Sam, who works as a model, went on the show after he was approached by producers and told heat he was excited about meeting new people.
But since the show aired last night (Wednesday 1 April) Sam’s been inundated by hate from trolls and now wants to set the record straight with heat about what really went on.
Sam and Kathleen’s date was pretty awkward on screen which was really surprising, because when we spoke to Sam he was funny, witty and seemed really game for a laugh.
So what did happen? The date lasted over an hour and a quarter and despite what was shown on screen, Sam says the pair did get on.
“I thought she was a lovely girl and we had a really good laugh, it was just really heavily edited,” Sam tells heat. “We were talking for ages about loads of different stuff and we were laughing. I feel like I’ve been made out to be like a stereotypical model, which I’m not. But, they made a great TV show, didn’t they?”
Although the couple did get on well, they didn’t click and Sam says they both admitted that.
“Sometimes she didn’t get my humour,” he added. “I have a dry sense of humour and really, I’m quite a shy person until you really understand me and get to know me.
“In the scene at the end, they cut out what I said. I said to Kathleen: ‘you’re a really nice girl, and we’ve had a good conversation but we don’t click’, but on the show she said we didn’t get on and they cut me on the bit where I just said ‘likewise’.”
The abuse Sam’s been getting online has been really nasty, to put it lightly. And he wants to make sure people understand trolling isn’t right – especially when you don’t know how it will affect someone.
“I had some guy who said: “next time you’re out in Manchester I’m going to kick your face in” then he wrote again: “I’m going to stab you to death”. Nice.
Sam adds: “It’s a good job I’m a strong person because if it was someone else who wasn’t a strong person, it could send people over the edge. I get abuse everyday because of my job but if I was an average teenager – it could do them some real emotional damage. These keyboard warriors don’t think about the people they’re sending the messages to – it’s bullying.”
Kathleen spoke to heat and echoed Sam's sentiments.
“It’s such a shame that Sam received negative feedback on a show that was meant to be a fun experience, Kathleen said. “I am very aware of how hurtful comments made on social media can be, which is why I am extremely careful with everything I post. I urge everyone to think very carefully how they comment on social media because it’s easy to forget that remarks can be interpreted as quite hurtful.”
Well said, Kathleen.