Rose Matefeo has given up on dating after ‘hellish’ experience

Rose Matafeo has discussed her dating life as the creator of a hit rom-com (Picture: Tom Dymond/ REX/ Shutterstock)

Rose Matafeo may be the creator and star of a hit rom-com series, but she’s the first to admit her own dating life can be a little bit lacking at times.

The Kiwi comedian, 31, first moved to London back in 2015, working on the comedy circuit whilst balancing appearances on TV shows like Pointless and Taskmaster, later going on to release her own show Starstruck in 2020.

While there’s been an enduring love story between leads Jessie (played by Rose) and Tom (Nikesh Patel) in the series, which has returned for its third season this week, Rose has admitted many of the situations that pop up in the show haven’t quite been drawn from her own dating experiences.

In one memorable scene this season Jessie is putting herself back out there as she experiences what one of her mates dubs her ‘post-Tom era’ after their latest break-up.

But after enduring a date boring her nearly to death with a discussion about the intricacies of cycling and then asking her to shout a round because he forgot his card, Jessie decides to cut and run.

When asked if this experience was drawn from her own dating anecdotes, Rose was refreshingly honest and relatable on how draining it can be to date, especially in the capital.

She stars as Jessie in Starstruck, which returns to screens this week (Picture: BBC Three)

‘I actually don’t go on any dates. It’s so sad. I honestly date my friends so much, completely platonically, but I have the most romantic times with friends,’ she shared with Metro.co.uk.

‘Honestly quite sadly I just don’t have the time, confidence or motivation to date.

‘You could go on the apps and I remember going on them for a small amount of time and it was like hell, and then [on top of that] I never met up with anyone.’

However, Rose did share her interesting approach to see if potential dates would be willing to have a bit of fun.

‘I remember I started trying to ask people to play online Boggle with me and that was the best part of it,’ she laughed.

As conversation unsurprisingly turned to there being any dates that were memorable for all the wrong reasons, Rose explained how she had thrown herself into the deep end by making grand romantic gestures in the past.

‘Honestly I can’t say I’ve been on a really terrible date because I probably wouldn’t put myself in that position, which is bad because I haven’t put myself out there that much,’ she continued.

‘Although I have been on a few unhinged dates where I’ve flown somewhere to see someone and afterwards am like “why the hell did I do that for?”

‘They are big grand romantic gestures that don’t pay off.’

She is said to be in her ‘post-Tom era’ after their last break-up (Picture: BBC Three)

While Starstruck revolves around an everyday Londoner drunkenly meeting and then dating a world-famous celebrity, Rose makes sure to absolve herself of any responsibility for fans of the show who may now be dreaming of shacking up with a famous face.

‘I take no responsibility for fantasies of these women trying to date celebrities,’ she said.

‘Actually, I would like responsibility for showing maybe the real side and difficulties of dating a celebrity.

‘I’ll be the first to admit it – we don’t show it as a positive thing. Basically, it is one of the biggest challenges in their relationship, the difficulties of navigating a relationship with someone in the public eye.’

She continued: ‘It is a very specific context of dating a celebrity but is relatable in the sense that it can be applied to people who date long distance or have different schedules or earn a lot more money.

‘There are all of these imbalances or moments of incompatibility that Tom and Jessie have, and that is just one of the factors of it.

‘Look, if I’ve given any person the confidence to walk up, and nicely, introduce themselves to Tom Cruise, that’s great…but don’t name check me.’

Set two years on from the season 2 ending that saw Jessie and Tom making out in a pond after declaring their feelings for one another, this season follows her as she navigates single life in London.

Navigating the pressures of adulthood, Jessie is confronted with the consequences of her own choices as her friends move on to the next stages in their lives and is left questioning what she is really looking for.

Starstruck is streaming on BBC iPlayer.

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‘Honestly quite sadly I just don’t have the time, confidence or motivation to date.’