Marissa George Found Her Perfect Match Outside Of Reality TV

Marissa George walked into the Perfect Match finale knowing she was about to lose. Even though she and DeMari Davis were one of the longest-running couples in Season 4, winning almost all of the compatibility challenges and never unmatching from each other, George didn’t feel like she had her fellow cast members’ support in the voting booth. “I could tell we weren’t going to win,” the 34-year-old tells Elite Daily. “Because by that point, everyone knew DeMari and I weren’t going to be a couple afterwards.”

No, this wasn’t some last-minute development stemming from George and Davis’ blowout fight right before the final vote. George reveals that the two came to an understanding at the start of the process that they wouldn’t explore a romance in the real world. “I told him very early on, ‘Hey, I’m not looking to leave this experience in a relationship, so let’s just see where it goes.’ And he understood that,” George says. “Our castmates knew that, so they were never going to vote us as the perfect match.”

While George says she’s still friendly with Davis, she hasn’t seen him since filming the finale last fall. She’s moved on in a major way, revealing that she got married earlier this year to a man she originally dated more than a decade ago, before the reality TV of it all.

Below, the Love Is Blind Season 7 star reveals all the piping-hot tea about her time on Perfect Match — including what stopped her from nearly quitting the show.

Elite Daily: What was your initial reaction when you were asked to be on Perfect Match?

Marissa George: I had just gotten out of a relationship a few months before, so I said, “Screw it. Let’s go do it.” I wanted to approach it in a fun way, because Love Is Blind was so much more serious.

ED: Did your experience filming Love Is Blind influence how you approached Perfect Match?

MG: I went into Love Is Blind sort of delusionally, but I learned that I wear my heart on my sleeve. Since then, I’ve had growth in terms of people-pleasing and standing up for myself, but overall, I still approached this experience by just being myself.

ED: Did you speak with with your ex-fiancé Ramses Prashad before going on this show?

MG: No, that is completely done. I have not spoken to Ramses in probably two years.

ED: How would you have reacted if he was also cast in this season of Perfect Match?

MG: I definitely had that thought. I haven’t seen him in so long, so I did have a concern of like, would that trigger me? I knew I wasn’t going to fall for him, and I ended up deciding that seeing him wouldn’t upset me. I would have just been like, “You do you. I’ll do me. And let’s have fun separately.”

ED: Would it have felt similar to how DeMari kept his ex Bri Balram at arm’s length throughout the season?

MG: I think it would’ve been a lot friendlier than that. Ramses and I don’t have any bad blood left in us.

ED: Your first day at the villa, you staked your claim on DeMari very quickly. Obviously, it was a physical attraction at first, but was there a point when you started to have deeper feelings for him?

MG: We had our eyes on each other pretty early on. Physical attraction was the main thing, but I liked his personality as well. We were constantly laughing with each other. There’s a lot of sarcasm that maybe doesn’t translate as well onto TV, but I felt very comfortable being honest with him about where I was at.

ED: So you and DeMari had an agreement that you weren’t going to continue any romantic connection after the show?

MG: Yeah, we had that discussion pretty early on, and we were on the same page. There’s obviously the intrigue and the what-ifs, but we knew that we were going to walk away as just friends.

ED: Was the show the last time you saw him?

MG: Yeah, we’re still friendly, but I have not seen DeMari since the show. Leaving was sad, of course, but we both knew our relationship wasn’t going to go beyond the villa.

I knew DeMari and I were the strongest couple in the house, and everyone else knew it too. But I could tell we weren’t going to win.

ED: You and DeMari had this huge fight right before the finale, where you mentioned leaving the show. How close were you to quitting?

MG: Oh God, that fight was so unnecessary, but I was just feeling so crazy and emotionally exhausted at that point. I was trying to hear what DeMari was telling me, but I just couldn’t. So I talked to the producers and asked to speak to a therapist, because they’re on set 24/7 for us, and I really needed help regulating my emotions.

I definitely considered leaving the show, and I told DeMari that, but talking to that therapist was really helpful. After that, I was able to go back to DeMari and come to terms like, “Hey, let’s not leave.”

ED: You and DeMari were portrayed as one of the central couples this season. Were you surprised when Dave Hand and Sophie Willett were voted as the winners instead of you two?

MG: I knew DeMari and I were the strongest couple in the house, and everyone else knew it too. But I could tell we weren’t going to win. Even though we won all those competitions and are clearly compatible, we also had drama with a lot of the singles in the house, which Dave and Sophie didn’t. There were so many people who wouldn’t vote for us: Bri’s not voting for DeMari, Kayla [Richart]’s not voting for us, Kassy [Castillo]’s not. But I was OK with that.

ED: Are any of the other couples from the finale still together?

MG: There are some couples that tried to make it work but failed. But you might see some new couples that tried after the show, it didn’t work out, and now they’re coming back together. I think when this season came out, they started watching and caught feelings again. That happens when it’s your first reality show — it’s my second, so I know this game now.

ED: What’s it been like to deal with commentary from viewers again?

MG: I’m doing very well. Love Is Blind was such a traumatic thing for me, so I feel like this is nothing. This is JV. I stay out of the comments as much as possible, and I also filter the heck out of my comments.

ED: It seems like one of the main critiques is about you locking in with DeMari too early.

MG: Sure. Did I lock in with DeMari? Absolutely. Was my plan to go in there and lock in with one person? No. I think there’s so much context missing. You don’t get to see the fun side of DeMari and I. You see the fights but not all the times we were fine. Just enjoy the show. It’s entertainment. It’s really not that serious.

ED: Do you have any regrets over how you handled Perfect Match?

MG: I want to say that I would do a lot of things differently, but I pride myself on being authentic. And what you see of me on the show is just all the complexities of a real freaking person. So I don’t necessarily regret going on the show or acting the way I did.

I wish, of course, that I was a more polished person at times, but that’s just not me, and I would’ve been so boring if I tried to be anyone else.

ED: What’s the main lesson you’re taking away from your Perfect Match experience?

MG: I really learned about my need for validation. That’s probably common for us on reality TV, and why we put ourselves in these crazy scenarios. But looking back, I was more possessive and jealous on the show than I would be today, because I’ve worked on those things since. I learned I don’t need to overexplain myself or always react to everything.

Nobody wants to admit to themselves that they want attention, but that’s what I had to confront.

ED: I don’t even think that’s just a reality TV thing — I think everyone wants attention in some way.

MG: It’s freaking true. I have massive daddy issues. I have abandonment issues. Of course I have wanted those things. And it’s funny, because I thought I’d worked so much on that after Love Is Blind, but watching Perfect Match back, I’m like, “Dang, I was like that.” It goes to show that healing and growth is not linear, and you have setbacks.

Don’t call me a psychopath. Just be like, ‘She’s a little crazy.’

ED: Would you do reality TV again?

MG: I will never do another dating show, that’s for sure. I would do something like The Traitors or one of those fun shows, but I don’t feel the need to be on TV anymore. I made some drastic changes after Perfect Match, and I don’t feel the need to put my life on display in the same way.

ED: Well, thanks for reminiscing on your reality TV journey, even though it sounds like you’re in a new chapter now.

MG: It’s still fun to talk about! I enjoy the commentary. If people want to make videos about me, do what you want, just don’t tag me. I don’t need to see it. And be nice. Don’t call me a psychopath. Just be like, “She’s a little crazy.”

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.