Amber Desiree “AD” Smith’s time in Netflix’s reality-TV universe constantly proves her levelheadedness and commitment to the long game. While her time on Love Is Blind might not have ended as planned (she got blindsided by her fiancé, Clay Gravesande, at the altar), after spending her summer on Perfect Match and leaving with Love Is Blind: UK star Ollie Sutherland, she’s redefining what it means to win a reality dating competition. Just like last season, Perfect Match season three featured a lot of drinks, sexy games, and drama. While the rest of the contestants mixed and matched with varying success, any viewer with a pulse could see the instant chemistry between Sutherland and Smith from the moment he started teaching her how to throw the word innit into a sentence.
But chemistry alone wouldn’t guarantee an easy path to victory. Like any couple, the two faced challenges, specifically, Smith getting eliminated from the villa and Sutherland kissing former Love Island contestant Justine Ndiba and lying to Smith about it when they reunited. Still, Smith always kept her head in the game and managed to reenter the competition at the cocktail mixer, where half of the men in the villa were much too comfortable flirting with and kissing women who were not their current matches, even though Smith was sitting right next to them, quietly watching everything. When she returned to the house and told all of the women what their men were up to, the men knew they had been played. By the finale, Smith and Sutherland appeared to be the strongest match and likely victors.
So how the hell did Too Hot to Handle star Lucy Syed and Dated & Related alum Daniel Perfetto, who was one of the naughtiest boys at the mixer, wind up winning the title of “perfect match” and the free vacation only to break up weeks later? Your guess is as good as Smith’s. But after nearly playing a flawless game only to end up in second place, she’s not too stressed about it. After all, she got the guy and the happy ending. As revealed ahead of the Perfect Match premiere, Smith and Sutherland are engaged and preparing to welcome a baby girl.
Coming into Perfect Match, were you optimistic that you would find that lasting, real-life love?
I’m optimistic that I’ll find something real in Whole Foods. I think love is out there, so it’s not a matter of me going on a TV show to find love. That was an opportunity that was presented, and I was excited to meet other people, make new friends, spend the summer away, and have a good time. The fact that it played out the way it did makes it even better, but I’ve always been a lover girl. Perfect Match just made it a bit easier for me.
You and Ollie seemed to lock in instantly. How did it all feel in the moment?
It felt as amazing as it looked. I didn’t know he was going to be there; he didn’t know I was going to be there, and just to have a spark like that immediately is, I think, what everybody wants when you’re looking for love.
Why do you think Daniel and Lucy wound up winning over you and Ollie despite that connection?
You know, that is an answer I’ll never fully know because I can’t tell you what was in everyone’s heads. I think they saw a little more drama with Ollie and me and a little less with Lucy and Daniel. I don’t know. Because Daniel and Lucy’s was a little bit more behind the scenes.
Were you frustrated that they won and then broke up a couple of weeks later?
I wouldn’t say frustrated. I mean, what is “winning” and “losing” in Perfect Match? It’s not like Love Island, where you have a $100,000 prize. You’re just going on vacation afterward anyway.
On shows like these, it seems like the conversations you wind up having off-camera are the ones that solidify the bond. What were you and Ollie’s conversations like behind the scenes, and how did they confirm to you that this was the real deal? What stuck out?
I wouldn’t say any conversation in particular really stuck out. It was more the behavior and character that I observed off-camera that made all the difference for me. There’s a lot of joking and playing and a lot of fun times on-camera, but off-camera, there are moments where you are just alone with your person and you get to see a different side of them. That was what made it easier for me to fall for Ollie. I think the TV world was getting a different version and view of him than I was.
I was really bummed to see you get kicked out of the resort, even briefly. What are the accommodations like for the singles outside the resort? You know what it is. It’s not the best place to be. You don’t want to be outside the house, regardless of where you’re being sent. But obviously, they don’t send you to, like, a graveyard.
It would be awful if it were like Survivor and they were like, “Now you’re sleeping on the beach!”
Even if you’re sent to the palace, being ripped away from somebody that you’re building a connection with and not knowing if you’re going to see them again, it doesn’t really matter where you end up. I would rather spend 90 days and 90 nights in the villa with Ollie than be placed in some castle away from him unexpectedly.
You were upset when you found out Ollie had covered up this kiss with Justine. How did you overcome that?
A lot of conversation, a lot of rebuilding trust, and having the talks that you don’t really want to talk about, and just realizing that if this is something that I did see potential in, that I would have to let my guard down again and trust that he is the man he says he is. Ever since that unfortunate incident, we haven’t had any of those concerns. My main thing was, I need changed actions and changed behavior. That’s all I really cared about, and that’s all I’ve gotten since.
During the finale, Justine hinted that she doesn’t think Ollie is your perfect match. Have you been able to talk to her since then? Has she come around?
The relationship Ollie and I have is between only two people. It’s just me and him involved. And anyone can say their opinion on our relationship, and they’re entitled to it, but at the end of the day, it is just him and me.
I’m still shocked at how the guys at the mixer acted around you while they were away from their partners. Do you think that they sincerely thought that you were going to keep their secrets for them?
I was mortified. I thought that with me being there, they would have a little bit of decorum. But listen, boys will be boys, right? I am a good actress, and I think in that moment, they thought I was one of the boys, because they love Ollie so much, and they thought he had me in check like that. I would have said whatever it took to get them to trust me because I really just wanted to see how they would behave. Like, “Yeah, no, I promise.” “AD, you pinkie swore!” And I’m like, “Sure did!”
Ollie was kind of teasing you about the idea of having children together during the finale. When did that become a real conversation?
Our future became a very real conversation extremely early in getting to know each other because we are both very Love Is Blind–coded. We were asking hard questions, serious questions, real-life questions pretty early. It was very evident that we both wanted a family, children, and marriage. So it was never a surprise or a shock when we found the news that I was going to be bringing a little baby girl into this planet because it was something that we talked about very, very early on in our connection.
What’s next in terms of public life? You’re working on your podcast now. Where do things go from here?
I’m loving this podcast life. It’s so fun. I’m getting all the tea, all the gossip. I get everything firsthand and give the viewers a different view of their favorite reality stars. So I’m enjoying that. As far as reality TV, I don’t know what is in the pipeline for pregnant reality stars, so you probably won’t see me for a while, and I am okay with that.
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