "Pose," a trailblazing show about NYC's legendary underground ballroom culture that began in the 1980s.

In a conversation with costar Mj Rodriguez for L'Officiel Magazine, Moore spoke about cultural representation and their nonbinary identity.

"I'm nonbinary but I don't really talk about it that much," Moore said. "I don't feel like people really are there yet for understanding it, which I don't mind, but I also acknowledge the way people see me as a woman."

Moore has also clarified their pronoun preferences on X: "I'm non binary, femme, Agender feels fitting too. My pronouns: they/them/theirs. I correct people often. At times they ignore me & I tolerate it to avoid conflict/irritation but it's upsetting to feel like i'm 'too much' in a world that takes so much from trans people constantly."

Lachlan Watson advocates for "gender freedom."

Lachlan Watson is just one of the breakout stars from Netflix's "Chilling Adventures of Sabrina," in which they portrayed trans teen Theo Putnam.

During an interview with MTV News, the actor opened up about their gender identity journey, describing it as a three-part opera. In Act 1, at 13 years old, Watson said that they identified as a cisgender lesbian. For Act 2, they came out as trans. Now, in Act 3, they identify as nonbinary.

The North Carolina native also explained that they constantly struggle to exist beyond boxes and labels.

"That's sort of why I call it 'gender freedom' as opposed to gender fluidity, because instead of fluctuating between two options or three options or four options, you're just sort of free," Watson said. "I've found it a really beautiful thing to just not limit myself as much as I used to."

Watson has also spoken to Vogue about the role that makeup plays in navigating their gender identity.

G-Flip is a nonbinary singer-songwriter from Australia.

G-Flip has opened up about their struggle with gender in their music, particularly the 2022 single "Waste Of Space."

"I grew up uncomfortable," the song begins, "11 years old and I wanted to die, I don't feel like I'm a girl, nor a boy, so where do I lie?"

In an interview with Refinery29, G-Flip said they were compelled to release the song to help with nonbinary visibility.

"If I can make anyone hear this song, watch this music video, consume any of my art and have that person feel seen and feel like they have someone to look up to or lean on or message, I know it can change lives... because I know if I had that it would have changed mine," they said.

More recently, G-Flip released a love song titled "Be Your Man," which was inspired by their partner, "Selling Sunset" star Chrishell Stause.

Sara Ramírez came out as nonbinary in 2020.

Sara Ramirez made a splash on "Grey's Anatomy" as Dr. Callie Torres, an orthopedic surgeon who learned to embrace her bisexuality as the show progressed.

The character's 10-year arc was influenced by Ramirez's real-life sexuality, although the actor didn't publicly come out as queer until 2016, the same year they left the hit show.

"A lot of people misconstrue my coming out publicly as though Callie Torres existed before I knew I was bisexual, which is actually inaccurate," Ramirez told Glamour in 2021. "To correct that misconception, I will share that I came into my queerness incrementally over time."

More recently, Ramirez has stirred up onscreen drama as Che Diaz, a nonbinary comedian in HBO Max's "Sex and the City" spin-off series "And Just Like That."

Once again, art imitates life: Ramirez came out as nonbinary with an Instagram post in 2020.

"In me is the capacity to be Girlish boy, Boyish girl, Boyish boy, Girlish girl, All, Neither," they wrote.

• Michael Shvo and investors bought the Raleigh Hotel in 2019 as part of a luxury condo development plan.
• Now, the sales firm Newmark is pitching the development.
• Shvo says the effort is to buy out an investor in the luxury project.

The developer Michael Shvo has built a $3 billion collection of trophy real estate in a wager that luxury assets would outperform.

His most ambitious ground-up development project to date, a condo and hotel planned for Miami Beach, is now getting underway, Shvo told Business Insider.

"In the last three months, we've put a hundred million dollars of new money into the deal," he said.

At the oceanfront site, called the Raleigh, Shvo plans a luxury hotel, an exclusive beach club, and a condo tower designed by the star architect Peter Marino.

One of the investors in the development, however, is seeking to pull out, Shvo said, declining to identify that investor.

The commercial real-estate sales and services firm Newmark has been hired to shop the investor's stake. In recent weeks, Newmark has begun to distribute marketing materials to prospective buyers that describe details of the planned development.

Two Miami-based developers who were familiar with the offering said they believed it was a signal that the entire project could come up for sale.

Shvo denied that.

"There's no sale of the Raleigh," he said. "It's a recapitalization of one of the equity partners."

Shvo declined to say how large the partner's ownership interest was or how much it was seeking to recoup in the potential sale.

He said that the project was on strong financial footing and was moving forward.

"We just literally just started major construction on the site," Shvo said.

Newmark was previously hired by Shvo in September to find a buyer for a block of 44 unsold apartments at a recently finished Mandarin Oriental branded condo building that Shvo erected on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills after a tepid response from condo buyers.

A spokeswoman for Newmark declined to comment.

An appetite for glitzy trophy properties

Shvo, a 52-year-old former luxury residential broker turned developer, made a splash in recent years in the commercial real estate business by acquiring billions of dollars of pricey property assets across the country. The purchases included the Transamerica Pyramid in San Francisco and 711 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

An investment group led by Shvo bought three adjacent historic Art Deco hotels, the Raleigh, the Richmond, and the South Seas, along the Miami Beach waterfront in 2019 to amass the current development site. He paid roughly $243 million for the properties.

Shvo planned to renovate and redevelop the sites and tapped Rosewood, an upscale Hong Kong-based hospitality operator, to manage the new hotel and residences.

To help publicize the project, Shvo installed an elaborate temporary garden of lush plantings and fanciful animal sculptures by the late French artists Claude and François-Xavier Lalanne. And he held upscale dinner parties catered by the renowned Italian restaurant Langosteria, which has said it will open its first American outpost at the project.

Despite early buzz and luxury pedigree, preliminary site work had never progressed into full-bore construction.

One hurdle Shvo has appeared to face are pre-sales at the sky-high values he has sought to achieve at the planned condo — a prerequisite to securing a loan large enough to fund construction.

The developer has said publicly that he has secured roughly $250 million of pre-sales at the condo building and had locked more than a dozen of the project's 42 planned apartments into contract.

But financial information being distributed by Newmark and reviewed by Business Insider state that as of December, Shvo had pre-sold 5 apartments totaling $67 million. According to Newmark, the sales were at an average price per square foot of roughly $4,400 — a lofty figure, but still short of the roughly $6,000 that Shvo had boasted the project would achieve.

A person who has access to a recent financial report prepared by the auditing firm Deloitte for Shvo and his partners in the Raleigh said that the document showed that the ownership group has had to pay enormous sums to carry the property for the past five years, including millions of dollars spent on taxes, insurance, and other costs annually.

In 2023, nearly $20 million was paid in interest on the property's current $190 million mortgage alone, which is held by the Miami based lender BH3, according to the person, whose identity is known to Business Insider. The person did not want to be named because the financial information being shared was considered confidential.

That debt on the property was due to expire on January 16, but Shvo and his partners extended it for another six-month term, according to BH3.

• Season eight of Netflix's "Love Is Blind" premieres on February 14, 2025.
• The new season will feature singles from Minneapolis.
• Three contestants — Alex, Brittany, and Joey — were revealed during the "LIB" season seven reunion.

Season seven of the Netflix dating show "Love Is Blind" featured singles from the Washington DC area who were trying to find love. But season eight will focus more on the heart — well, the heartland.

The franchise is moving to Minneapolis for its next season. The last time the show was in the Midwest was season two, which cast participants from the Chicago area.

Season eight is special for another reason — it will premiere on the fifth anniversary of the "Love Is Blind" franchise in February 2025. The franchise has been one of Netflix's most successful reality ventures and, per the company's own engagement data, has drawn in millions of viewers in 2023 and 2024. It's spawned nine international editions in countries including Japan, Brazil, and the UK. Season eight also won't be the franchise's last: Netflix has renewed it through season 10.

Here's everything we know about "Love Is Blind" season eight.

The 'Love Is Blind' season 8 premiere date and location have already been announced

"Love Is Blind" season eight will premiere on February 14, 2025, featuring singles from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The season 8 teaser has one jaw-dropping moment

Netflix released a teaser trailer for season eight of "Love Is Blind" in January, focusing on the five-year anniversary of the franchise.

The trailer features moments from prior seasons, as well as a dramatic tease for Minneapolis.

"When the doors opened, that was not the first time that he saw me," one of the season eight participants says in a voiceover.

Viewers already got a preview of the 'Love Is Blind' season 8 cast

Season eight will feature singles from the Minneapolis area. Presumably, that will also include folks from St. Paul — they are the twin cities, after all — as well as some of the numerous suburbs and towns in the Minneapolis radius.

For the first time ever, Netflix revealed some of the season eight cast members at the season seven reunion. Their names are Alex, Brittany, and Joey.

Alex said that he hadn't prioritized dating in his life and Minneapolis is a "small community."

"You kind of see the same people over and over, and it's a small bar scene," Alex said. "I just never found the right person that clicked for me, but I'm excited to be here."

The rest of the cast will likely be announced closer to the show's premiere.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

• President Donald Trump backs Project Stargate, a $500B AI venture with OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank.
• China's DeepSeek launches AI models rivaling OpenAI, intensifying the US-China AI race.
• Trump repeals former president Joe Biden's AI order, signaling deregulation in AI policy.

Since President Donald Trump took office Monday, he's quickly made moves on advancing AI.

At the same time, the US can't rest in the AI arms race as China launches new, advanced AI models.

Here's a quick rundown of the biggest news in AI.

1. The Trump administration and tech companies launch Project Stargate

The biggest news: The Trump administration announced Tuesday its backing of Project Stargate, an AI venture led by OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank to invest billions into building American AI infrastructure.

Project Stargate plans to invest $500 billion over the next four years to build new AI projects in the US, including 20 new data centers, starting in Abilene, Texas. OpenAI has said it will deploy $100 billion "immediately."

Stargate aims to help position the US as an AI leader, create 100,000 jobs, and increase national security as the US gets into an AI arms race with China (more on that below). OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has also said it will allow the US to achieve artificial general intelligence.

SoftBank will have "financial responsibility" over this project, while OpenAI will have "operational responsibility."

Arm, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Oracle will also offer technology support, while OpenAI, Oracle, and the Abu Dhabi tech fund MGX (which has invested in OpenAI) will provide additional financial support.

"Stargate adds fuel to the narrative that we are still early in the capex buildout required for AI and signals that the new administration is likely to be highly supportive of the investment and energy requirements of the AI platform shift," William Blair analysts wrote in a note.

Microsoft also announced a new partnership agreement with OpenAI. While the tenants are similar to much of the original agreement and include a"new, large Azure commitment" to support OpenAI products, it allows OpenAI to use other cloud providers, while Microsoft has the right of first refusal for OpenAI's computing capacity.

At the same time, Stargate will drive up demand for energy, and OpenAI is already starting to solicit interest from construction, power, and equipment providers to build infrastructure. Trump has said he wants to make it easier for AI developers to have access to electricity for powering data centers and to build power plants.

"The Trump administration's involvement in Stargate underscores what is likely to be a friendlier, more accommodative administration that will work to ensure energy availability and remove stringent regulations that may slow down the buildout of large-scale AI infrastructure across the US," William Blair analysts wrote.

Elon Musk, founder of xAI and co-head of the Department of Government Efficiency, is notably absent from the list of companies involved with the Stargate project. Musk voiced concern about SoftBank's ability to uphold its financial responsibility for the project.

2. OpenAI has a formidable rival from China: DeepSeek

On Monday, the Chinese startup DeepSeek released a family of open-source AI models called DeepSeek-R1 — a warning shot from China as Trump begins his term. DeepSeek first launched the preview of this model in November, and it's similar to OpenAI's o1 series of AI models.

DeepSeek also published a report that said its R1 model is "comparable" and even outperforms OpenAI's o1 in several math, reasoning, and coding benchmarks.

What's more, DeepSeek is much cheaper to use. Its open-source models are free, while access to the DeepSeek R1 API costs a small fraction of what OpenAI charges.

"It's quite remarkable that DeepSeek is making their model openly available to the world," David Bader, distinguished professor and director of The Institute for Data Science at New Jersey Institute of Technology, told Business Insider. "This allows anyone, anywhere, to fine-tune the model for their data and use cases without the enormous expense and requirements to spend the cost of hundreds of millions of dollars and months of time on massive supercomputers to perform the initial training."

OpenAI offers unlimited access to its o1 model through ChatGPT Pro for $2,400 annually. If DeepSeek or any other open-source AI model offers similar capabilities for free, then it poses a challenge to AI companies that seek to profit from selling their technology.

This launch shows that China is still a formidable competitor in the AI arms race, keeping up with Silicon Valley and, in some cases, even surpassing it. At the same time, concerns about the Chinese government's censorship have already arisen. For example, R1 won't answer questions about Tiananmen Square or Taiwan's autonomy. Given the political risks, American companies may be unable to use the R1 model in their products.

Meanwhile, OpenAI is getting ready to launch its next-generation model, o3.

3. Trump repeals the executive order on AI

On Monday, Trump also repealed former president Joe Biden's 2023 executive order on AI, ushering in a deregulation of the technology.

The executive order aimed to reduce AI risks and required companies that train advanced AI models to disclose details about them, including the results of safety testing, to the federal government. It also directed agencies to set standards for testing and address any risks.

Trump has long criticized this executive order. He also rescinded nearly 80 other executive orders. One AI executive order from Biden that Trump notably did not repeal called for federal support to ensure power for AI data centers.

It's still unclear how Trump will handle other AI issues, including restrictions on AI chip and technology exports and addressing how much information AI developers should provide to the government.

• Instagram Reels has added a new feature that shows you a feed of videos that your friends liked.
• It's meant to help you bond with friends over videos, Insta says — but it could get weird.
• The "With friends" feed is designed to minimize embarrassment — but be careful out there.

I come with great news for anyone whose Instagram activity might suggest their carnal impulses: The new "With friends" feature on Instagram Reels is (probably) not going to expose you as a cartoon wolf with your eyeballs bulging out. Here's why:

The new feature in the Reels tab shows you a feed of videos that your friends have liked, with a message box at the bottom that lets you send a direct message to the friend who liked them. The idea accelerates a practice that was already common: DMing your friends Reels that you think they'd like. Now, Instagram is doing some of that work for you.

"We want Instagram to not only be a place where you consume entertaining content, but one where you connect over that content with friends," wrote Instagram head Adam Mosseri in his announcement of the new feature.

I know. You're worried. The idea that suddenly your friends will see all your liked videos is giving you sweaty flashbacks to the now-defunct "Following" tab in the Activity Feed that showed all the likes, comments, and follows your friends were making on other people's Instagram posts.

The Following tab was notorious for awkwardly outing embarassing behavior, most commonly men getting caught liking a bunch of Instagram models' photos. Instagram got rid of this feature in 2019, and when I reported on it going away, people told me all sorts of horror stories: seeing their boyfriend or even dad liking photos from bikini models, or a priest catching a fellow priest replying to thirst traps.

But the new "With friends" feature for Reels will work slightly differently. A spokesperson for Meta confirmed to Business Insider a few key factors that make it different from the old "Following" tab.

First of all, you only see likes from mutuals — in other words, someone you follow who follows you back — not just anyone you follow, like celebrities or other creators. You won't see what Kim Kardashian likes on Reels (unless Kim happens to follow you back).

Secondly, it only will show Reels videos that are eligible for recommendation. That means they have to be from public accounts in good standing. (Some accounts that have had a content strike against them, for example, might not have their videos eligible to be recommended to strangers.) For a while, political accounts weren't eligible for recommendations, although Meta has announced it is changing that.

Crucially, the "With friends" feed still is algorithmic — serving content it thinks you will like. The old "Following" tab was a chronological list of everything that everyone liked. The new feature targets videos it thinks you and your friend will like in common.

Here's a generic heteronormative example: If a husband is liking a bunch of bikini babe videos, it's unlikely his wife will see those videos in the "With friends" feed because Instagram knows she's not interested in that content. However, he's not totally out of the woods — his activity might show up in the "With friends" feeds of his buddies who also like bikini babes.

I spent some time looking through the "With friends" feed on my own account — and I didn't see anything embarrassing or weird from my friends. (And I 100% believe my friends are capable of weird and embarrassing activities.)

Three friends liked a video of a cute baby bat from the Oakland Zoo. Two friends liked an interview clip of Hugh Grant from Vanity Fair. A friend who has been learning to surf liked a surfing video. A friend who is a volunteer firefighter liked multiple meme videos about firefighters. A bunch of people liked Spencer Pratt videos, but who doesn't these days? Several people liked a vintage clip about the '80s band The Lounge Lizards. (Honestly, the most surprising part of this whole exercise was that so many people from very disparate parts of my social world all seem to care so much about The Lounge Lizards.)

The only time it felt too invasive was seeing someone I know only professionally liking a video from what I assume was their kid's local Girl Scout troop talking about their cookie sale.

Still, algorithmic stuff is never 100% clear on what it serves you and why. So you might have a very different experience from me, and it's possible your friends might see more of your activity in ways you don't expect.

As always, stay say vigilant and safe out there, people! Trust no one.

• Winter Storm Enzo hit the Gulf Coast on Tuesday with heavy snowfall from Florida to Texas.
• New Orleans and Pensacola, Florida, received record-breaking amounts of snow.
• Snow blanketed landmarks such as Bourbon Street, Myrtle Beach, and Pensacola's Naval Air Station.

Winter Storm Enzo blanketed the Gulf Coast in snow on Tuesday and Wednesday, with winter storm warnings and heavy snowfall in Southern states from Florida to Texas.

Pensacola, Florida, received 7.6 inches of snow, breaking a record set in 1954. Snowfalls in New Orleans and Mobile, Alabama, also broke decades-old records, according to the National Weather Service.

Schools and businesses shuttered across the South, and over 25,000 homes and businesses in Florida were left without power as of Wednesday afternoon, according to Poweroutage.us.

Photos show landmarks across the South covered in snow from the rare winter storm.

Naval Air Station Pensacola, the Navy base that hosts the National Naval Aviation Museum, was closed except for mission-essential personnel.

In South Carolina, Myrtle Beach's oceanside SkyWheel Ferris wheel closed for the week due to 5.5 inches of snowfall.

The grounds of the South Carolina State House in Columbia were covered in snow.

New Orleans received 8 inches of snow, shuttering popular tourist spots like Café Du Monde, which is known for its beignets.

New Orleans' famous Bourbon Street was largely empty on Tuesday due to the winter weather.

Heavy snowfall obscured signs at Caesars Superdome advertising Super Bowl LIX on February 9.

Snow clung to the branches of the oak trees in New Orleans' City Park.

Up to 6 inches of snow fell in parts of Houston, including a dusting at Daikin Park, home of the Houston Astros.

Locals went sledding at Buffalo Bayou Park near downtown Houston — a rare occurrence in Texas.

• United and Delta are expanding flights to Europe to capitalize on strong travel demand.
• United and Delta are running 23% and 13% more flights to Europe compared to 2019, respectively.
• Both airlines are upping their European presence with new transatlantic routes.

Airlines say Europe remains among the biggest money-makers going into 2025 as people eagerly flock to more international destinations.

United Airlines and Delta Air Lines said in recent earnings calls that they are deploying more seats than ever to Europe to take advantage of the booming travel demand, which has remained strong since the COVID-19 pandemic halted overseas vacations.

In the fourth quarter of 2024, United's passenger revenue to Europe increased 9.5% compared to 2023, with just a 2.3% increase in seat capacity.

Delta saw a 4% increase in transatlantic passenger revenue during the same period, despite a 2% reduction in capacity. (Delta's figures include Europe as well as half a dozen destinations in Africa and the Middle East.)

Both airlines have increased their planned transatlantic presence further into 2025, operating more than 100,000 flights total between the two, well above prior years according to data from Cirium.

Europe is no longer just a seasonal hot spot

Andrew Nocella, United's executive vice president and chief commercial officer, said during Wednesday's earnings call that Europe is becoming a "year-round destination" after being a less valuable revenue stream during off-peak months in previous years, like between January and March.

"Now we're seeing a totally different result, where people are willing to go on a Southern European vacation," he said. "And that really helps de-seasonalize Europe."

Nocella later said United expects quarter one to boast the best transatlantic financial performance in its first-quarter history.

He added that stronger hub connectivity with Star Alliance partner Lufthansa in Germany and money-making business traffic returning to London Heathrow are also helping United across the Atlantic.

Delta expressed a similar sentiment about Europe's desirability as a year-round destination for US travelers, specifically noting the strong dollar's additional buying power and the smaller crowd sizes compared to peak holiday periods.

"You go to a restaurant in New York and then go to a restaurant in Europe, you'll see a vast difference in the bill," Delta president Glen Hauenstein said in the airline's January 10 earnings call. "This is a great time to travel to Europe. People are seeing that."

The Atlanta-based carrier also said it does not believe strong off-peak season demand for transatlantic flights this winter will eat into consumers' appetite for summer travel.

Bernstein analyst David Vernon maintained a buy rating for United following its earnings report, saying international flying and premium services are particularly driving revenue.

CFRA Research analyst Ana Garcia said the firm expects United to see continued profitability. She said earnings are "buoyed by network optimization and operational improvements."

United's stock is up about 13% year-to-date, while Delta's is up about 9%.

New routes to Europe from United and Delta in 2025

United has become so bullish on Europe that it plans to launch new routes to off-the-beaten-path destinations in 2025 that aren't offered by competitors.

For example, this summer, the carrier will fly nonstop to Palermo, Italy, Faro, Portugal, and Nuuk, Greenland. These flights will complement United's already extensive transatlantic network, which includes flights to more than 30 European cities from the US.

Expected deliveries of the long-haul single-aisle Airbus A321XLR — the first expected in January 2026 — will help United push further into Europe as the jet can fly routes previously unprofitable with a widebody or unreachable with older narrowbodies. It will replace the airline's aging Boeing 757s.

Still, United said widebody supply constraints, including for airframes and engines, will impact its long-haul operations through at least the end of the decade.

The carrier has placed orders for 150 Boeing 787 Dreamliners and expects to receive 11 in 2025. That is down from the 18 expected in February 2024 .

Delta has not purchased the A321XLR, and it flies only a handful of Boeing 757 aircraft across the Atlantic.

The airline instead relies on a large fleet of older Boeing 767 and newer Airbus A330 and A350 widebodies to run more than 700 flights a week to 33 European destinations.

This summer, Delta will add new routes to locales in southern Europe, such as Barcelona and Catania and Naples in southern Italy.

• First kids have to deal with a lot of pressure being in the public eye.
• However, they can also enjoy the perks that come with being a part of the first family.
• Children who live at the White House have access to a private movie theater and personal chefs.

From getting to live in the White House to flying across the world on Air Force One, there are a lot of perks to being a president's kid.

Now that Donald Trump has returned to office, Barron Trump will regain access to many of the most luxurious perks of being a first kid.

Barron won't be living in the White House while he attends New York University, where he's a freshman, but he'll still have his own Secret Service security team, the ability to use the president's private plane when he travels with his parents, and access to the White House's movie theater, putting green, and more when he returns to Washington, DC. 

Here are some of the most luxurious perks of being the president's child.

First kids get to live in the White House, which boasts 132 rooms, including a movie theater.

The presidential residence also includes a bowling alley, which Melania Trump renovated, a basketball court, a restaurant, and a chocolate shop.

First children also have free rein of the White House grounds to wander the gardens or play outside with their presidential pets.

Children who've called the White House home include Bill Clinton's daughter, Chelsea; Jimmy Carter's daughter, Amy; and John F. Kennedy's children, John Jr. and Caroline.

They can also host major events at the White House, such as their own weddings or even their senior proms.

Nine children of presidents have gotten married at the White House: Maria Hester Monroe, John Adams II, Elizabeth Tyler, Nellie Grant, Alice Lee Roosevelt, Jessie Woodrow Wilson, Eleanor Randolph Wilson, Lynda Bird Johnson, and Tricia Nixon.

Susan Ford, then 17, even hosted her high school prom at the White House in 1975, the first — and, as of now, only — prom to be held there, Vanity Fair reported.

They also get to ride on the luxurious Air Force One and Marine One when traveling with their parents.

While the president's airplane and other modes of transportation are only referred to as Air Force One, Marine One, and the like when the president is on board, first ladies and kids also get to ride them.

Air Force One has three levels and 4,000 square feet of interior floor space. That includes a conference room, dining room, and private quarters with a gym for the president. There is also a medical operating room, offices for staff, and two food-preparation galleys that can provide 100 meals.

The children of sitting presidents get to meet famous people, from movie stars to other heads of state.

"Sure, maybe a few times I wished my father was just a congressman," Susan Ford Bales, the daughter of former President Gerald Ford and Betty Ford, once said in an interview, CBS News reported.

"But in fact, I wouldn't trade it for anything," she continued. "The travels, the people you meet. From movie stars to heads of state. It was like, 'Oh my gosh, look who I'm meeting now!"'

A personal chef is always on hand for snacks and late-night cravings.

The White House executive chef and executive pastry chef are primarily hired to serve the first family, which includes the kids, and to prepare food during official White House functions.

However, while first kids have access to the five full-time chefs who work in the White House, they likely can't order an unlimited supply of their favorite foods because the first family actually foots the bill for their food.

"They let you get whatever you want," Michelle Obama told Jimmy Kimmel in 2018. "And then you get the bill for a peach and it's like, 'That was a $500 peach!' I would tell Barack, 'Do not express pleasure for anything until I know how much it costs.'"

The children of sitting presidents can decorate their rooms however they want, within reason.

Although presidential kids can make temporary decorative changes to their rooms, given the historical significance of the White House they can't make any major structural changes to their living quarters.

"Some parts are essentially historic rooms and belong to the American people, not to the families who live there," Kate Andersen Brower, the author of "First Women: The Grace and Power of America's Modern First Ladies," told ABC News in 2016.

It's possible for first children to be offered positions working in the administration ... though they're technically not supposed to.

The Postal Revenue and Federal Salary Act of 1967, also called the Bobby Kennedy Law, was intended to curb political nepotism and prevent the family members of sitting presidents from obtaining powerful positions in the executive branch.

However, first children have still continued to hold positions in the White House. Most notably, Ivanka Trump and her husband, Jared Kushner, both worked as advisors to President Donald Trump, but they took no salary.

"The antinepotism law apparently has an exception if you want to work in the West Wing because the president is able to appoint his own staff," Kellyanne Conway, then a Trump staffer, told MSNBC's "Morning Joe" in 2016. "Of course, this came about to stop maybe family members from serving on the Cabinet, but the president does have discretion to choose a staff of his liking."

Presidents' kids also have private security to ensure their safety, even when they're no longer living in the White House.

The United States Secret Service offers around-the-clock protection to the spouses and children of the US president and vice president.

Children of non-sitting presidents are only ensured protection until they turn 16 years old. Presidents can petition for continued security after they leave office.

After he left office in January 2021, Donald Trump extended Secret Service protection for his four adult children for another six months, The Washington Post reported. His youngest son, Barron, has also been under the protection of the Secret Service since he began attending New York University.

First kids might even use their reputations and political connections to become president themselves.

Two former first children went on to become president: John Quincy Adams and George W. Bush. While a first kid becoming president isn't exactly common, multiple first children have entered politics after their fathers left office.

Jeb Bush, the second son of George H.W. Bush, went on to serve as the 43rd governor of Florida and launched his own presidential campaign in 2015. Chelsea Clinton also said a future for her in politics was a "definite maybe" in 2018, The Guardian reported.

• President Donald Trump announced Stargate, a $500 billion AI-infrastructure venture, on Tuesday.
• But Elon Musk, now a key advisor to Trump, suggested the effort had raised far less than that.
• Trump called Stargate "the largest AI-infrastructure project in history."

Elon Musk questioned whether the companies involved in President Donald Trump's $500 billion AI infrastructure plan had the funds to finance it, exposing a potential rift between the billionaire and a hyped project touted by the new administration.

Trump, on the second day of his presidency, unveiled a privately funded effort to build AI infrastructure in the US. Trump said the joint plan between OpenAI, Oracle, and SoftBank — called Stargate — was "the largest AI infrastructure project in history." Leaders of those three companies attended the White House announcement.

One company not involved in the project was xAI, which Musk runs. And hours after the announcement, Musk was being vocal about it.

"They don't actually have the money," Musk wrote on his X platform late Tuesday, responding to a post from OpenAI that said the venture "will begin deploying $100 billion immediately."

"SoftBank has well under $10B secured," Musk said. "I have that on good authority."

The comments by Musk, a close Trump ally who is heading an agency to cut the federal budget, marked a sharp and unusual rebuke against a new project promoted by the president.

In response, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Musk that his claim was wrong and invited him to come see a site where the funding is already being put to work. Musk and Altman have a tense relationship and are locked in a legal battle. Musk's xAI also competes with OpenAI.

SoftBank declined to comment. Representatives for Musk, OpenAI and the Trump administration did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Business Insider.

The exchange between Musk and Altman shows discord among some of the biggest names in the tech world just a few days into the second Trump administration. Since Trump's electoral comeback in November, many tech executives have shown more interest in working with Trump than they did as he prepared to take office the first time eight years ago.

The Stargate announcement represents an early collaboration between Big Tech and Trump. The president said Tuesday that the project would make investments over the next four years, make AGI possible in the US, and create new jobs.

Asked by CNBC about Musk's claims on Wednesday, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella shied away from confirming or challenging them.

"All I know is, I'm good for my $80 billion," Nadella said, referencing Microsoft's plan to build out its AI abilities this year using OpenAI's models.

• Short-term-rental site AirDNA revealed its new list of best places to invest in an Airbnb or Vrbo.
• AirDNA ranked cities on measures including occupancy, revenue growth, and home prices.
• Smaller spots with regional tourism and sectors that need temporary housing dominated the 2025 list.

The best place to start an Airbnb may not be a big-name destination like Jackson Hole, Aspen, or Palm Springs.

Instead, promising places to invest in short-term rentals usually have a combination of regional tourism and populations that are reliant on temporary housing, like traveling nurses or graduate students, according to Jamie Lane, an economist at analytics site AirDNA.

"The markets that do best have a mix," Lane told Business Insider.

Indeed, many of the top spots in AirDNA's new ranking of the best places in the US to invest in short-term rentals were midsize cities with affordable homes and growth potential. AirDNA evaluated places based on factors including how many nights per year current Airbnb and Vrbo listings were booked, growth in revenue per listing in the past year, and the cost of homes and apartments currently for sale.

Cracking the top 10 is Frankfort, Kentucky, a city of just 28,000 residents located an hour east of Louisville in the heart of the Kentucky Bourbon Trail — a short drive to a dozen famous distilleries, Lane said.

"While it seems like a small city, it's in the middle of a massive tourism industry," he told Business Insider.

Fairbanks, Alaska, which appeared on last year's list but jumped to the No. 2 position this year, has a robust summer travel market and a need for temporary housing for workers at nearby hospitals and a University of Alaska campus.

On a national level, the rate of new Airbnbs and Vrbos opening across the US has slowed after a post-pandemic surge. New listings grew only by 6.8% in 2024 from the year prior, compared to 14.4% in 2023 and 22.1% in 2022, AirDNA data showed.

New hosts may also face crackdowns as cities continue to rewrite the rules on short-term rentals in attempts to preserve housing affordability for locals. Lane said places including Oahu, Hawaii, were dropped from the list due to their especially tight rules for Airbnbs and Vrbos.

Here are the top 11 cities that AirDNA highlighted as the best places to invest in an Airbnb or Vrbo in 2025.

For each place, we included the projected average revenue potential, the previous year's listing growth in that city, and the annual occupancy rate, all according to AirDNA. From Redfin, we sourced each city's median sale price for homes to get a sense of how much an investment property might cost.

11. Montgomery, Alabama

Average revenue potential: $32,998

Listing growth: 28.9%

Occupancy rate: 54.6%

Median sale price: $175,000

10. Frankfort, Kentucky

Average revenue potential: $46,369

Listing growth: 64.7%

Occupancy rate: 56.1%

Median sale price: $227,000

9. Dayton, Ohio

Average revenue potential: $35,456

Listing growth: 17.9%

Occupancy rate: 58.3%

Median sale price: $115,500

8. Rockford, Illinois

Average revenue potential: $35,826

Listing growth: 27.2%

Occupancy rate: 56.9%

Median sale price: $151,500

7. Page, Arizona

Average revenue potential: $47,243

Listing growth: 9.7%

Occupancy rate: 62.1%

Median sale price: $303,000

6. Shreveport, Louisiana

Average revenue potential: $36,106

Listing growth: 10.1%

Occupancy rate: 57.3%

Median sale price: $169,9500

5. Crescent City, California

Average revenue potential: $51,318

Listing growth: 11.1%

Occupancy rate: 63.3%

Median sale price: $318,000

4. Columbus, Georgia

Average revenue potential: $39,986

Listing growth: 20.5%

Occupancy rate: 60.3%

Median sale price: $210,000

3. Akron, Ohio

Average revenue potential: $31,207

Listing growth: 33.2%

Occupancy rate: 55.2%

Median sale price: $130,500

2. Fairbanks, Alaska

Average revenue potential: $49,459

Listing growth: 17.4%

Occupancy rate: 66.5%

Median sale price: $240,000

1. Peoria, Illinois

Average revenue potential: $31,131

Listing growth: 21.1%

Occupancy rate: 58.9%

Median sale price: $165,000

• Federal job offers accepted before Monday with start dates after February 8 are revoked, a memo said.
• The Office of Personnel Management said agency heads could seek written approval to renew an offer.
• Agencies must also report monthly on job offers, hires, departures, and head count, the memo said.

Newly hired federal workers expecting to start their jobs next month could soon see their offers yanked by the federal government.

A memo providing further guidance on President Donald Trump's executive order mandating federal hiring freezes told federal agencies that "offers made and accepted prior to January 20" with an unconfirmed start date or one later than February 8 were revoked.

The memo, written by the Office of Management and Budget and Office of Personnel Management and sent to the heads of executive departments and federal agencies on Monday, said that if people were hired before noon on Monday and had a start date earlier than February 8, their offers could remain in place.

"Those individuals should report to work according to their respective designated start date," the memo said.

Even if a job offer is rescinded, it might not be a done deal for the candidate. The memo said that the head of an agency could seek written approval from the OPM to renew the employee's offer after considering "essential mission priorities, current agency resources, and funding levels."

The memo also called for reports on the last day of each month from agencies subject to the hiring freeze. The reports should have information about candidates who were extended or accepted offers, employees who started that month, and employees who departed that month. The reviews are also required to list the total staff head count and any positions listed online, the memo said.

In a separate memo sent the same day, Charles Ezell, the acting director of the OPM, asked leaders of all federal agencies to evaluate their workforces and consider firing employees who had been there less than two years.

The memo requested that agencies identify all employees on probationary periods and "promptly determine whether those employees should be retained at the agency" by Friday.

Trump's federal hiring freeze went into effect on Inauguration Day, preventing any vacant positions that existed before 11:59 a.m. on Monday from being filled and restricting the creation of positions. There are some exceptions to the freeze, including roles tied to "immigration enforcement, national security, or public safety" and positions requiring "Presidential appointment or Senate confirmation," the memo said.

The OPM move is in line with broader Trump-administration efforts to reduce the size of the federal workforce. Since his inauguration, President Trump has already issued a mandate for federal workers return to the office full time.

He also signed an executive order to end federal DEI programs. The order calls for federal DEI staff to be placed on paid leave by 5 p.m. on Wednesday, and agencies have 60 days to end DEI-related practices.

The Department of Government Efficiency, an Elon Musk-led commission, is also working to recommend ways that the Trump administration can cut the size of the federal workforce, reduce regulations and federal budgets, and improve efficiency.

The OPM declined to comment. The Trump administration and the OMB did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Correction, January 22 — An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the memo's date. It was Monday, January 20, not January 8.

• As a frequent solo traveler, I prefer booking Airbnb stays over hotels. 
• When I book an Airbnb for a solo trip, I say it's for two guests so hosts don't know I'm alone. 
• Sometimes booking for two costs extra, but I'm willing to pay more because it makes me feel safer. 

Cozy cabins, luxury apartments, unique tiny homes including a converted wine barrel in Switzerland and a repurposed lifeguard tower in Miami — I've booked them all through Airbnb. 

As a travel reporter, I've stayed in accommodations throughout the US, Canada, and Europe. I often opt for Airbnbs over hotels because they tend to offer more unique experiences, such as sleeping in a treehouse in Ontario's wine country.

Usually, I travel solo. I've taken overnight trains in the US and Europe, spent seven nights on one of the world's largest cruise ships sailing the Caribbean Sea, and traveled by rail to Niagara Falls, Montréal, and Quebec City. On these trips, I explored new cities and unique accommodations — all by myself.

Now that I'm a seasoned solo traveler, I have many practices to ensure I feel as safe as possible when traveling alone — especially in other countries.

When it comes to staying in Airbnbs solo, my best tip is to book for two people

When I make an Airbnb reservation, I simply change the number of guests from one to two. Then, in my message to the host, I always say that I may have a friend joining me for my trip.

This way, my host doesn't think I'm traveling alone. Creating the illusion that I have someone else with me makes me feel more comfortable falling asleep at night in a stranger's place.

Booking for two sometimes comes with an additional fee, depending on the Airbnb.

For example, when I traveled to Rome and booked two nights in a livable art sculpture Airbnb, the price was $102 a night for one person and $145 a night for two people. In this case, a companion did end up joining me for the stay. But even if they hadn't, I would have been fine paying the additional fee to feel more secure about staying there alone. 

Solo travel can be daunting, especially when you're booking accommodation with an individual rather than directly through a company like you would at a hotel.

But after all my unique Airbnb experiences, I think it's worth booking them even when I'm alone. And booking for two makes me feel a little safer.