This ‘Dating Around’ Star Fell In Love With The Director After Her Episode

Sometimes, a terrible date can to lead to something great. Just ask Gurki Basra, whose disastrous experience on Netflix's Dating Around led to a totally unexpected romance. The reality dating series follows six singles as they go on five back-to-back first dates, and the jewelry buyer participated in Season 1, which was filmed in New York City. After suffering through a tension-filled dinner where a suitor grilled her about everything from her divorce to her parents' arranged marriage, she opted not to go on a second date with anyone. However, considering Gurki Basra is dating director James Adolphus now, I'd say the experience still worked out in her favor.

During a June 2020 interview with OprahMag.com, Basra revealed how she and Adolphus first hit it off. In the final scene of Basra's episode, she struts down a SoHo sidewalk in a Sex and the City-esque sequence, and she exchanges a smile with a cute guy who checks her out as she walks by. As it turns out, that guy was Adolphus. "I didn't actually know he was going to be in that scene," she explained. "The smile is genuine, and me smiling and being surprised is genuine." OK, now I'm genuinely smiling.

Even before filming that final surprise scene, Basra was feeling some major sparks with the director. "Towards the end of filming, when I realized things weren't gonna work out with any of the guys, I was definitely a bit more flirty [with James]," she told OprahMag.com. "He would not have it. But in hindsight, he talks about how he'd go home and was like, 'Oh yeah, she's totally into me, but I can't do anything.'" Finally, after filming for Dating Around wrapped, the two decided to go out to dinner, and luckily, the experience was nothing like Basra's cringey date with the overly-critical bro.

By the time Season 1 of Dating Around dropped on Netflix in Feb. 2019, Basra and Adolphus were in regular contact, but it wasn't until Basra moved to Los Angeles that summer that the two became serious. Following the coronavirus outbreak, the two quarantined together, and when that went well, the couple decided to cohabit long-term. "We love each other. We care about each other. We adore each other," Basra gushed. "I've always said I would get married again, if it was the right person." According to her, this is the most serious relationship she's been in since her divorce.

It doesn't seem as though Basra has any regrets about participating on the show, since it led to such an amazing (albeit unexpected) connection. As she told Brown Girl Magazine back in April 2019, the series didn't just allow her to meet Adolphus — it also gave her a sense of optimism. When asked if she was seeing anyone, Basra said, "Even though I didn't connect with any of the dates on the show, it did make me more optimistic about the fact that a nice guy was out there for me. I am now dating someone seriously and head over heels in love. I don't think he and I would be so amazing together if I hadn't spent years working on myself before I met him."

Congrats to these two lovebirds, and if Basra and Adolphus end up getting a spinoff series, I wouldn't be mad about it.