The American reality television show “Are You The One?” aired on MTV, focused on finding the perfect pairing using a matchmaking algorithm. The results of the first season proved to be a remarkable success, and since its premiere on 21 January 2014, a spin-off series was also created. It fascinated not only the local viewers, but the international audience as well, that numerous countries developed their own versions. Out of the eight seasons that were aired, the producers of the TV series boasted of having found perfect matches in seven seasons, after the participants went through several challenges in the show. However, most fans were curious to know if any of these couples survived outside the controlled matchmaking experiment?
“Are You The One,” the premise of the show
Finding one’s true love can be hard, and the TV show “Are You The One,” attempted to help the participants in their 20s land their ideal partners. The producers of the show used a compatibility algorithm to secretly create perfect matches among the group, and called the show the ‘most ambitious matchmaking experiment ever.’
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This reality TV show differed from other dating shows as it was also a competition, in which all of the participants were given the chance to figure out their perfect match through a series of dating activities or challenges
A chance on the Truth Booth
A truth booth would be available to the group each episode, and they all got to vote for which couple they believed had all the characteristics of being the perfect match. The chosen couple didn’t have any choice but to enter the booth, even if they felt that the others were wrong about them. If they guessed it right, then a honeymoon suite would be the couple’s next destination, but if not, they would go back to the house.
Prize Money and Matching Ceremony
At the end of each episode there would be a “matching ceremony”, in which the contestants would try their luck in finding their perfect match. They paired-up, and the host would tell them how many were right, but would withhold their identities. If they identified all the matching couples, then they got to share the prize of $1 million at the end of the show.
However, during the third season, the producers changed the format a bit, by taking away a corresponding amount of the prize money each time the contestants as a group experienced a blackout; $250,000 would be deducted if they failed to figure out one perfect match during a matching ceremony.
At the end of the season, if they were successful in figuring out all the perfect matches, they would go back home not only rich in love, but also with a hefty financial reward to enjoy. In the first couple of weeks, everyone seemed happy trying to find “the one” for themselves, but after connections were made and it was discovered that they weren’t a perfect match, the drama began.
Popularity, spin-off series, and controversies
Singles in their 20s found the reality-TV show “Are You The One,” the ideal vehicle to meet ‘the one’ and at the same time win huge money along the way.
A hit dating TV show which stopped airing in 2019
The viewers picked it up immediately, as they found that the match-making process using modern technology was a great way to pass the time.
TV ratings have grown substantially over the years, as it surprisingly attracted many viewers considering that they have a smaller audience since it’s on a cable network. The good reviews that spread on social media helped in promoting the show, and the success of the first season led to seven more seasons. MTV aired close to 90 episodes over eight seasons before they stopped airing; it wasn’t canceled, but due to the pandemic caused by the Covid-19 virus, the casting schedule for the next season was halted. As it was a dating show with so much physical contact between the cast members, the producers knew that it would not work, as they had to abide by the regulations about social distancing.
Several international versions with one spinoff series
As the show became more popular, it developed an international following. Several countries including France, Germany, Sweden and Brazil created their own versions. A spin-off series entitled “Are You The One: Second Chances” was created in 2017 and former cast members were given another chance to find their perfect match. Most of the participants were from the first five seasons of the original show.
A sexual assault scandal hinders its 2022 return
After the travel regulations and social distancing restrictions eased somewhat in 2021, MTV announced that casting for new contestants had resumed, and that a new season of “Are You The One” would soon air. However, allegations of sexual assault raised by former contestant Gianna Hammer surfaced, that led to a halt on MTV plans. She claimed that in 2016, she was sexually assaulted by another contestant in the Dominican Republic when they were filming the fifth season; she said that some of the other contestants witnessed the act and physically pulled her out of the situation. The production crew then made her drink Zoloft, and convinced her to let the perpetrator stay. Gianna also claimed that the producers had just forbidden them to drink any alcohol during the remaining days of filming. She felt that she was disrespected by the production team and that they never made her feel safe.
The production company, Lighthearted Entertainment, denied the allegations, and announced their co-operation during its investigation.
They were confident that anyone could easily confirm that they set up safety protocols during filming to ensure the protection of all cast members. In an official statement, they added, ‘Throughout the eight seasons of the show, no contestant has reported an incident of sexual assault to Lighthearted.’ While MTV promoted that the show would return in 2022, there was no definite date given.
“Are You The One” perfect matches who are still together in 2022
Mixing single men and women in their 20s, and having them live together in an idyllic tropical paradise would undoubtedly yield perfect matches. It was already a given that some participants would somehow find happiness on the reality-TV dating show, but the real question was if the relationship would last after the bright lights were turned off. Which couple survived after they were shipped off the romantic beach set up and back to the real world? Here’s a list of couples who are still together after they met in the TV show:
Ethan and Amber (Season 1)
Initially, fans thought that having many young single adults living together in one big house with lots of booze was a recipe for disaster. However, the first season produced one perfect match who stayed together even off-camera. Ethan Diamond, a 23-year old guy from Denver, Colorado, and Amber Lee, a 22-year-old gal from Austin, Texas, became the poster couple of the reality-TV show. The viewers couldn’t help but be amazed that the couple was truly smitten with each other.
Fans thought it was just for show, but then Ethan proposed to Amber in a reunion special, after dating each other for a few months, and they married in September 2014, and proved everyone wrong when they stayed together over the years, and have two daughters – Scarlett was their first child, born about four months after the marriage, and welcomed their second daughter, Serena, in June 2018. Amber said that they both worked hard to get their college degrees after the show was finished.
They chose not to have a lavish wedding as they put their savings as a down payment for a new house, and they also proudly shared with their fans that they’re both debt-free, as they already paid their student loans. Ethan and Amber now owned two properties and two cars, through hard work. Her advice to other women looking for their perfect match: ‘Don’t find a hubby to sweep you off your feet, find one that will hustle hard WITH you.’
Curtis and Jenni (Season 2)
Most of the fans who watched the second season of “Are You The One”, weren’t shocked anymore when they learned that Curtis Hadzicki didn’t end up for real with Shelby Yardley, who was his perfect match in the reality-TV show. They were both disinterested in one another throughout the season, even if they were deemed compatible by the algorithm used by the show. He was quite crazy for another participant named Briana the whole time, but after the show wrapped up, it didn’t work out because she said that the fast-paced relationship in the real world wasn’t for her.
The next thing fans heard about Curtis was that he proposed to another season two contestant, Jenni Knapmiller. People were surprised at this development, because they never really connected with each other in the show. Jenni’s perfect match at that time was a guy named John Moustis. When Jenni and Curtis were invited to a podcast, they candidly revealed that he was already into her from the get-go. He accidentally saw one of Jenni’s videos in the production room before they even started filming for the show, and told his uncle who was with him at that time that she would end up being his girlfriend.
They were already talking to each other from the first day of filming, however, for some reason it seemed that the production crew didn’t pair them up at all, and those moments they spent together never made it to the final edit. Allegedly, it seemed that whatever connection they had didn’t play up to the narrative that the producers had already mapped for the season.
After the show ended, they reconnected and took time to really get to know each other before he popped the question in October 2020. She said yes and posted the moment in her Instagram account with the caption, ‘I didn’t know I could smile this big.’ They plan to marry in April 2022.
Clinton Moxam and Uche Nwosu (Season Six)
MTV network probably thanked their lucky stars when another couple from the sixth season of “Are You The One”, Clinton Moxam and Uche Nwosu, made it to the altar. The two had instant chemistry from their first meeting, and were convinced along with the other participants over the first five episodes that they were the perfect match. When another girl, Jada, who was supposed to be her best friend in the show, tried making moves on Clinton, Uche was angry. However, when they were voted to enter the Truth Booth halfway through the season, they found out that the matchmaking algorithm that the producers used had rejected them as a perfect match.
Uche said that she had a difficult time moving on from Clinton after that, but they had to win as a group so she became a team player. It was hard for both of them to watch each other find their perfect match through the remaining episodes of the season.
After the show ended, they went back to each other’s arms, and continued dating as Uche moved to a city in Florida, where Clinton was living an hour away. Everything just clicked between the two, and both their families supported their relationship. Three years after they met in the dating show, he proposed and she accepted, and they exchanged “I do’s” in September 2021 in Chicago; some of the “Are You The One” participants came to witness the union. Both Clinton and Uche flooded their Instagram timelines with photos from their wedding, and he captioned one of the photos with ‘Let’s build this life together and allow the blessings to rain down as they always have. I love you Perfect.’
Even if the compatibility algorithm used in the show failed them, they were both grateful to the show for putting them in a room together.
So while the couple was living proof that the algorithm wasn’t that accurate, the producers were still happy about it, and treated it as another great ‘real life’ marketing material to get the show continuously aired on the small screen.
Cam and Carolina (Season 4 and Season 5)
Fans of the TV show were shocked that Cam Bruckman and Carolina Duarte ended up together. It wasn’t because they were not each other’s perfect match, but that they weren’t given any chance at all to be paired in the show, mainly because Cam was from season four and Carolina was from season five. Many hopeless romantics out there believed that fate intervened.
During Cam’s stint in the show, he was with Victoria Wyatt until they were declared “No Match” by the Truth Booth; it was revealed at the end of the season that he was a perfect match with Julia Rose;.after the fourth season ended filming, the two weren’t seriously interested in each other.
When Carolina participated in the fifth season, she was first involved with Ozzy Morales, but the Truth Booth declared them as a “No Match.” She then moved forward with Hayden Weaver, who turned out to be her perfect match, so she was able to experience the Honeymoon Suite. However, the relationship didn’t survive after the show ended – Carolina then dated Keith Klebacher from season six, but that also didn’t work out.
The fans didn’t know that Cam had already started sending DMs to Carolina after he learned that she found him cute when she watched his season of the show. Initially, they never took each other seriously and dated other people, but when they finally gave each other a chance, it turned out to be one for the books. Based on her Instagram, she took a long time to have a boyfriend post. It was only in July 2018 that she shared with the public that she was dating Cam. Since then, most of her posts have been about their journey, and how they proved everyone wrong.
They became engaged in September 2019, after he proposed to her near the 365ft Bridal Veil Waterfall. They tied the knot in July 2021, and when 2022 started, she shared that they were expecting a baby in July.
There were numerous couples from the show who tried dating after filming, but not all of them were successful. Some relationships, unfortunately, were described as on and off even if they already had kids, so they weren’t included in the list. The four couples mentioned have proven that their relationship is as steady as a rock, since the first time they shared it publicly.
MTV network has announced in March 2022 that the next season of “Are You The One” would be accessible via Paramount Plus, an American video-on-demand subscription service. The reality-TV show would also get a global edition using the same format, so that fans might expect perfect matches involving singles from different cultures and races. As before, some may also end up exchanging wedding vows, whether they theoretically found their perfect match or not.
