A Very Modern Fairytale
Stormy Daniels enters her fairy godmother era as the host of FortheLoveofDILFs , and PRIDE goes behind the scenes for a very special episode of the steamy reality TV hit.
Words
Rachel Shatto Photography Bob of Scotland Stills Courtesy of OUTtv
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t an undisclosed location along the water in sunny and steamy Florida, there’s a very unique social experiment taking place. Two groups of men have come together to see if they can forge a love connection. Guiding them on this journey is adult entertainment mogul and political lightning rod turned reality dating series host, Stormy Daniels.
If you expect Stormy Daniels to be cynical about love, add it to the list of the things we’ve gotten wrong about her. If anything, Daniels is a true realist — with hope for a happy ending (pun most certainly intended). It’s this perspective that makes Daniels so ideally suited for her role as the fairy godmother to a modern, camp, and surprisingly moving reality dating series like OUTtv’s For the Love of DILFs, (from Daddy TV, the producing team behind Slag Wars) which sees “Daddies” and “Himbos” looking for love and companionship across the generational divide.
“I think that some are [here for a meaningful connection] and some are not — and there’s a whole spectrum in between,” Daniels confesses. “I mean, they’re all here for love; some of it’s love for humans, some of it’s love for fame, some of it’s love for glory. And some of it might be the paycheck. That’s what we’re here to find out.”
It’s certainly easy to be incredulous about a reality dating series with such an intentionally camp premise. It’s definitely steamy and overtly self-aware; each episode ends with Daniels hopping on a call with the show’s mysterious (and fictional) benefactor for a debrief laden with sexual innuendo and double entendre. But dismiss this show at your own risk, because behind all the camp, the wordplay and cheekiness are honest, impactful, and reasonable discussions about queer sex, relationships, sex work, consent, kink, and, yes, actual love.
PRIDE saw many of these dynamics play out during a special episode where I joined the cast on set in the lead up to the final to sit down with each couple to suss out which ones really were falling in love. The intent was to see who had the most chemistry, but also who were actually looking toward the future and had the best chance of finding a real love after the cameras went down and they returned back to their real lives — often hundreds, if not thousands, of miles apart.
We wanted to know what they thought made them compatible — but also where their biggest challenges would lie. After chatting with the remaining Daddies and Himbos, including Kane and Hazel, Jimmy and Quis, Anthony and Derrick, and Nigel and Rico the answer was clear.
I stepped into DILF Mansion a skeptic and left it a believer because, well, it’s clear that, as Daniels described, there were cast members here really looking to find a partner. This was particularly apparent with Nigel and Rico, who won the challenge.
Why? for one thing, rather than try to skirt the tougher questions, they were eager to admit that things weren’t perfect but they were already putting in the work to face
those challenges together. They also had a natural and easy rapport, their eyes sparkled when they spoke of one another, and they made it clear that they were focused on creating a future together. Their interactions and candor earned them a special helicopter date.
Another thing that these two had in common, and that set them up for success, was that they joined the show with genuine hopes of finding love — as unlikely as that may have seemed.
“I was so hopeful. That’s the way that I was before I entered DILF Mansion,” Nigel recalls. “I have always worn my heart on my forehead and gone love first into everything. I knew the
“They’re all here for love; some of it’s love for humans, some of it’s love for fame, some of it’s love for glory…That’s what we’re here to f ind out.”
chances were small, but I was like, ‘I’m gonna be that person. I’m gonna meet someone.’”
In his Himbo, Rico, he found a kindred spirit. “I’m a glasshalf-full type person, and I thought there would be some chance [I could find love]. I have a pretty good heart, and most people can read that,” he tells PRIDE, although he admits he was skeptical of some of his castmate’s intentions. “I was just worried about the other people coming in, their intentions. But once I met Nigel and kind of weeded him out — I put him through a couple of tests — I saw that he actually had a genuine heart and really wanted to build the same [things] that I was looking for.”
As soon as the two laid eyes — and hands — on one another, they felt like they were going to be end game. “It felt like pure butterflies,” recalls Nigel. “I can still feel them when I think about that moment. It’s the same moment you get when you bump into a guy at the bar, and you turn around, and he’s so beautiful, and you want to talk to him. It feels like I just went on vacation and fell for someone, and the cameras happened to film it.”
Rico remembers being happy when he set eyes on Nigel, because he worried he wouldn’t find someone he was attracted to — let alone who he’d connect with on an emotional level. “I was really concerned about not finding someone who fits my type. I don’t have the quote-unquote
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standard type. Everyone loves a twink. Everyone likes fair skin. I dig ethnic people. I dig hair. I dig chubbiness. I dig fullbody confidence. So, when I felt that full hairy body, it just made me super happy, super excited, to find someone who I’m attracted to and not to have to, quote-unquote, play the game,” he says.
But they aren’t the only ones rooting for a happily ever after to this unique love story. Daniels clocked the pair’s instant chemistry and connection on the first day of filming. “I’ve liked Nigel and Rico from the beginning because they were blindfolded, and Rico described his perfect match. It was like he ordered [Nigel] off the menu,” she recalls.
However, like the realist she is, Daniels isn’t blindly swept away by their love story.
“Nigel, he’s very, very sweet, but he cries a lot. We need a mop bucket. I know he’s had a lot of trauma lately. I’m just wondering if this is just not the right time for him to be doing this. So I hope that it works out because they seem to be genuinely falling for each other. And that’s one of those really tragic situations. Right person, wrong time. So we’re hoping for the best,” she explains, while teasing that there’s another couple who might sneak past Nigel and Rico in the finale. “I think our sleeper — because nobody’s paying attention to it — seems to have a genuine connection, and they’re not being very showboating about it. That’s because they’re spending time getting to know each other: Jimmy and Quis. I think they’re going to sneak up on them.”
The question remains: Can you actually find love in a situation like a reality TV show? In some ways, Nigel says it’s the best place to find someone special. “In life, sometimes people may be looking for love, but there are so many things that distract us or keep us from fully loving to the potential that
we’re capable of. But that being the whole objective of being in DILF Mansion really brings out the true lovers in people,” he explains.
That was true for Rico as well, who found being in the house brought out sides of himself he rarely gets to share. “I’m a rock, and people don’t get to see [my softer side]. I’m naturally masc presenting, but I just always felt like I didn’t get to be as squishy as I know I am,” he says.
As for fairy godmother Daniels? Well, she’s keeping an open mind.
“Anything is possible. That’s the one thing the last six years have taught me: never say never, and anything is possible. Is it likely? No, but that’s what makes a social experiment so fun,” she explains. “I do think there have been some genuine connections. And that doesn’t necessarily lead to a romantic relationship in the love sense. But I have seen some genuine connections and friendships and, most importantly, people being able to connect with those who have empathy for their situations, and so they’re not feeling alone. I think those relationships have been more meaningful and deeper, honestly, helping these people connect with others in their situation.”
At the end of the day, whether you’re a true believer, a skeptic, or simply open-minded about the possibility of finding real love under the watchful eye of Dr. DILF, this show, at its core, is all about queer joy and the celebration of gay sexuality, romance, and friendship. It’s also counterprogramming the ageism that’s so rampant in queer dating circles. This is the future that gays want — and we’re happy to let Daniels lead us down the rainbow path.
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FALLING IN LOVE AT 10,000 FEET
NIGEL AND RICO OPEN UP ABOUT WHAT WENT DOWN WHEN THEY WENT UP — WAY UP.
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Words Rachel Shatto
Photography Bob of Scotland
Stills Courtesy of OUTtv
fter serving kink chic in their joint photoshoot and showing off their chemistry in interviews, Nigel and Rico were named the winners of the First Impressions Interview challenge. Their prize involved taking their love to new heights, literally, with a dream helicopter ride in the Florida skies.
For Nigel, that challenge win came at the most critical time. “It changed my whole aura on the show,” he confesses. “Leading up to that, it was challenge after challenge, and moment after moment, where it was like, ‘We’re gonna draw straws today.’ So when I found out it was going to be interview-based, full tea: I grabbed Rico,pulled him into a room, and I was like, ‘We’re about the win this. We got this.’”
And win they did. “We were skating on top of the moon,” Rico says upon learning they had won. “We’re deep into the game.At this point, anybody can go home. Nigel and I were winning our challenges, but it can still turn at any moment. We’ve seen it. So when we won that, we knew we were secure. That was very calming and refreshing.”
The date itself, Nigel says, felt like a fairytale. “I remember flying down the stairs, holding his hand, and going out the door,” Nigel recalls. “We were so giddy.”
“It was so beautiful,” Rico adds. “I got the chance to do something unique with Nigel. Anytime that I’m spending time with Nigel, and it’s just me and him,
it’s everything. We got up there, he wrapped his arms around me, and I had to come and grab my bear. I [also] ended up wrapping my arms around him, and we just looked at all of South Florida.”
The couple took in the sights, which included a pod of dolphins leaping into the air. The romance of the situation led them to get serious about what the future could hold for their relationship, including moving closer together. Overall, this felt like a powerful experience for Rico. “A lot of times, I can’t be vulnerable. [But] up there in the helicopter, I was able to be vulnerable with him and talk about the future that I’ve never really talked about with anybody,” he shares.
The experience turned out to be precisely what Nigel needed: getting out of the house and spending some quality time between just the two of them. Their connection, which had faced its share of ups and downs in the weeks leading up to the date, was in a good place after all. “The helicopter ride solidified it. So much of the pressure and the drama in the mansion come from that tight reality TV pressure cooker situation,” Nigel explains. “We were fighting so hard for what we had in the mansion… for so long. To get to that point where our reward was an escape, it was like a reset. Like, bam, let’s pop the champagne!”
As for what’s next for this couple, that remains to be seen. For now, they’re still just riding high on their romance — like “10,000 feet in the sky” high.
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