Will the couples be a match or be dashed?
Finally! A dating show that fills the gap on gay dating. After years of heteronormativity in reality dating I Kissed A Boy on the BBC has been an explosion of representation of gay pride.
The UK’s first gay dating show was released on the BBC Three on 13th May to kick off the summer of love. It stars 10 contestants who are matched up beforehand and starts off with them kissing on their first meeting. Forcing the contestants to dive into their chemistry.
And with a BBC Three-commissioned poll finding that 55% of gay men have faced discrimination in public this type of representation on our screens is desperately needed.
The show is set in an Italian Massaria and hosted by LGBTQ+ icon Dannii Minogue. It’s similar to other dating shows such as Love Island, where the contestants play games, go on dates and competes in challenges during the shows and at the end someone is sent home in a “kiss off”. A spicy twist whereby the couples will kiss each other to show they want to stay coupled up.
Things move quickly in reality shows so we decided to make predictions on the couples who we think will continue to stay together throughout the show.
Four episodes in, the couples! Will the couples be a match or dashed?
The first episode started with Gareth from Northern Ireland and Subomi from Nigeria living in London, being matched up. Gareth moved to London for his interest in fashion and Subomi is a man of many talents, being an athlete, and software developer. With both of them having a passion for fashion, their kiss definitely had chemistry and they even went in again there and then, and later on in the episode. Our Single-ish prediction was that they were a match.
Three reasons why you should watch this show:
Number one: Let’s support LGBTQ+
After being tired of begging Love Island and other dating shows to be more inclusive and stray away from heteronormativity we now have an alternative. It’s refreshing to see people being proudly gay on TV.
Number two: The summer of love has started.
This show is kicking off the dating show season. You can finally get excited for a summer of sexy activities.
Number Three: It actually has different people.
It’s nice to see people of different shapes, sizes, races and DIFFERENT personalities. We’re bored of the same people looking for the same “tall dark and handsome” man!
Four episodes in they are still going strong! They’re a single-ish favourite so we’re excited to see how this progresses!
Next up we had Ollie from Brighton and Ben from Edinburgh. Ben describes his personality as a cross between the goofiness of Goofy and then the grumpiness of Shrek (sighting an absolutely Scottish icon there!) He let us know he’s attracted to confidence, lucky he’s paired with Ollie whos definitely got one of the bigger personalities in the group. Their kiss definitely had chemistry and they had a little awkward handshake afterwards.
Initially we thought they were a match but after new boy Mikey joined towards the end of the episode our feelings have wobbled and it looks like Ben may stray.
So we predicted that they may be dashed.
Four episodes in and they are dashed! Both Ollie and Ben had doubts and decided to end it. Now they’re on the prowl for new matches with the new men who have entered Massaria!
Afterwards we had Jake from Swansea and Kailum from Brighton. After being single for 8 months Jake is bored of complicated men. He’s looking for someone with a fun, lively personality. Seems like Kailum who is louder with a bold personality and is also looking for someone who wants more than just a one-night stand, is a perfect match for him. Jake is a personal favourite for us at Single-ish, protect him at all costs!
Their kiss was very passionate and they seemed at ease with each other! Our prediction is that they were a match!
Four episodes in and they are still going strong!
Next, we have Joseph, a performing arts student from South London and Ross who is from Manchester (bit of a distance but hopefully they can make it work!). Joseph is hoping to fall in love for the first time. And looking at his chemistry with Ross it looks like it might happen!
Ross was definitely passionate during the kiss saying before and after that he loves to feel someone close to him (steady on Ross!) But Joseph seemed to be into it.
However, we just had a feeling that someone may stray from this relationship!
Four episodes in and they are dashed! So our predictions were right! Ben felt put off by Ross after having tension with the other boys in the Massaria. They just weren’t meant to be!
Now this is where the episode got interesting. We had Bobski from Essex come in. He has a bubbly personality and feels misunderstood in the dating scene. Bobski has been matched up with Josh who is definitely more reserved and is freshly out of the closet. He’s been raised a Mormon and has never had sex or even kissed a boy. Their kiss was definitely awkward which is to be expected from a first-ever kiss.
But it was a bit more than that. Josh afterwards describes the kiss as “a friend kiss”, which is never a good sign. Their body language together shows us at Single-ish that they’re definitely going to be dashed. And by the end of the episodes, it seemed like our initial reaction was correct with Josh lured away by the new hottie Mikey who enters at the end of the episode.
Four episodes in and they are definitely dashed. Bobski was sent home in the first “kiss off” and Josh coupled up with newcomer Mikey. However, by episode four they have already split and have eyes for the new boys who have just arrived!
The new boys’ Vitor, Ceejay and Dan are spicing things up and turning heads, so let’s see who leaves after the “kiss off” we’re excited to continue to watch and support this series.