Heroines & villains of reality television meet their match

With the abundance of reality television series on streaming services and satellite television, it’s hard not to indulge yourself. Even those who say they don’t like reality TV have watched at least one, whether it’s Love is Blind, Too Hot to Handle (THTH), The Circle, or The Mole.

However, a new show has graced our screens. Casting all our fan favourites and least favourite TV personalities from these aforementioned reality shows, Perfect Match throws all these individuals together into one new series. 

The show’s concept is ridiculous. It involves challenges like putting sponges on, jumping in a pool, and then slamming your bodies together to try to fill up your bottle of water faster than other couples. We’re back to materialistic and superficial dating—go Netflix! 

While I may criticize the validity of the show’s premise, I’m aware I’m also the first to sit down and watch it. Because like all other reality shows, its entertainment properties lie in watching the cast members interact and the drama that surrounds them.

Let’s face it, no one cares if they’re “dating” when we’ve seen the superficiality and obviously scripted aspects of the series. Chances are we’re already aware via social media the couples have broken up. However, I do enjoy watching the shady comments, the sweet moments, the villains and the badasses, and the pretty people (insert an image of Dom). 

So, here’s a recap of the villains and heroines of Perfect Match that make it all worth the watch.

One of my favourite TV personalities is without a doubt THTH star Chloe Veitch. Chloe is bubbly, funny, outgoing, and someone you can’t help but smile at. She’s never been a problematic figure; she’s just there for a good time.

Chloe ended up matching with Shayne Jansen from Love is Blind. Unexpectedly, I became very fond of Shayne. While on his season of Love is Blind, he was a complete a-hole, he’s actually very sweet on Perfect Match. He’s one of the rare members of this cast that you could without a doubt denote as being there for the right reasons.

I found this match to be incredibly complimentary. Both are very electric, funny people with big hearts. They bounce off each other. Both obviously have emotional growing to do, but who doesn’t? If you asked me who the Perfect Match was, they’d be my first pick.

The Mole’s Dom Gabriel and The Circle France’s Ines Tazi are two people I also adored this season. While they portrayed a very platonic friendship, I think they would’ve been excellent together.

Dom is handsome and kind. His head-to-toe tattoos make him look sexy and intimidating, but his sweet and innocent demeanour is instantly lovable. The scene where’s drunk, crying, and asking if it’s raining broke my heart a bit.

Ines is mature and independent. She knows what she wants and won’t settle for less. She also knows how to stand her ground while still being kind-hearted. I admired her and was shocked to see little pursuit from the men.

In terms of villains this season: THTH’s Chase Demoor, THTH’s Francesca Fargo, and Love is Blind’s Bartise Bowden.

Chase’s ego is so big there’s hardly any room to breathe on that beach, so props to the cast members! It’s pretty clear Chase has no interest in finding a connection and was hired to interfere with relationships. While I can understand the need for a villain, he’s overly rude, often humiliating Kariselle for no reason, trashes Dom and Georgia’s relationship, and shows no compassion for the women he was entertaining.

I hate to break it to you, Chase: you’re not an A-list celebrity!

Francesca is an entitled mean girl. With her ego so large, I suppose there’s no space for kindness. She’s condescending and rude to Savannah for going after Dom, only to dump Dom the day after. She strings along Damien while flirting with other men and overall came into the show to strategize, not to make connections. I didn’t like her attitude or her intentions.

Lastly—and unsurprisingly—Bartise. Imagine how much of a villain he was on Love is Blind and multiply it by ten. 

After he matches with her, Twentysomething’sAbbey Humphreys tells Bartise she doesn’t want to have sex in their suite because it’s on camera and she cares what her family would think of her.

So, Bartise goes after another woman the next day.

When Abbey shows her frustration with the situation, Bartise questions her authenticity by weaponizing their conversation into saying she's the type of person that cares about what others think of her—all because she doesn’t want to have sex on reality television. I wish I could say that’s the only instance of him being a jerk. 

Despite the ridiculous plot lines, the most engaging content is the interactions between characters. Perfect Match hit the nail on the head by throwing all these personalities we love and despise into one show. What more could you ask for?