Perfect Match (2023) is Netflix’s reality television version of a rock supergroup. It brought contestants from many of its popular reality shows, including Love Is Blind, Too Hot to Handle, and The Circle, to find love in a tropical setting. The goal is for the various participants to date one another and, ideally, find true love.
Throughout the show, new participants are introduced, sent home, and brought back. At the end of each episode, anyone left uncoupled is sent home. The show starts by introducing two new women or two new men to the group, and the various romances constantly reconfigure.
There are three openly bi women on the show. Francesca Farago has always been open about her bisexuality and kissed a woman on Too Hot to Handle. Although her bisexuality occasionally feels performative, so does every other aspect of her. She also makes it clear that anyone she dates needs to be comfortable with her continuing to identify as bi, regardless of relationship status.
She starts paired with Dom Gabriel, before leaving him for Damian Powers. Then, in a massively predictable twist, she is set up on a date with another out bi woman, Abbey Humphreys from Twentysomethings: Austin. The two only stay together for a short time before Francesca makes out with the third bi woman, Kariselle Snow of Sexy Beasts, and makes Abbey jealous. Abbey leaves Francesca, and Francesca returns to Damian.
On the one hand, it’s unfortunate that among this cast of 23 people, the three bi cast members are all women. There were more than a few cringy scenes with the men fetishizing the bi women, talking about threesomes, etc. There were also some wholesome moments, including Kriselle making it clear to her partner throughout the show that he has to fully embrace her bisexuality. She says explicitly that even if she’s married to a man and never has a relationship with another woman, she will still be bi.
The three bi women also have a conversation about what it means to be bi, their coming out experiences, and how much it means for them to have other bi women around. Then, Francesca mentions that the best case scenario is dating a bi man; she dated one once, and it was the best. The other women all heartily agreed, although it seemed like none of them had ever met a bi man. It was also great to see that these three women lived their bisexuality differently, had different relationship goals, and were fundamentally different people. All bi people aren’t the same!
Reality television might not be the best place to look for great bi representation, but Perfect Match did manage to expand on the trope of two women getting drunk and kissing for the entertainment of the men (although that also happened). Hopefully, we’ll see some bi men.