Amid the excitement of Season 2 of the Netflix craze Bridgerton being released, romance-obsessed consumers have a new dating show they can dig their teeth into.
If Bridgerton and The Bachelor franchise had a baby, they’d birth The Courtship. Initially on NBC before moving to USA Network, the reality series includes all the bells and whistles of the Regency-era with ball gowns, and tuxedos, making it a reality dating series unlike anything else America has ever seen. The Courtship suitors are fighting for the heart of one very special suitor, Nicole Rémy.
Rémy is the full package. The 26-year-old software engineer hails from Lakewood, Washington. She graduated from the University of Southern California in 2018, where she was part of the USC Song Girls dance team. Before working in software engineering, she spent two seasons as a Sea Gal (now called the Seahawks Dancers) for the Seattle Seahawks, leaving the team in July 2020. She later participated in The Bachelor Season 25 where she vied for Matt James’ affection. Now, she’s the one at the center of attention.
The Courtship was born out of analyzing the struggles Black women are navigating in a dating world filled with microaggressions, colorism, and outright racism. In the series, Rémy along with her potential suitors, will be joined by her sister Danie and her parents to find her dream match.
Shadow and Act Unscripted spoke with Rémy about why she decided to join the show. She also hints at what’s to come in the debut season.
S&A: This is an interesting spin on a dating show. So what attracted you to this specific show with ‘The Courtship?’
NR: I came into it because I was looking for love and to be able to find love in a castle in the UK, wearing these amazing outfits and also being able to have my pick of 16 incredible guys, I was like, ‘Gosh, sign me up.’ That was a no-brainer. So I just was really excited to be a part of the process.
Obviously, the show has been getting a lot of comparisons to Netflix's ‘Bridgerton.’ Were you a fan of the show and did you watch any other reality dating series previously?
Of course, I did my research. Actually, prior to being sought after for the show, I hadn’t even seen Bridgerton. So I remember after my first interview I binge-watched the entire thing in one weekend and I was like, ‘OK, I get it now. I get what the hype is about.’ So for me, it was all about being able to live this incredible magical fantasy and feel like, honestly like a princess. And I have seen dating shows and everything like that. But I think this is so different and unique and so fresh because it takes some of those really cool, modern aspects of dating, but brings it back into a time where things are more simple and more romantic.
What about the elements of traditional courtship that it's displayed on this show, combined with modernized versions and elements of dating, do you think makes women specifically yearn for this type of dating. Women always say, ‘Oh, chivalry is dead.’ We want to go back to the moment when women opened the doors and it was less about texting and more about face to face. And do you feel that women are demanding more of that now?
I’ll be honest, and I have said it before, chivalry is definitely dead. I can tell you there have been way too many dates where a guy hasn’t opened a door for me, hasn’t pulled out a chair for me. And it’s not that women can’t do those things for themselves. But I think it’s important to show people that you care and respect them. And that’s one simple thing that you can do. So no matter what kind of relationship you’re in, your significant other should always try to make you feel special and beautiful. And I think that’s so much of what you see in the Regency era. Women should definitely feel it in a way that makes them feel seen. And I hope that people, after watching the show, will start to do more of that.
This is different because you have the help of your mother and sister along with you in the process. Why include them? Was it your idea or was it part of the initial pitch to have them involved? Your family being part of the process also goes back to the whole Regency era where the woman's family was very involved in choosing her suitor or completely choosing the suitor for her. Was that already a part of the concept, or was that something that you brought in?
It was a part of the package. Along with me doing this experience, bringing my family along, at first, they were a little nervous. They were like, ‘We didn’t sign up to be on TV.’ But for them, they’re so excited for me to get to that point in my life where I’m ready to fall in love and ready to have a future with a partner that they were so supportive of, which is amazing. I don’t know how many other families would pick up everything and move, which is amazing. And yes, very much so part of the Regency era to have your family involved. And prior to this, I typically didn’t talk about boys with my parents. This is very new.
Did you go into the process open to dating anyone? Or did you just have an open mind or did you have a list of requirements that you wanted each of your suitors to have?
I think for the most part, I was open minded about all of it, but I think anybody that’s dating and has dated on dating apps too, we typically do have some sort of checklist in the back of our minds. I love a guy that has a career, I love a guy that doesn’t live too far away from me or a guy that’s around my age. And I realized throughout the process that my checklist ended up not mattering. What was more important to me was how that person made me feel. And that was what was really special. And I think a part of that is because of the idea of having this Regency style more simple way of dating.
And what about the show, do you think viewers will be drawn to?
Obviously these guys are so attractive, right? They’re hot. I think people just enjoy watching the show because of that. But then also there’s drama, there’s passion, there’s romance, there’s chivalry. But also it’s that whole fairy tale and my hopeless romantic phase too of finding love in this time where things were more simple. So if you love dating shows, if you love the time period, this is everything that you’ve ever wanted from them in a show, truly.
Do you think that you succeeded in finding love at the end?
I was able to make really deep connections with multiple guys, which I was not sure of initially going into this. I didn’t know them beforehand, so I didn’t know how things would pan out. But I was so happy and pleased to see that I was able to form connections that I felt were more solid than what I’ve experienced through a dating app, which is great. Whether or not I found one true love, you’ll have to tune in to see. But I think most importantly, I found so much love for myself and I grew so much along the process. So I’m excited for all of you guys to come on the ride with me.
