One day, when I was scrolling through Instagram, an ad came up for the new Netflix dating show Age of Attraction. I thought it was an interesting concept, but nothing more. I thought nothing of it for weeks until I saw it pop up on my Netflix account last week with all eight episodes out. I usually start watching Netflix dating shows after all the episodes are out so I can avoid cliffhangers. I was looking for something to watch and remembered coming across it, so I hit play.
On the show, forty singles (twenty women and twenty men) ventured to a forest retreat to find love. The catch? The only question that was off-limits was to ask how old a contestant was. Which means, yes, someone in their early twenties could potentially connect with someone who’s sixty. At first, this bothered me. Dating someone even five years older than me is not something I’m personally interested in at this point in my life. However, as I continued watching the first episode, I was hooked because I wanted to know how old everyone was! So many people looked younger than they actually were, and a lot of my guesses were off.
Two contestants who connected with fellow contestants on the show, Libby (age 22) and Pfeifer (age 23), were my age (I’m 22, turning 23 in May). Libby connected with 38-year-old Andrew, and Pfeifer connected with 43-year-old Derrick. The 15 and 20-year age gaps weirded me out because I don’t want to date someone older than 25 right now! However, as the initial shock wore off, I couldn’t discriminate. From what I watched, Andrew and Derrick are both kind guys with pure hearts. Everyone on the show was simply trying to make a connection, with age taken out of the equation. I didn’t want to judge anyone who was simply being respectful and nice, so I decided to root for these contestants.
With my outlook change, I started to enjoy the show a lot more. In order for a couple to reveal their ages to each other, they have to commit to one another. When that time came, each couple ventured to the Promise Room to exchange rings…and finally, ages. I looked forward to each Promise Room trip so I could see the shock on each contestant’s face when their partners’ ages were revealed. The craziest age gap from the season was a 33-year age gap between contestants Vanelle (age 27) and Jorge (age 60).
I’m almost halfway through the season, and I’m so excited to see these couples live together and meet each other’s families. A unique part of the show is that each contestant is on a different life journey, and there’s a lot of single-parent representation coming from the older contestants. One couple in particular, John (age 27) and Theresa (age 54), has another hurdle to get over because John is two years younger than Theresa’s eldest kid. I don’t have any predictions as to who I think will commit to one another at the end of the season, but I’m hooked. I’m rooting for everyone to find love, no matter if it’s with their match or with someone else entirely after filming!