For the past few weeks, a very NSFW show has been reigning at the top of Max‘s most-watched shows list, and it has nothing to do with Game of Thrones, Sex and the City, or any of HBO’s other classically R-rated fare. British import Naked Attraction — a game show where singletons choose a date by whittling down six suitors based on how much they are physically attracted to their naked bodies — has captured the imaginations of Americans everywhere, and with good reason. The show’s main appeal, obviously, is that the show very much lives up to its title; viewers get to see a veritable parade of uncensored, unblurred genitalia in each and every episode. There are bits and bobs of all shapes and sizes, showing off a diverse spectrum of human beauty that usually doesn’t make it on TV. You’ll see everything from an elephant tattoo around a penis to women complimenting another woman’s beautiful stretch marks. If you make it to Naked Attraction Season 2, however, you’ll also see a couple fall in love in real time.
Don’t let the prudes and snobs talk you out of watching Naked Attraction on Max. Naked Attraction is really good, actually. It’s a show that refuses to body shame contestants, explores the various shades of human sexuality, and in one heartwarming episode, even matches soul mates. Naked Attraction Season 2 Episode 4 “Gemma and Jennafer” made me, a crotchety old cynical single, believe in true love again. That’s because the titular Gemma not only found love with her chosen date, James, but the couple is still together, years later, living a real life happily ever after with her twin girls and a husky named Loki!
Now I’ll be honest: even though I knew going into this episode that Gemma and James are still an item, I found myself rolling my eyes at the 23-year-old beauty therapist’s intro package wherein she hopes to find her “true love” on Naked Attraction. That’s partially because the goal of Naked Attraction is to find a great date and not a future fiancé. Plus, Gemma, we learn, has bad taste in men. She complains that she always sets her sight on the “love rat,” U.K. slang for womanizer, in the room. Her taste is so bad that her childhood sweetheart-turned-gay bestie Jamie insists on coming out mid-way to help her zero in on a guy with a “dad bod” instead of the physique that best matches her most toxic ex. At the end of the day, Gemma picks James — the one her best friend warned her about — and miraculously does connect with the love of her life.
At first glance, Gemma’s journey on Naked Attraction seems pretty unremarkable. She’s welcomed onto the set by host Anna Richardson and then “introduced” to six suitors standing silently in pods. The screens covering the pods are raised halfway so contestants like Gemma can make the first cut based on how their potential matches look below the belt. Then the screen reveals the naked folks’ respective chests. After another cut, we see everyone’s faces. There’s another cut and then the final three reveal the sound of their voices by answering questions about what they do and don’t like about their bodies. Since fair is fair, the final two nude suitors get to see their date in the buff before the final decision is made.
Even though Gemma explains that she picked James for the sound of his voice, a little part of me has to wonder if it was really because of the awestruck grin he couldn’t wipe off his face when he saw her. Whether we’re talking about the sweet and goofy smile James had when he first saw her clothed or his obvious excitement for naked reveal, James 100% showed a bigger interest in Gemma than any of the other guys competing for the date. I mean, if I had to pick between Josh’s tight, “She’s very attractive,” versus James’s, “Lovely bum…WOW!”, I know which gentleman I’d feel more comfortable and confident around. When Gemma points out her ever-so-slight “mum tum” and subtle stretch marks, James shakes his head and simply says, “You look stunning.” He’s so smitten and it’s adorable. When Gemma picks him, he’s smiling like he won the lottery.
We then follow the pair on their first date and it’s like something out of a rom-com. When their banter reveals that James is only a joiner — that’s UK speak for “carpenter” — because having slight color blindness meant he couldn’t pursue his dream of being an electrician, Gemma learns that he has no idea she’s a redhead. James is convinced she’s blonde. She makes a self-effacing joke that someone should have warned him and that he should go home quick. James literally isn’t bothered, explaining to the camera that Gemma’s ginger status isn’t a deal breaker. The first part of their date ends with a giddy Gemma worrying that she’s coming off as too eager and James reiterating that is not a problem for him at all.
The camera crew follows them to another bar, where James successfully manages to sneak in a much-coveted “cheeky little kiss.” As they leave separately, they individually gush about the date. “There was obviously feelings there,” Gemma says. “I feel so giddy!” After footage of James kissing her goodnight and getting her in a cab of her own, he says, “Look at her! Listen to her! I fancy the pants off her.” Their euphoria is impossible to resist.
When we follow up with most Naked Attraction couples, there’s either a vibe that the pair hit it off and have been enjoying a low stakes situationship or it’s maybe not a match. Gemma and James’s six week check in felt like one of those iconic couple interviews from When Harry Met Sally. What starts off as the two simply gushing about each other turns more profound when Gemma says, “I’m really happy with you being around. Having someone to text, someone to talk to, someone to ask if I’m okay.” Gemma begins to tear up and James instinctively pulls her in for a reassuring hug, asking if she’s alright. Their time on Naked Attraction ends with James agreeing to wipe Gemma’s bum for her when she’s older.
It seems that’s still the plan. The pair told The Daily Mail back in 2021, they were getting married once they figured out whose house they would share. While Gemma doesn’t update her socials very often, James still all over her Instagram, along with posts about domestic bliss. If you click through to her Vinted page, Gemma’s profile pic appears to be a family portrait from their wedding day.
Gemma and James’s love story is one that has to melt even the stoniest of hearts. She was a single mum hoping to find a good man on a naked dating show…and she actually did it?? For too long, we’ve come to accept that the romances that blossom on reality shows are simply for the cameras. Somehow, on the show specifically designed to just be about appearances, two hearts found their home.
From where I’m sitting, what Naked Attraction offers is a net positive. It’s deliciously decadent trash TV that stealthily introducing people to the idea that our culture’s narrow idea of physical perfection is a lie. You learn to see beauty in body parts we were perhaps taught to feel shame over. Maybe someone has oddly pale nipples or a uniquely shaped butt; those attributes might be the very thing a contestant goes gaga for. It’s a show that can reframe our own relationships with our bodies, while simultaneously giving us a better idea of just how different we really are.
But most importantly, at least in the case of Gemma and James, Naked Attraction offers the hope that your true love could still be out there…even on a naked dating show.