Unpacking Irina and Micah's 'mean girls' controversy on 'Love Is Blind' season 4

• Irina and Micah have been labeled the "mean girls" of "Love Is Blind" season four. 
• We're unpacking all the drama they've caused and what the internet and the cast have to say about it. 
• Micah said she doesn't regret her friendship with Irina.

"Love Is Blind" has had its fair share of villains over four seasons, but no two women personify the term "mean girls" quite like Irina Solomonova and Micah Lussier — and the internet has a lot to say about them. 

Micah and Irina became fast friends in the pods stage of the social experiment, when the female cast members were living together and dating the male cast members without seeing what they looked like — in the hopes of forming a deep emotional connection and eventually getting engaged.

In early episodes, they were shown in the women's living quarters laughing at both the men they were dating and the other women. The most egregious example of this happened in episode two when Micah had Irina spy on cast member Amber Wilder after Paul Peden broke up with her to pursue a relationship with Micah. They were in the kitchen laughing while a heartbroken Amber cried to cast member Chelsea Griffin about being dumped. 

In a scene after the incident, Irina told Micah and Chelsea, "I want to be nicer. I'm not nice at all," and then blamed her behavior on the pressure of the experiment. 

In another scene, Irina attempted to make fellow cast member Bliss Poureetezadi feel uncomfortable while they were both dating Zack Goytowski. She forgot Zack's birthday, and instead of coming up with her own way to celebrate, when she saw Bliss baking cupcakes for him she asked if she could borrow one of the candles as a way of salvaging the situation. 

In episode six (released Friday), fans saw Micah get a taste of how uncaring Irina could be when she confronted her friend about the fact that she was flirting with Micah's fiancé Paul in Mexico.

Both Micah, 27, and Irina, 25, exhibited childish behavior, and the internet is more than happy to call them out on it, along with their former castmates. Here's a breakdown of what's happened since "Love Is Blind" aired its first episode.

People on the Internet think Irina and Micah give off "mean girl" energy and have labeled them the 'Plastics.' 

We're not the only ones who think Irina and Micah would fit right into Lindsay Lohan's 2004 classic "Mean Girls."

In a comment under one of Bliss's pinned Instagram posts, someone wrote, "You commanded respect on the show, and I admired how you handled the two "Plastics" straight out of 'Mean Girls'! Kudos, Queen!"

Similarly, a Twitter user shared a picture of the women in the pool together in Mexico and wrote, "Mean girl energy right there!"

—EpikQSaran (@reelyromantic) March 25, 2023

"If you're watching Love Is Blind Season 4 and don't immediately dislike Micah and Irina… we cannot be friends," another Twitter user wrote. 

—kylie. (@kylie_adams_) March 25, 2023

And journalist Tatyana Yomary had a question for Micah when episode six dropped and Irina had made moves on Paul in Mexico. 

"Now Micah… why would you be so surprised that Irina's conniving ass would make a play at your man. Ma'am you did the same thing with Kwame. It's giving the pot calling the kettle black," she tweeted.

—TatayanaYomary (@TheTatyYomary) March 31, 2023

Micah and Irina spoke out about the backlash they've received online

In a joint interview, Micah and Irina addressed the motivation behind their behavior in a conversation with Entertainment Weekly. 

"For us, it was really helpful to have a little sense of normalcy," Micah said, "Being able to laugh and make light and make jokes and, well, maybe sometimes the jokes didn't land or maybe it didn't look the best, but we needed that in that moment to feel like a normal person. Because you're a part of this experience that is so beyond words. To be able to make a little bit of light out of such a hard thing was really helpful."

Irina told the outlet her behavior was a "coping mechanism."

"And I honestly will say on the record, 100%, I did not intentionally ever want to hurt anyone. [Hearing] that I hurt people's feelings genuinely breaks my heart," she added. She also said that she hopes to "have some conversations to fix that later," presumably with some of her season four castmates. 

Micah took her apology a step further and told the public she was sorry in a March 29 Instagram story statement captured by Today, in which she admitted to some "emotional immaturity."

"I'm sorry I triggered so many of you with my behavior," she continued, addressing the public. "Seeing that person on the screen would make me feel the same anger." She then added she had turned off her comments to "protect my mental health." 

Micah also told Entertainment Weekly she doesn't regret her friendship with Irina, despite Irina flirting with Paul. 

Irina and Micah have not immediately responded to Insider's request for comment. 

Bliss has weighed in on Irina's behavior. 

Bliss told People that she made peace with Irina during the conversation they had in the pods.

"I really stand by that last conversation that Irina and I had in the pods," she told People. "I wish the best for her. I hope for growth and healing for her, and I hope that she can move forward and improve."

Zack chose Irina and they got engaged, only to call it off after a disastrous Mexico trip. 

Fans now know that Bliss reconnected with Zack, and as of "Love Is Blind" episode eight, they're happily engaged. After mending fences in the pods, though, Bliss said she got an upsetting text from Irina. 

"She did text me actually when she got back from Mexico, that I dodged a bullet. And then she's like, 'Oh wait, that was mean.' And I just didn't respond. I just had no interest in [it]. I felt like I said what I had needed to say to her."  

Bliss said she' heard from Irina once more after Netflix dropped the first episodes of the season. "She did reach out to me after these last episodes dropped and just apologizing and all of that. So we haven't talked in person or anything like that. But for me, this was a year ago. This is one small little blip in my life ... that was just one part of me and Zack's story."

Bliss, Amber, and Netflix have not immediately responded to Insider's request for comment.

"Love Is Blind" season four is available to stream on Netflix.