Too Hot to Handle season 1

Too Hot to Handle
Season 1
Promotional poster
No. of contestants	14
Winners	Bryce Hirschberg Chloe Veitch David Birtwistle Francesca Farago Harry Jowsey Kelz Dyke Lydia Clyma Nicole O'Brien Rhonda Paul Sharron Townsend
No. of episodes	9
Release
Original network	Netflix
Original release	17 April (2020-04-17) – 8 May 2020 (2020-05-08)
Season chronology
Next → Season 2

The first season of Too Hot to Handle was released on Netflix on April 17, 2020. A ninth episode reunion special was released on May 8. It was filmed in Punta Mita, Mexico. ^[1]

The show revolves around a group of adults – all of whom have a history of primarily engaging in meaningless flings and are unable to form long-lasting relationships – who are placed together in a house for four weeks and must go through various workshops, all while being forbidden from any kissing, sexual contact or masturbation, with the money prize getting reduced any time a rule is broken. All contestants who complete the season share equally in the remaining prize money.

Cast

Cast member	Age	Residence	Entered	Exited	Status	Refs
Bryce Hirschberg	29	Venice, California	Episode 3	Episode 8	Winner	[2] [3] [4]
Chloe Veitch	21	Essex, England	Episode 1	Episode 8	Winner
David Birtwistle	28	London, England	Episode 1	Episode 8	Winner
Francesca Farago	27	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada	Episode 1	Episode 8	Winner
Harry Jowsey	22	Gold Coast, Queensland, Australia	Episode 1	Episode 8	Winner
Kelechi "Kelz" Dyke	27	London, England	Episode 1	Episode 8	Winner
Lydia Clyma	22	Portsmouth, England	Episode 6	Episode 8	Winner
Nicole O'Brien	23	County Cork, Ireland	Episode 1	Episode 8	Winner
Rhonda Paul	27	Atlanta, Georgia, United States	Episode 1	Episode 8	Winner
Sharron Townsend	25	Camden, New Jersey, USA	Episode 1	Episode 8	Winner
Kori Sampson	23	Plymouth, England	Episode 6	Episode 8	Eliminated
Madison Wyborny	20	Los Angeles, California, USA	Episode 6	Episode 8	Eliminated
Matthew Smith	29	Highlands Ranch, Colorado, USA	Episode 1	Episode 6	Quit
Haley Cureton	20	Jacksonville, Florida, USA	Episode 1	Episode 6	Eliminated

Future appearances by contestant

Bryce Hirschberg

• Hirschberg appeared on the fifth season of MTV's Ex on the Beach with Nicole O'Brien. ^[5]

Chloe Veitch

• Veitch starred on season two of The Circle US. ^[6]
• She paired up with O'Brien on Celebrity Ghost Trip in 2021. ^[7]
• In 2022, she competed on Celebrity Hunted . ^[8]
• In 2023, Veitch starred on the first season of Perfect Match. ^[9]
• Veitch appeared on E4's The Big Celebrity Detox in 2023. ^[10]
• She appeared on the third series of Celebrity Ex on the Beach in 2024. ^[11]
• Veitch hosted the reality show Sneaky Links: Dating After Dark in 2025. ^[12]

David Birtwistle

• He appeared on the Channel 4 dating show The Love Trap in 2021. ^[13]

Francesca Farago

• In 2021, Farago appeared on the 27th series of The Only Way Is Essex. ^[14]
• In 2021, she appeared on the Love Is Blind season one special episodes ("After The Altar") as contestant Damian Powers new dating partner. ^[15]
• In 2023, Farago starred on the first season of Perfect Match. ^[16]

Harry Jowsey

• In 2021, he participated on MTV's Match Me If You Can. ^{[17] [18]}
• In 2022, he appeared on an episode of Floor Is Lava with season 2 contestant Chase de Moor. ^[19]
• In 2023, he competed in The Amazing Race Australia 7. ^[20] He was partnered with Love Island Australia contestant Teddy Briggs and they were eliminated 8th. ^[21]
• In 2023, he participated on the thirty-second season of Dancing with the Stars . ^[22] He was partnered with first time pro Rylee Arnold, and they finished in sixth place. ^[23]
• In 2024, Jowsey starred on the second season of Perfect Match. ^[24]

Kelz Dyke

• Dyke competed on The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies . ^[25] He was eliminated on episode 2. ^[26]

Nicole O'Brien

• She paired up with Chloe Veitch Celebrity Ghost Trip in 2021. ^[7]
• O'Brien starred on the fifth season of MTV's Ex on the Beach with Bryce Hirschberg. ^[5] She left the beach on episode 12.

Kori Sampson

• He starred on series 2 of Celebrity Ex On The Beach . He left the beach on episode 11, but returned on episode 12. ^[27]

• He appeared on an episode of Series 2 of Celeb Ex in the City along with Lydia Clyma.

Episodes

No. overall	No. in season	Title	Prize money	Original release date  [28]
1	1	"Love, Sex or Money"	$100,000	17 April 2020 (2020-04-17)
2	2	"When Harry Met Francesca"	$97,000	17 April 2020 (2020-04-17)
3	3	"Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Hot"	$94,000	17 April 2020 (2020-04-17)
4	4	"Two's Company, Three's a ... Threesome"	$94,000	17 April 2020 (2020-04-17)
5	5	"Boys to Men"	$75,000	17 April 2020 (2020-04-17)
6	6	"The Bryce Isn't Right"	$55,000	17 April 2020 (2020-04-17)
7	7	"Sisters over Misters"	$43,000	17 April 2020 (2020-04-17)
8	8	"Lust or Bust"	$75,000	17 April 2020 (2020-04-17)
9	9	"Extra Hot: The Reunion"	-	8 May 2020 (2020-05-08)

After filming

Couples	Still together	Relationship notes
Francesca Farago & Harry Jowsey	No	Although the couple ended the season together, it was later revealed that they had split for eight months after filming wrapped. The two reconciled shortly after and got engaged during the reunion special. On June 16, 2020, Farago released a video announcing that the two have broken up. On May 24, 2021, Jowsey published some photos of the two of them together. In the end, they went their separate ways. [29] [30] [31]
Rhonda Paul & Sharron Townsend	No	Although the two ended the season together, the couple eventually split, citing distance as the demise of their relationship. It was revealed the two still keep in contact, but Paul had reconciled with an ex. [29] [32]
Lydia Clyma & David Birtwistle	No	Entering the show in the sixth episode, Clyma [33] struck up a relationship with Birtwistle and the two ended the season together. Birtwistle revealed that they ended their relationship. [34]
Nicole O'Brien & Bryce Hirschberg	No	Hirschberg and O'Brien developed a romantic connection in the days after the show wrapped. The two split in May 2020 after attempts at a long-distance relationship failed. [35] [36]

Harry Jowsey began dating season 3 contestant Georgia Hassarati in early 2022, but ended their relationship in the fall of the same year. They got back together in April 2023, ^[37] but broke up again a few months later. ^[38]

References

1. "Where Was Too Hot to Handle Filmed?". 2020-04-17. Retrieved 2023-07-21.
2. Murphy, Desiree (10 April 2020). "'Too Hot to Handle': Meet the Cast of Your Next Netflix Quarantine Obsession". etonline.com. Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
3. "What you need to know about Netflix's wild social experiment Too Hot to Handle". ew.com. Entertainment Weekly. 17 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
4. Nicolaou, Elena (16 April 2020). "Here Are the Too Hot to Handle Cast Members' Instagram Handles and Bios". oprahmag.com. The Oprah Magazine. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
5. Jackson, Dory (March 10, 2022). "Ex on the Beach Is Returning to MTV with a Sexy New Cast of Reality Stars — Watch the First Look". People . Retrieved March 11, 2022.
6. "The Circle USA season two cast | Meet all the contestants taking part | Radio Times". www.radiotimes.com. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
7. "E4's Celebrity Ghost Trip reveals first five spooky pairings | Channel 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
8. "Celebrity Hunted: Who is Chloe Veitch and which other shows has she been on?". Metro. 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
9. Pham, Jason (2023-02-28). "'The Perfect Match' Cast Includes Ex-Contestants From 8 Netflix Reality Shows—Here's Where They're All From". StyleCaster. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
10. "Netflix star Chloe Veitch tearfully reveals bisexuality on Big Celebrity Detox". Metro. 2023-05-19. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
11. "Celebrity Ex On The Beach UK Season 3 cast: Meet the contestants". Dexerto. 2024-02-14. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
12. "Chloe Veitch Talks About Her Evolution From Dater To Host On 'Sneaky Links: Dating After Dark': "Me Trying To Find Love On Netflix Just Wasn't Working" | Decider". 2025-06-09. Retrieved 2025-07-10.
13. "David Birtwistle in shock as Joel Dommett reveals Love Trap twist | Radio Times". www.radiotimes.com. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
14. "It's Not Just 'Love Is Blind': Francesca Farago Was On Two More Major Reality Shows". Bustle. 2021-08-04. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
15. Costabile, Sabrina (2021-07-29). "Why Too Hot To Handle's Francesca Is On Love Is Blind". ScreenRant. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
16. Pham, Jason (2023-02-28). "'The Perfect Match' Cast Includes Ex-Contestants From 8 Netflix Reality Shows—Here's Where They're All From". StyleCaster. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
17. Soll, Hunter (2022-06-28). "Match Me If You Can: Self Presentation and Dating Applications". doi:10.32920/19252403.v1 . Retrieved 2022-07-04.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
18. Spaulding, Meg (April 17, 2021). "Match Me If You Can: Everything To Know About The Upcoming MTV Show". Screen Rant .
19. "Too Hot To Handle Star Harry Jowsey's Floor Is Lava Run Needs to Be Seen to Be Believed". E! Online. 2022-06-03. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
20. "The Amazing Race Australia Celebrity Edition: Meet The 11 Teams". 10Play . 9 June 2023. Retrieved 9 June 2023.
21. "The Amazing Race Celebrity Edition 2023: Who left". Now To Love. 2023-11-01. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
22. "Meet the season 32 cast of 'Dancing With the Stars'". EW.com. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
23. Blackwelder, Carson. "'Dancing with the Stars' recap: Harry Jowsey eliminated during Taylor Swift week". ABC News. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
24. "They're here! Meet the cast of Netflix's Perfect Match season 2". Cosmopolitan. 2024-06-03. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
25. Sydney Bucksbaum. "MTV announces The Challenge season 37 cast list, theme, and premiere date". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
26. "'The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies' eliminated player reveals his new hit list". EW.com. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
27. Watson, Eve (2022-02-04). "Plymouth man to star on Celebrity Ex On The Beach". Plymouth Live. Retrieved 2025-07-16.
28. Harnick, Chris (10 April 2020). "Too Hot to Handle Tasks Horny Contestants With Keeping Their Hands to Themselves for Money". eonline.com. ENews. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
29. Larson, Tara (May 8, 2020). "Where Is The Cast of Too Hot To Handle Now?". Esquire . Retrieved May 8, 2020.
30. Farago, Francesa (June 16, 2020). "Our Break Up". YouTube . Retrieved June 16, 2020.
31. Bowenbank, Starr. "Francesca Farago and Harry Jowsey From 'Too Hot to Handle' Break Up After a Year of Dating". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
32. Mackelden, Amy. "Too Hot to Handle's Sharron Townsend and Rhonda Paul's Relationship Is Complicated". Harpers Bazaar. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
33. Anderson, Alana. "Too Hot to Handle star Lydia Clyma reveals she has a son she didn't mention on the show". OK. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
34. Nicoloau, Elena (April 23, 2020). "Here's Where the Couples From Netflix Too Hot To Handle Are Now". Oprah . Retrieved May 8, 2020.
35. Pasquini, Maria (30 May 2020). "Too Hot to Handle's Bryce Hirschberg and Nicole O'Brien Split After 'Many Failed Attempts to Reunite'". people.com. People. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
36. Shenton, Zoe. "Too Hot To Handle's Bryce Hirschberg and Nicole O'Brien split". Cosmopolitan. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
37. "Harry Jowsey dating Too Hot To Handle season three star". Goss.ie. 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2022-07-04.
38. "Too Hot to Handle's Georgia Hassarati Calls Out Ex-Boyfriend Harry Jowsey for Cheating Allegations". E! Online. 2023-08-02. Retrieved 2023-11-19.