What happened between Stephen and Monica on 'Love is Blind'? And what is a sleep test?
Spoiler alert: This story includes details from the first nine episodes of Netflix's "Love is Blind" Season 7 (now streaming).
"Love is Blind" bid goodbye to another couple in the new batch of episodes that released earlier this week.
Monica Davis and Stephen Richardson broke up after Monica found incriminating texts of "sexual" nature to another woman on Stephen's phone, according to Netflix.
The moment, which happened off-camera, was "like a dagger to the chest," Monica, 37, told Entertainment Weekly, adding she was "devastated" by the texts.
When she confronted Stephen, 34, about the texts, Stephen said he drunkenly texted the other woman during a sleep test and attempted to own up to his “completely stupid mistake” and reassure her, as per Netflix, but Monica said she was done.
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“At this point I don’t think there’s anything that I could say that you’d believe,” Stephen told her on the show. “I’m almost embarrassed by how much of my heart I’ve given you.”
Monica told EW she came across the texts by complete coincidence and going through them was a decision she made at the spur of the moment, which is why she couldn't even remember the details, except that they were "really very sexual."
"I remember one specifically said, 'No one's ever been able to satisfy my kinks the way you do.' And they were just going back and forth," Monica told the media outlet.
Monica wanted breakup to be filmed
Monica told EW she wanted their breakup to be filmed because she didn't want to give Stephen a chance to act like it didn't happen. However, she did not explicitly reveal when the two split exactly, telling the media outlet that viewers should tune into the reunion episode, scheduled for Oct. 30, for the full story.
Once the two officially ended things, Monica asked Stephen to Venmo her for the expenses she had covered, telling EW that her ex-boyfriends, some of whom are yet to pay her back for things, inspired her.
"It was just for relationship things, and I was like, 'I'm happy to pay for it all, and then you can pay me back when you can.' So, groceries, I think dinner one night − it was a couple hundred bucks," the sales executive told EW.
Despite the heartbreak, Monica told EW she was "really grateful" for the experience and "wouldn't change a thing."
'Beautiful memories of mine,' says Stephen
Stephen also said he would never trade his experience on the show "for the world."
Posting a series of photographs of himself and Monica on Instagram, Stephen wrote: "You know for a show based on context clues and meant to be about not judging a book by its cover. Its fans certainly like to take a LOT things at face value."
"These are all beautiful memories of mine that I would never trade for the world," the electrician said. "Both on and off camera. Memories I will forever share with amazing people in an experience I never expected to be a part of."
While leaving their shared apartment at the end of the episode, Stephen apologized to Monica for hurting her and wasting her time.
"I can't do anything to change this, I will live with this," Stephen had said during the show. "I truly am sorry for hurting you, for wasting your time, for coming on the show and doing this to you. I shouldn't have come on the show."
Stephen later told People he genuinely fell in love with Monica "within 10 days" in the pods.
"I can confidently say no matter what, as a cynic that I fell in love with Monica within 10 days," Stephen told People. "I fell in love with her in those pods, 100%. There's no doubt in my mind that I did. And it was easy because of the way that the experiment was set up for us."
He added that he'll use his time on the show as a learning experience for future relationships and hopes not to repeat the same mistake.
"I did make a completely stupid mistake while being drunk at a sleep test with somebody who texted me," he said in the episode. "I know that it was a stupid decision."
What is a sleep test?
A sleep test, also known as polysomnography, is a test used to diagnose sleep disorders, according to the Mayo Clinic. The test records "your brain waves, the oxygen level in your blood, and your heart rate and breathing during sleep," the Mayo Clinic says, adding it also measures eye and leg movements.
To prepare for the sleep study, Mayo Clinic advises patients not to consume drinks or food containing alcohol or caffeine prior to test since alcohol and caffeine can affect your sleep patterns.
'Waiting 36 years to find you'
Monica and Stephen had hit it off in the pods and had gotten engaged in a teary and emotional proposal.
“I’ve been waiting 36 years to find you,” Monica had told Stephen while accepting his proposal. “You’re the kindest, nerdiest, chattiest, most loving, compassionate, caring, and sweetest man."
The two then jetted off to Mexico with the other couples and were together throughout the romantic retreat and up until Monica discovered the texts.
Who else has broken up on 'Love is Blind' Season 7 so far?
Brittany Wisniewski and Leo Braudy, who got also engaged in the pods broke up earlier on in the show. While the couple was not chosen to go to Mexico, they took a trip of their own to Miami where they realized they did not have chemistry and could not envision the engagement progressing into a marriage and decided they were better off as friends.
"We had a lot of conversations throughout the trip, and mutually came to the conclusion that we just didn't see it turning into marriage," Leo told People.
'No chemistry':'Love is Blind's' Leo and Brittany address their breakup
How to watch 'Love is Blind'
Episodes 1 to 6 of "Love Is Blind" Season 7 dropped on Netflix on Oct. 2 while episode 7 -9 released earlier this week on Wednesday. The next two episodes - Episode 10 and 11 - will be available to stream on Wed., Oct. 16. Check out the full schedule here.
The remaining couples on the show include Taylor and Garrett, Nick and Hannah, Marissa and Ramses, Tim and Alex, and Ashley and Tyler.
Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at [email protected] and follow her on X and Instagram @saman_shafiq7.