For its first two seasons, Perfect Match was a place for alums from Netflix reality shows to mix and mingle and, maybe, find their forever person. But in its third entry (which premieres on Aug. 1), the dating competition will add a handful of off-streamer singles to its usual pool from Love Is Blind, Too Hot to Handle, and company.
The reality crossover will include two alums — exes, in fact, — from Bachelor Nation: Rachel Recchia and Clayton Echard.
A Reality Reunion
For the uninitiated, Rachel was a contestant on Clayton’s turbulent Bachelor season, which aired in 2022. The pair forged a strong connection. But it fell apart after Clayton told Rachel and her castmate Gabby Windey — in front of each other! — that he was in love with both of them and had been intimate with both of them, only to break things off to pursue Susie Evans instead.
Rachel went on to co-lead The Bachelorette and even returned for a stint on Bachelor in Paradise the following year. Neither outing led to a lasting match, so it makes sense that the pilot would test her luck in a different franchise altogether.
As for Clayton, he and Susie dated for nearly a year after The Bachelor before parting ways.
Suffice to say, there’s a lot of history here! However, Perfect Match isn’t the first time Rachel and Clayton have reunited. In 2023, they went viral after hanging out in a group with other reality alums. It wasn’t a romantic meeting — but it was “healing,” Clayton later told Us Weekly.
“For her to forgive me and tell me that, ‘Hey, I understand, and I don’t hold this against you any longer,’ that was probably one of the best things I could have heard,” he said.
As Clayton’s Perfect Match bio puts it, this season will see whether he “can uncouple from his inner self-saboteur and stop overthinking so he can find the soulmate he’s been searching for.” As for Rachel, she’s “entering this competition with ‘no expectations,’ so the only way to go from there is up.”
What’s To Come In Perfect Match Season 3
While only time will tell what happens between Rachel and Clayton this time around, there is already one major spoiler from Season 3. This spring, Amber Desiree “AD” Smith and Ollie Sutherland — alums from the U.S. and U.K. versions of Love Is Blind, respectively — announced their engagement and pregnancy after meeting on Perfect Match.
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