Harry and Francesca From ‘Too Hot to Handle’ Jokingly Told Me They Were Engaged
[There are spoilers ahead for Too Hot to Handle. You've been warned!]
Without a doubt, Harry and Francesca are one of the most entertaining parts of Netflix's Too Hot to Handle. The show dropped today, and it's absolutely bonkers. If you haven't watched it yet, I promise you'll finish the season by the time Monday rolls around. But Harry and Francesca are a driving force behind the show, and the whole season feels like a big "Will they or won't they" regarding literally everything they. Being cute on a reality show is one thing, being cute IRL is another. The show left viewers with a big question about whether the two would last outside the comforts of a tropical villa.
Harry and Francesca spoke to Cosmopolitan last week about what it's like to date on reality TV when it seems like literally everyone around you is against you, and where they're at right now.
The "no hooking up rule" was a surprise to all of you. So how did you react when they dropped the bomb?
Francesca: The premise was a dating show. That's literally all we knew. So when the ball did drop that there was no hanky panky we were all very shocked, especially Harry and I. Like we both cried.
Harry: I was drunk and crying. I was a mess.
Francesca: We were the only people that had formed a relationship at that point. Everyone else was just laughing at us and we were like looking at each other.
Harry: I was so distraught, and everyone's just looking at us laughing. As soon as the rules got dropped, everyone was just like "friendship retreat." Everyone was against us.
You two had chemistry right off the bat. What initially attracted you both to the other?
Harry: When I met her I just was shaking. I was shaking. I've never felt like that, ever, in any situation until I met Francesca. And I was like, "Oh shit, this is legit, like this is real." And then when we started talking, and we spoke about deep stuff, and we had a couple deep chats and then the more we hung out our senses of humor matched up. We're both weirdos and everything just fit and made sense, and here we are.
Wait, you guys do not seem like weirdos.
Harry: Well, Francesca (laughs)... we just have a weird sense of humor.
Francesca: I think I'm a closet weirdo. Like unless you really get to know me, then it comes out.
Harry: I'm just strange in general.
Francesca: Harry's just off the walls, yeah. He's a very weird person, but I love it.
You had some serious ups and downs as a couple during the retreat. What was the turning point, where you realized what you had with the other was real?
Francesca: Me and Harry obviously got into an argument and stopped being as close for a while, and then I did pursue things with someone else very briefly [Editor's note: She's talking about Kelz, duh.], and that situation made me realize how much I really wanted to be with Harry. I knew after, probably, 30 seconds of me pursuing this other person that it wasn't what I wanted to do.
Part of the whole gimmick of the show is that viewers don't know how the money is going to be divided, and you don't either. How did that impact your decision making in terms of whether you were going to hook up or not?
Harry: Initially, I was adamant there was only going to be one winner. At the end of the day, that $100,000 can be spent quite quickly and in my eyes, it isn't life changing. But in speaking to the other contestants, some of them have got kids. Some of them are in a hard spot. So I was like, "Oh, this is going to legitimately help them." And then I think my mindset switched from being selfish to "How can we help everyone else's situations?" Because Francesca and I weren't too phased about the money at the start. Some people may not like us, or were angry at our decisions, but we realized that the best thing to do was to pump the brakes a little bit.
And you definitely took some flack for some of those decisions. How did you deal with that?
Francesca: We didn't know there was money up for grabs until day two. So my mindset was, "I don't care about the money." I didn't form bonds with the other members of the retreat, so it was easy for me to be selfish with Harry, and every time there was slips, we did grow together. There was a few slips that were may be not necessary and were maybe spiteful and people were obviously mad at me for that. It was really hard having the group against you, and they weren't "spending" any money themselves. I mean, if I were them, I'd be pissed off too. But at the end of the day I don't regret any decision.
Francesca, you were obviously friends with Haley at the beginning, you guys were kind of like comrades. What did it feel like for her to go home?
Francesca: It was very upsetting for her to go home. She was my basically my only female friend in the house. But I knew she did have to go for more connections to be formed, because she really didn't want to be there, and she didn't want immerse herself in the experience. So even though I was really sad, it was for the best because once she did go I was able to form more relationships and connections with other people.
Are you still friends with anyone from the show?
Harry: Yeah, me more so. I think Francesca stepped away from them a little bit because I don't think they were too fond of her. We all have like a group chat or on Facebook.
Francesca: I'm closer now with some of the girls and I was on the retreat. Right after filming, we had some days in Mexico to hang out without the cameras and we all did get really close as a group. There's obviously some people who don't get along naturally, you can't put 15 people together and expect everyone to see eye-to-eye. But overall, we're definitely all still relatively tight.
Alright, the big question. Are you guys still together?
Harry: We're actually engaged.
Wait, are you serious?
Francesca: No, we're not.
Harry: Well not yet, not yet. I'm sure we'll be engaged soon.
Francesca: It's obviously been extremely difficult, living on opposite sides of the world at the beginning. Now he lives in L.A., but now, with this pandemic, we're unable to see each other. I'm very excited for what the future holds once we can finally live in the same city. I know I'm moving in, like that's a given.
So you've been together for a year at this point?
Harry: We had a few months where we needed some breathing space. And I think that in between those few months, it was probably for the best. Even though it didn't feel right at the time, that break up and and having a couple months away from each other was probably more beneficial. We're in a way better spot than we could have ever been before.
What do you tell your friends when you introduce each other? Do you tell them you met on a reality show?
Harry: I just tell everyone "That's my wife," or "That's my baby mama."
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