Warning: This story contains spoilers from the Perfect Match season 3 finale.
NEED TO KNOW
Amber Desiree “AD” Smith and Ollie Sutherland have no doubts that they found their perfect match within each other — no matter how bumpy the journey was to get there!
On Friday, Aug. 15, Netflix dropped the season 3 finale of Perfect Match, which finally revealed the winner of the reality dating competition. Despite being paired up since their very first day in the villa, AD and Ollie did not win and instead, came in second place to Lucy Syed and Daniel Perfetto.
Though they did not walk away with the title of “Perfect Match,” the two got something even better: an engagement just six months after filming ended, and a baby on the way.
But things weren’t always smooth sailing for the pair. Love Island alum Justine Joy’s arrival — and subsequent date with Ollie — shook things up. Ollie ended up matching with her while AD was temporarily removed from the villa, and it was later revealed that Ollie kissed Justine but lied about to AD.
When AD learned the truth from Justine, a blowout fight ensued between her and Ollie, but they were ultimately able to smooth things over and move forward.
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Speaking to PEOPLE about how they were able to recover and rebuild the trust after that moment, AD says it was a gradual process.
“Ollie was in time out for a while,” she laughs. “He had a lot of making up to do, but we focused on intentionality in our relationship and just being open and honest with each other about what we wanted out of our own personal lives and what we wanted as a couple.”
“And everything we said we were going to do, we did,” she says. “And he’s been so open and honest and transparent with me from since then. So that’s all I can really ask for.”
Ollie agrees with his fiancée, explaining: “They say the best form of apology is changed behavior, and from that moment, I’ve done a complete 180 in terms of how I am in every aspect of a relationship, in terms of just openness and transparency and just honesty. And just everything I did wrong, and I’ll do right, essentially.”
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AD and Ollie note that they always knew they were each other’s soulmate — regardless of everything that unfolded.
AD admits she sensed he was the one “when he walked through the door.”
“That was my man… immediately,” she explains. “I never thought I would be one of those girls that’s like when you know, you know, but it was just something about his aura and his energy when he came in. I was just like, ‘Well, that’s it. We can leave.'”
However, Ollie remembers things differently and says it was a gradual realization over their journey in the villa.
“I don’t think there was any one moment per se,” he explains. “I think it was an amalgamation of beautiful tender moments that just came together and made me have that overall feeling.”
“And I think going through what we went through when she was taken out of the house, and then when I finally was able to rematch of her, and then dropping the ball the way I did and handling things so badly, and then still being able to win back her trust and have her forgiveness, so to speak,” he explains, “in that moment, where I was so scared I was going to lose her, I think that made me realize just how important she was to me, and how much I’d never want to be in that position again.”
“I don’t know if that even makes sense, but almost losing her just made me realize how important she was to me,” he adds.
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Now that the two are engaged with a little one on the way, fans might be how the show impacted their timeline.
Both AD and Ollie agree that the show expedited the process, as well as their shared backgrounds in Love Is Blind and Love Is Blind: UK.
“The show expedited things for sure, because from day one, when you’re sharing a room with that person, you’re waking up and doing challenges with that person,” Ollie explains. “In the real world, you don’t date in that fashion. So the format of the show certainly expedited things. I’m glad it did. And how else would we ever have crossed paths in the real world? So yeah, I’m very thankful.”
Adds AD: “I think we can say that we owe the show a little bit. I think it did allow us to put a little bit more pressure where we probably normally wouldn’t have and to expedite things.”
“I think Love Is Blind teaches you to ask those [important] questions immediately,” she notes. “So as much as you want to go on the show and have fun and just be like a cute girl, prancing, in the back of your head, you’re like, ‘Do you want kids? Do you want to get married?'”
“I don’t know. I’m just so Love-Is-Blind-coded and I think that really helped with our experience because he’s also very Love-Is-Blind-coded,” she says.
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Now that the show is in the past, the couple is focused on their exciting future as parents to a little girl.
“[I’m] so excited. Obviously nervous as well, but that just speaks to how excited I am and how much it means to me,” Ollie says of becoming a girl dad soon. “Obviously, I’m nervous because I want to get it right, but I’m sure, as a team, we’re going to be amazing parents, and we just can’t wait to meet our little girl.”
They’re also working on planning a wedding, though AD notes she’s more focused on embracing her fiancée title.
“We’re planning everything every day, but we’re taking it day by day,” she says. “We’re just enjoying every moment. Right now we have wedding thoughts, we don’t really have too many plans.”
“I’m enjoying being a fiancée, honestly, it’s my favorite part,” she adds, while Ollie chimes in, “We’re planning to make plans. They’re coming along, they’re coming along.”
However, the cross-continental pair does have some ideas when it comes to the location of their wedding — and whether the U.K. or the U.S. would be more suitable.
“Here [in the U.S.], yeah, here initially,” Ollie says. “But we might do another one in the U.K.”
“In terms of specific location, I think maybe another beach location would be nice,” he explains. “We met at the beach, we got engaged on the beach. Why not get married on the beach?”
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Seasons 3 of Perfect Match is now streaming on Netflix.
