Ines Tazi in “Perfect Match” and Dating Americans

Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images)

Greta Thunberg, move on. Instead of getting a new cast for its latest “dating experiment,” Netflix decided to cut, reuse, recycle… the contestants! Perfect Match gave the runners-up, home-wreckers, and redeemers of our favorite franchises a chance to pair up (both romantically and strategically), compete in a series of challenges to approximate compatibility, sabotage other couples, and keep them “perfectly matched” long enough. The cross-franchise reunion special slash dating show slash strategy competition is broken in both format complexity and swimsuit technology.

Ines Tazi, from the French iteration The circle, had no idea what to expect when she called Netflix US, but as a newly single and self-proclaimed “love sucker,” she decided to take the plunge. His appearance on the show was a rollercoaster, paired with previous contestants Love is blind (Shayne, Bartise, Damian) The Mole (Will), and The circle (Nick). Her unapologetic vulnerability, refusal to settle, and frequent citations of ancient French wisdom set her apart from the rest of the cast and made her an early fan favorite. Writing her own happy ending, Tazi made her own choice and left alone. Despite a string of failed relationships, she claims the strongest match from the house was between her and eventual winner Dom Gabriel. Although the pair never got romantically engaged, their chemistry was palpable and they remain close to this day. “This is the strongest match that’s happened in the house,” he tells Vulture. “It just wasn’t romantic.”

The origin story of Netflix begins with this The circle, and you were in a relationship at the time. Now, a few years later, you’re returning to TV as a single. What was your thought process when you got the call from Netflix?
I don’t want to say a sign from the universe, but somehow! After The circle, I didn’t consider myself an influencer; I really considered myself an entrepreneur. Even when I continued The circle, my company was all I focused on. But the month I started it, I was burned out and had my first heartbreak. Then I got a phone call like, “Hey, this is Netflix US. We’re thinking about this crazy show.”

To be honest, I didn’t know the concept of the show, but it was about love and I was really in the process of learning. I’ve been in three three-year relationships—practically my entire life has been in one relationship. I had only been single for a year and I really asked myself: Where do I want to live? What do I want to love? Who am I? What are the non-negotiables in a relationship? I was literally on dating apps and dating guys trying to figure out what the hell I wanted. So getting on a dating show and doing that introspective work was very organic.

How hopeful were you of meeting someone on the show?
Some of the people I met stayed so close that I knew you could make meaningful connections. With Perfect Matchobviously it’s a dating show and there are cameras so you’re not going to I will meet the father of my children. But I was like Maybe I want to meet someone who has had a similar experience to me through Netflix. I wasn’t happy living in Paris, so I definitely thought about moving to the United States, and I did I end up moving to the US, I’m very spontaneous when it comes to love. For example, if I love someone, God, I don’t care. I’m only booking a flight the next day.

You never know what life will bring or when or where you will meet your person.
Also, I was paired with Shayne at the beginning and he wasn’t interested in the cameras, and I didn’t understand the rules of the game. I didn’t realize it was a strategic thing. I liked him and when we got together it was very natural. Then he rejected her, and that put me in a vulnerable position from the start.

This show moves faster than any other dating show I’ve watched, and people have to move through rejection and conflict so quickly to find a new match before time runs out. How did that affect the game for you?
It’s hard to keep your confidence up when you get rejected so many times without understanding why, without processing it and still being in the game – just like it can be stressful in real life. But you don’t get to spend much time alone on the show. And to me, being alone is such a precious thing that you need to be a good partner or a good couple. You should be perfectly fine being alone. It was hard not to have moments alone.

It takes a lot of processing in a short amount of time and in front of all these people, including the one you’re trying to get over.
The first step is to be honest with yourself, and this is a difficult exercise. Everything you saw in the show was based on my own experiences: how to deal with love, how to deal with myself. It’s a lifetime job. It was very difficult, but you also learn a lot. At the end of the day, I was glad I didn’t really question my self-worth based on whether or not a man would choose me. I wasn’t like God, nobody in the house likes me. Well, I’m a shitty person.

When you decided to leave it was because no one was leaving the show and it was your level. Can you talk about what it was like to make that decision?
I realized there wasn’t much left for me. I’m done trying to sell myself short. It was important to show that you can really choose yourself and be vulnerable. I believe that empowerment and vulnerability go hand in hand. And I thought he was really empowered to say, “This isn’t working for me.” This was my happy end.

Apart from romantic relationships, what other relationships have you developed? Did you give advice, make friends, network?
Everyone was very kind and caring to me, but I felt that not everyone understood me. I was seen as that French Moroccan girl who is a bit random. But my safe place was definitely Dom from day one. We’re still so close and he’s someone I know will be there for me and be my friend when we’re 55 and chilling and having coffee. The first second we saw each other, the first word, just made sense. But I met friends for life. I really became friends with Francesca. Anne-Sophie, Abbey, Chloe – these are people I’m very close to.

Has this experience completely turned away from American men?
Oh, no, no! It’s kind of funny because everyone in America comes up to me like “I’m so sorry, little girl!” But I’m definitely not closing the door on dating American men. I am single and happy to discover LA. I’m focusing on myself for now, but I’m definitely not closing the door. Like I said, I suck at love.