Rose Matafeo may be the creator and actress of a popular rom-com series, but she’s the first to confess that her personal dating life isn’t always up to par.
The 31-year-old Kiwi comic originally relocated to London in 2015, performing on the comedy circuit while also appearing on TV series such as Pointless and Taskmaster. She will debut her own show Starstruck in 2020.
While there has been an eternal love story between stars Jessie (played by Rose) and Tom (Nikesh Patel) in the series, which returns for its third season this week, Rose has confessed that many of the circumstances that spring up in the programme aren’t entirely pulled from her personal dating experiences.
In one memorable moment this season, Jessie is putting herself back out there as she goes through what one of her friends refers to as her ‘post-Tom phase’ following their recent break-up.
Jessie chooses to cut and run after enduring a date that bore her close to death with a chat about the nuances of cycling and then asked her to scream a round since he forgot his card.
When asked if this experience was based on her own dating experiences, Rose was surprisingly honest and realistic about how exhausting dating can be, especially in the capital.
‘I actually don’t go on any dates. It’s so sad. I honestly date my friends so much, completely platonically, but I have the most romantic times with friends,’ she shared with Metro.co.uk.
‘Honestly quite sadly I just don’t have the time, confidence or motivation to date.
‘You could go on the apps and I remember going on them for a small amount of time and it was like hell, and then [on top of that] I never met up with anyone.’
Rose did, however, explain her unique way to seeing whether potential dates were eager to have some fun.
‘I remember I started trying to ask people to play online Boggle with me and that was the best part of it,’ she laughed.
When the topic shifted to dates that were memorable for all the wrong reasons, Rose revealed how she had plunged herself into the deep end in the past by making huge romantic gestures.
‘Honestly I can’t say I’ve been on a really terrible date because I probably wouldn’t put myself in that position, which is bad because I haven’t put myself out there that much,’ she continued.
‘Although I have been on a few unhinged dates where I’ve flown somewhere to see someone and afterwards am like “why the hell did I do that for?”
‘They are big grand romantic gestures that don’t pay off.’
While the plot of Starstruck centres on an ordinary Londoner meeting and subsequently dating a world-renowned superstar, Rose makes it a point to absolve herself of any guilt for viewers of the programme who may now be fantasising about hooking up with a famous face.
‘I take no responsibility for fantasies of these women trying to date celebrities,’ she said.
‘Actually, I would like responsibility for showing maybe the real side and difficulties of dating a celebrity.
‘I’ll be the first to admit it – we don’t show it as a positive thing. Basically, it is one of the biggest challenges in their relationship, the difficulties of navigating a relationship with someone in the public eye.’
She continued: ‘It is a very specific context of dating a celebrity but is relatable in the sense that it can be applied to people who date long distance or have different schedules or earn a lot more money.
‘There are all of these imbalances or moments of incompatibility that Tom and Jessie have, and that is just one of the factors of it.
‘Look, if I’ve given any person the confidence to walk up, and nicely, introduce themselves to Tom Cruise, that’s great…but don’t name check me.’
This season follows Jessie as she navigates single life in London two years after the season two conclusion, which featured her and Tom kissing in a pond after confessing their affections for one another.
As she navigates the responsibilities of adulthood, Jessie is confronted with the implications of her own decisions as her friends move on to the next phases of their life, leaving her to wonder what she is truly seeking for.
Starstruck is streaming on BBC iPlayer.
Source My Celebrity Life.
