A contestant from Love Is Blind: Argentina has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for the attempted murder of his ex-wife — the same woman he met, fell for and married on the Netflix dating series.
Santiago Martínez was convicted of attempted murder, repeated assault and unlawful detention of Emily Ceco, according to reports from Cosmopolitan and Reality Shrine. The case has drawn international attention because of where it began — inside the pods of a reality dating show built on the premise that emotional connection can outlast anything.
For Ceco, it didn’t.
From the ‘Love Is Blind’ Pods to a Police Complaint
Martínez and Ceco met during the 2024 season of Love Is Blind: Argentina, the Spanish-language spinoff of the Netflix franchise where contestants date and propose without ever seeing each other. They got engaged on the show, married in a civil ceremony before the finale, and were planning a second, more intimate wedding ceremony.
That second wedding never happened.
In February 2025, Ceco filed a formal complaint against her husband alleging gender-based violence, detailing both verbal and physical abuse. Shortly after, she appeared on the Argentine program El ejército de la mañana on Bondi Live with visible injuries, including a bruised and swollen left eye and bruises down her arm.
The images circulated quickly online. So did the question that often follows reality television romances: how much of what viewers saw was real?
Inside the Courtroom During the Trial
During the trial, Ceco described what it felt like to share a courtroom with the man she said tried to kill her. According to Reality Shrine, she said her “whole body was shaking” when she had to face her abuser in court.
“I was terrified. During his statement, he apologised and said he still loved me,” she said.
After the sentence came down, Ceco reflected on what 15 years means — and what it doesn’t.
“15 years of peace ahead … I don’t know what will happen when he gets out, but I hope the justice system continues to protect me,” she said. “If he tried to kill me when I gave him everything, I can’t imagine what he might do to me or my family after 15 years of anger.”
Santiago Martínez Denies the Attempted Murder Charge
Martínez admitted to violence but denied that he ever tried to kill Ceco. According to Cosmopolitan, he posted a statement on Instagram ahead of the sentencing.
“The first thing I want to say is that I do not justify violence in any way, and I was the first to acknowledge my mistake and to apologise privately, and today I take responsibility for what I did,” he wrote. “But that does not mean I take responsibility for trying to kill the woman I loved.”
He went on to push back against the medical and behavioral evidence presented against him.
“Criminal experts said in their reports that the injuries were minor, there was never in any danger of death, and she was always free to do whatever she wanted,” he wrote, adding: “I never exercised the manipulation and control they claim — that is a lie, and I know the truth will be proven. Now it’s time to stay silent and wait for justice to judge based on real evidence and not on a narrative.”
The court, ultimately, sided with the narrative laid out by prosecutors and Ceco.
What Ceco Said After the Sentencing
In the hours after sentencing, Ceco returned to Instagram — this time to thank the people who had stood by her through the trial.
“Sentence was announced yesterday. And I’m still trying to understand everything that moves inside me. It’s not just a closure… is to remove a story that marked me deeply,” she wrote, per Reality Shrine.
“There were days of so much fear, of feeling lost, of not knowing how to go on. And there was also something in me that, even in the darkest moments, chose not to give up. But I wasn’t alone. And that’s what I feel the strongest today.”
