It’s not every day that grown men ask their mothers for help in their love lives.
For three contestants on Seven’s Please Marry My Boy, they’re swallowing their pride and letting mother dearest pick their next date.
Back for a second season, host Ada Nicodemou, of Home and Away fame, is happy to fill the shoes of assistant matchmaker.
She believes times have changed and helping people find the one, even if it’s with the help of mum, isn’t such a bad thing.
“I think maybe when we were growing up, especially in a Greek household, the whole thought of a proxy was just so offensive,” she tells Neos Kosmos.
“People these days don’t mind being matchmade, because where are you going to meet people? Unless you’re meeting people at work, you’re not going to meet anyone in a nightclub that’s serious; so I think you do rely on friends introducing you to people they know or, in this case, hopefully mother knows best.”
This season, instead of four contestants, the show is down to three. Ada says it makes for a more intimate show centred around the house.
Each contestant’s mother will pick three girls out of a possible 10 to find ones that are the most compatible. The three then go on to specialised dates that come with some tricks and surprises.
Already, the show has teased that the fathers of the sons will get involved as spies to help the mothers pick the right girl.
But, alongside the twists, the show won’t be looking for a villain like last year.
“It’s quite different to last year, in the fact that it’s probably more warm and fuzzy,” says Ada.
“There’s no villain. It’s a lot softer, you love all the mothers, you love the sons. You’re getting more of the story so I think you’re more invested this year.”
The show will start with a speed date to narrow the selection of girls, then the prospective love interests will get invited into the family home.
As the show announces, “hormones run rampant and tears and tantrums are guaranteed”.
Last year the show averaged 1 million viewers an episode and hopes are high for a successful second season.
This year, the men vying for ‘the one’ are 27-year-old retail manager Brad King, 41-year-old business owner and divorcee Carlo Cimino and 30-year-old tradie Nathan Secomb.
“You love all the boys for different reasons,” Ada says.
Although quite tight-lipped about who her favourite is, she gives a little insight into each contestant’s personality and what she liked about them.
“Carlo, I just think is so beautiful, he’s 40 years old, a divorcee, and he’s so honest about wanting to find someone and get married and have kids straight away,” she says.
“You’ve got Nathan, he’s like your brother or something, you just want to slap him over the head. And Brad is just hopeless in love and he’s quite honest about it. He’s really sweet and endearing,” she says.
Nathan is the one that you might expect would be happily married already. The tradie slash model is not short of admirers, but as his mother points out, none of them are bride material.
“Sometimes I just have this feeling they may be a little bit caught up on looks and presentation,” she says.
“I’d like his partner to be of genuine character and have good moral values.”
You can’t fault that.
Please Marry My Boy airs Monday July 29 at 9.00 pm and Thursday August 1 at 8.00 pm continuing Thursdays at 8.00 pm thereafter.