Aaliyah explains leaving Uche on 'Love is Blind,' where she stands with Lydia

Spoiler alert: The following post contains details through Episode 7 of Netflix's "Love is Blind" (now streaming).

There may have been tears, but there are no regrets for Aaliyah Cosby on Season 5 of “Love is Blind.”

In new episodes of the Netflix dating series released Friday, the 29-year-old ICU travel nurse attempts to make things right with her strongest connection in the pods, 34-year-old lawyer Uche Okoroha, after unexpectedly dropping out of the show in Episode 4.

She’d left after “an exchange of words” with her best friend in the pods, 32-year-old geologist Lydia Velez Gonzalez, “that didn’t really go well,” she reveals in Episode 7. But she always intended to keep pursuing a relationship with Uche, who was planning to propose to her the day he found out she’d left.

Ultimately, Uche declares it “over between us” because of her lack of confidence in their relationship.

USA TODAY spoke with Aaliyah about why she left “Love is Blind” and how she feels about Uche and Lydia now.

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Why Aaliyah left ‘Love is Blind’

When Aaliyah left Uche high and dry, she wasn’t leaving behind her relationship.

“I wasn't really thinking about it as if I was leaving the show without him," she says. "I didn't leave the show thinking that I wasn't going to continue with him. I felt like the bond we formed in there was so solid that we would continue regardless of the show.”

In Episode 7, Aaliyah meets Uche for the first time outside the pods and explains that she hasn't been comfortable sharing the women’s quarters with Lydia, who “smothers” her by bringing him up all the time. She even questioned whether Lydia and Uche had planned to ever reconnect on “Love is Blind.”

“It was ruining the experiment for me,” she tells Uche.

Looking back, she tells USA TODAY, “There (were) just so many things that were coming to the surface with the situation regarding him and Lydia, and I just felt like that was the best thing for me.”

Aaliyah says Lydia didn’t respect her boundaries

Before she left, Aaliyah and Lydia were close confidantes. Then Uche told Aaliyah that he and Lydia had dated before coming on the show, and the floodgates opened for Lydia, who’d been keeping her and Uche’s past a secret.

Lydia seemed unable to stop herself from telling Aaliyah what it was like dating Uche back in Houston.

“I felt like I had kind of set my boundaries and they weren't being respected by a certain individual. I felt like that wasn't how I wanted to proceed,” Aaliyah says. “I did the best thing for myself. And I don't really regret my decision.”

Since then, Aaliyah says she and Lydia have been able to find some resolution.

“I don't have any anger or animosity towards her. I want her to be happy. And I think we've been able to have some conversations … where we both understand each other's position,” Aaliyah says.

“I've been able to kind of step outside myself and understand both her and Uche's position. And I feel like I've tried to just lead with grace with both of them.”

“Love is Blind” episodes 8 and 9 premiere Oct. 6, and the finale is due Oct. 13.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Love is Blind' star Aaliyah reveals where she stands with Uche, Lydia