‘Love Is Blind’ star Giannina Gibelli says she initially ‘laughed’ when she saw paparazzi photos of Damian Powers and Francesca Farago

• Giannina Gibelli discussed her reaction to paparazzi photos of Damian Powers and Francesca Farago.
• She told Insider that she initially laughed at the pictures because she trusted Powers.
• "I'm very trusting. Again, that's my downfall," Gibelli said.
• Visit Insider's homepage for more stories.

In "Love Is Blind: After the Altar," Giannina Gibelli and Damian Powers both allude to a fight that occurred between them after paparazzi photographed the latter with "Too Hot to Handle" reality star Francesca Farago.

Neither party offered specifics about how the costars, who were a couple at the time, resolved the conflict resulting from the photos, which circulated in August 2020 and led to speculation that Powers and Farago were more than friends.

However, Gibelli told Insider that she initially found the situation "hilarious."

"I honestly saw the pictures and I laughed," she said.

Gibelli recalled feeling "confident" in her relationship with Powers, whom she met on season one of the Netflix dating show in 2018.

The reality star was regularly communicating with Powers at the time and knew his attorney, who also represents Farago, had arranged a "large group" dinner for his clients in West Hollywood. So even though tabloids claimed that Powers and Farago were holding hands as they left the restaurant, Gibelli remained skeptical.

"I saw that they weren't holding hands completely. It seemed very out of context," she said, continuing, "Again, I trusted him. We'd gone through so much. We had this incredible bond. You can sense if he's not in love with me anymore, but I never felt that. I never felt like there was anything that he was hiding."

It wasn't until the photos started "getting traction" online that Gibelli grew upset, she said.

"I was like, 'Oh s--- no, people think that this is real,'" she recalled.

Shortly after the pictures surfaced, Powers issued a statement to E! News clarifying that he and Farago were "not dating or romantically involved but remain friends."

Gibelli's frustration stemmed from the fact that issues were arising from a topic that the on-again, off-again couple never fought about in the past, she told Insider.

In retrospect, she said it's important to take "what's right in front of you" at face value.

"At the end of the day, you can't deny if someone is treating you with the respect that you deserve or not," she said.

"I'm very trusting," Gibelli added. "That's my downfall."

When Powers brought Farago to the "Love Is Blind" cast's two-year anniversary party in November 2020, Gibelli said she wanted to get a first-hand look at what was going on between them.

"I didn't want to go through paparazzi photos. I didn't want to hear what he had to say, what she had to say. I wanted to see it for myself just because I trust my gut," she told Insider.

"When I saw it for myself, it was just like, 'Yeah, this isn't what anybody says it is.'"

"Love Is Blind: After the Altar" is now streaming on Netflix.