With 90 Day Fiancé UK Finale approaching, (we know, we know, we’re gutted too), we need an exciting new reality show to sink our teeth into – and luckily, a brilliant one has dropped into our laps. Brand new, Beauty and the Geek UK hits our shores on 25th September, exclusively on discovery+, and promises to be every bit as addictive as 90 Day Fiancé UK.
Award Winning DJ’s Matt Edmondson and Mollie King host this fun, feel-good social experiment, which pairs sixteen singletons from two very different worlds, to see if opposites really do attract. As the title suggests, half of them are ‘geeks’ (basically a mix of influencers and guys with nerdy interests) and the other half are beauties who crucially also have brains – one of them has not one but two law degrees!
After being paired by matchmakers Matt and Mollie, the eight couples must work together to win challenges, avoid elimination, and scoop a cash prize of £50,000. (Think of the Lego and spa days you could buy with that!) Can Matt and Mollie make the right choices when pairing up the couples and who will win the ultimate prize and have a long-term friendship or – better still – a genuine, heartfelt romance at the end of it?
With two episodes down – and eight to go – we’re already loving the challenges (our toes are still curled from the dance battle); the friendships (the geek squad love-in is adorbs), the growth (Aishah encouraging Nitish to have more confidence was so heart-warming), and of course the blossoming relationships.
Here are the Beauty and The Geek UK couples that are giving us the feels so far…
James, 25, and Charlotte, 24
Who: James describes himself as the perfect blend of geek, sarcasm, awkwardness, and enthusiasm. He’s a big fan of gaming and says that cos play is his ‘happy place’ because it allows him to not be himself for a while, and he can be a superhero instead. Single for a year and a half, he lives with his two best mates – his nan and cat Luna.
Florist Charlotte lives at home in Preston with her mum, dad, and border collie. She loves entering dog agility competitions – her dream is to one day enter Crufts – and hanging out with her dad. While she often attracts bad boys, she dreams of meeting a guy who shares her passion for music, animals, and campervans.
Why we love them: Charlotte’s bubbliness really brings James out of his shell. As soon as she got one whiff of him being a border collie owner too, she was hot on his tail, showing him a framed photo of hers, suggesting their dogs breed (!) and even telling him that he reminds her of her dad. It’s puppy love, guys.
Martin, 24 and Aishah, 22
Who: Martin’s passion for planes began at a young age when he started a paper airplane club at school – sweet. He’s upgraded onto remote-controlled ones and now travels the UK buying and selling second hand planes, with an impressive 15-20,000 customers! He hasn’t had a girlfriend since school and says he’s never been on a proper date!
Brain-box Aishah has two law degrees but says she can be ditsy. After competing in beauty contests, she was scouted to become a model. Her main passion is empowering women and in 2019 she created the initiative called “Recrowned Ireland” which helps young women.
Why we love them: We thought it was only Martin who was gutted not to be paired up with Aishah at the beginning, but it turns out the disappointment was entirely mutual! Seeing them officially coupled up, bond over their entrepreneurial skills, and Martin burst into happy tears, melted our icy hearts.
Henry, 20 and Julie, 27
Who: Henry loves having lightsaber battles and says Star Wars is his family. He works for his actual family’s carpet firm, and is also a teaching assistant, and directs local theatre shows. He longs to find the woman of his dreams and sing a duet with her and knows all the lyrics and dance moves to LaLa Land’s City of Stars. His ideal woman is creative, warm, and ideally looks like Wonder Woman.
Music teacher Julie is studying a Masters in Singing and plays several instruments, including the cello, saxophone, and piano. She has been single for four years and she’s excited about dating a ‘geek’, as both her mum and sister married geeks – so it runs in the family.
Why we love them: They have so much in common and it’s clear they fancy each other. While Henry acts like an excitable puppy – rapping at her (bad) and giving her a home-made ring (too much) – she does a great job of reining him in without dampening his spirits. We can see this going far if he ceases and desists with the rapping and singing.
Tune into Beauty and the Geek UK, with new episodes every Sunday on discovery+.