Going strong! Love Is Blind star Giannina Gibelli shared a sweet photo with boyfriend Damian Powers amid rumors the couple split. “My dinner dates,” the former Netflix personality, 27, captioned a picture of herself, Damian, also 27, and a friend out to eat on Monday, August 31.
In the snapshot, which Damian reposted on his Instagram Story, Giannina was all smiles as her man leaned over to give his longtime love a big kiss on the cheek. Clearly, there’s no animosity between these two following a major misunderstanding with Too Hot to Handle‘s Francesca Farago.
Damian and Francesca, 26, were spotted looking pretty cozy while stepping out at E.P. & L.P. restaurant in Los Angeles on Tuesday, August 25. After photographs of the pair began to circulate on social media, fans were quick to spark dating speculation. However, Damian later made it clear he and Francesca have a strictly platonic relationship.
“Over the past week, I have been in L.A. with my attorney, Alex Ion, pursuing new projects and business ventures. Francesca and I both share the same attorney,” Damian told E! News in a statement on Saturday, August 29.
Damian went on to explain that Alex “arranged” for he and Francesca to meet for dinner in West Hollywood along with some of their friends — including TikTok star Mitchell Crawford and model Raiane Macedo.
“Francesca grabbed onto me in an attempt to shield herself from the paparazzi as our entire group entered the car,” Damian clarified, referring to the photos where it appeared as though he and the Canada native were holding hands. “Francesca and I are not dating or romantically involved but remain friends.”
Due to Giannina’s absence that evening, Love Is Blind viewers assumed the worst. After all, the off-again, on-again duo does have a rocky past. During the season 1 finale, Damian left Giannina standing at the altar. “He was surprised when I reached back out to him later that night to talk things out,” Giannina previously told Life & Style of their reconciliation.
“I felt like we had unfinished business, and it didn’t feel right to leave things on a sour note, so he snuck us back into our old apartment,” she continued. “We cried it out, healed together and haven’t been apart since.”