If you looked up Sagittarius in the dictionary, I’m pretty sure you’d find a picture of Georgia Hassarati. Adventurous, honest to a fault, absolutely full of energy, and chaotic AF. She’s also sharper, funnier, and more self-aware than you’d expect, but we’ll get to all that… At 25-years-old she was living on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland, Australia, and then…“it” happened—that almost mythical Hollywood win.
For Georgia, “it” went like this: Netflix cast her in season three of Too Hot To Handle, a dating show that quickly became one the service’s most streamed shows across the world, amassing over 72 million hours of watch time. Then came Perfect Match, another painfully successful Netflix series that shot straight to number 1. And suddenly, Georgia Hassarati was all anyone could google.
Dress: Cider
Bracelets: Stylist’s own
A midwife with a career in the Obstetric unit ahead of her, Aussie-Lebanese Georgia isn’t your typical reality TV contestant. In fact, she is a refreshing departure from the going-rate expectation that reality TV stars will do just about anything for fame and fortune. “I will definitely go back to midwifery one day,” she tells me. “But right now I definitely want to explore what the entertainment industry has to offer,” she hastens to add.
Top: Missoni
Earrings: Stylist’s own
Holding down a conventional job was never going to be Georgia’s thing. Sagittarius are dreamers. They’re always flying off in search of adventure. And so, swapping babies for boys, Georgia became the bombshell of a global Netflix show, which was something of a culture shock for a small-town girl working in a hospital. However, looking back, the now-27-year-old admits that the show was exactly the challenge she needed – even if the prospect of living with 10 complete strangers, while being filmed 24 hours a day, and having your love life aired out for millions of views to cast judgment over, was more terrifying than any baby she may have delivered.
You can throw just about any crisis at a Sagittarius, and this optimistic, sunny sign will always manage to put a positive spin on the situation. Career-altering breakout moments are tender for anyone, and Georgia is using hers to share some of the most delicate pieces of herself. “I’m very good at heartbreak now,” she laughs. “I’ve had my fair share of experiences as you know! But I’m good at picking myself up quickly and not engaging with the drama online.”
Top, pants & sunglasses: Cider
Rings: Stylist’s own
It’s gonna be a big year for Georgia Hassarati—and that’s just an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny part of her master plan.
Cosmo ME: What was it like growing up with four sisters?
Georgia Hassarati: It’s a lot. It’s a lot. It’s really good though, I’m really blessed. My two older sisters now have little kids so I’ve been able to see them grow up and I’m really close with them. My whole family lives in the same area, so when I go home I get to see them all and we’re all really close, I see them all the time. We’re close in age, too, so it’s been really nice to grow up with two older sisters and one younger sister. It’s all-girl energy and I love that.
Cosmo ME: And your dad is Lebanese?
Georgia Hassarati: My dad is fully Lebanese! My Lebanese side of the family all live in Sydney, and my dad still frequently travels to Lebanon. I really want to go with him hopefully sometime this year because it’s so beautiful and I really want to get in touch with that side more and learn Arabic properly. My dad’s side of the family all speak to each other in Arabic, so I understand what they’re saying sometimes but I want to be able to fully join in.
Cosmo ME: Did you grow up with much Arab culture in your childhood?
Georgia Hassarati: Oh my god, yes. Especially at Christmas, there would be big feasts full of the best Lebanese food. There are so many dishes I want to learn how to recreate.
Cosmo ME: Did you always know you wanted to be in the entertainment industry?
Georgia Hassarati: I actually never expected that I’d be on TV or in this industry at all. I always wanted to be a midwife, so I studied that for like five years after school. I was actually delivering babies in the last year of my study when I was contacted to go on Too Hot to Handle, which I didn’t know was Too Hot to Handle at the time. I was single, hadn’t traveled in a long time, and this opportunity came my way, and I was just kind of like, let’s see what happens! I feel like there’s not many Australian-Lebanese people on any Netflix shows either.
Top and pants: Missoni
Shoes: By Far
Earrings: Stylist’s own
Cosmo ME: How does getting on a show like Too Hot to Handle even come about?
Georgia Hassarati: It was really random. They reached out to me on social media and I had like 50,000 followers at the time because I used to date someone that had a relatively big following and I travelled with him a lot, so I grew like a small following from that. Then a page called Parties in Paradise reached out to me on Instagram and it just seemed like it wasn’t real. I remember going on the page and looking at the photos and they were all pixelated and blown out, and I was like, “oh this is definitely fake.” So I initially ignored their first message. Then my social media manager at the time told me the producers were really keen on getting me to apply, so I got on a call with them and answered a few questions, and next thing I knew I was on a plane to Turks and Caicos!
Cosmo ME: What did you think Parties in Paradise was?
Georgia Hassarati: They said it was a show where single people from all over the world were going to be on a superyacht and we would be dating each other. The show didn’t air for a whole year after we filmed, so there were moments where I thought it would never see the light of day.
Cosmo ME: So you just went back to your normal life as a midwife?
Georgia Hassarati: Yep! I went back to like midwifery, I was delivering babies and it just felt like the show didn’t happen. I remember being in the hospital with a midwife. We were on our lunch break, and this dating show popped up on TV, and the midwife said, “who would ever go on a show like that, it’s so embarrassing.” And I’m just sitting there like “yeah you’re so right!” Then after the show aired, the reaction was instantaneous. I had half a million followers within 72 hours of it coming out and everything just changed from then on.
Top: Missoni
Skirt: Stylist’s own
Earrings: Swarovski
Cosmo ME: And then Perfect Match came about…
Georgia Hassarati: Straight after Too Hot to Handle aired Netflix got back in touch and said they have a new show that was starting filming in a week and they really wanted me on. I was like, “my first one’s just aired, I’m so overwhelmed right now!” Perfect Match was a VERY different experience than THTH because everyone on there was a well-seasoned reality star, so everyone had a different intention. But I went for it and it’s been so much fun.
Cosmo ME: So, are you single now?
Georgia Hassarati: Yes. It’s only recent but I’m very happy.
Cosmo ME: It must be hard having all your relationships play out so publicly…
Georgia Hassarati: It’s really annoying because I love sharing things on social media, and I’m very open about my relationships and putting them online. When I’m in love with someone, I want everyone to know. But when that ends, in other people’s eyes, there’s always a bad guy and a good guy – there’s no in-between. And people also don’t want to know that you’ve ended amicably, they want to know who the enemy is, what the drama is and what the tea is. I’m quite good at not engaging in the drama online, but then when you stay silent people think you’re the one who has done something wrong. And I’ve learned that most reality TV people – particularly men – want to air all your dirty laundry and make you out to be the bad one.
Cosmo ME: Has that been the most challenging thing about doing reality TV?
Georgia Hassarati: People get really attached to that very small amount of time they see you on TV, and often it doesn’t show your full personality. I’m very bubbly and I laugh a lot, but people would say it came across as ditzy on TV. I’m a very easygoing person. I say stupid stuff all the time, I’m not afraid to embarrass myself, and I’m pretty carefree. But on TV it’s really hard to fully show all of that. That was hard for me because I hate being misunderstood, but ultimately it’s just made me stronger.
Top and skirt: Staud
Shoes: & OtherStories
Rings and hat: Stylist’s own
Cosmo ME: What’s the best thing about being single?
Georgia Hassarati: Being able to just spontaneously travel. If I want to hop on a plane to Japan, I can. If I want to come back to Dubai, I can do that too. I don’t have to fit my life in around anyone else. I love doing things on my own and I’m a very independent person.
Cosmo ME: That sounds like some Big Sag Energy to me…
Georgia Hassarati: I’m such a Sagittarius. I’m super chaotic. If I meet someone out and they say, “let’s go to Bali tomorrow!” I’m like, “yeah, book me in!” My friend Holly Scarfone, who was on the same season on THTH as me, is also Sagittarius and she’s exactly the same. One day we’ll have dinner plans, and then I’ll call her and she’ll be like, “I’m actually in London now.”
Cosmo ME: So, where is that Sag energy taking you next?
Georgia Hassarati: I’m just kind of going with the flow at the moment. I don’t like to put too much pressure on anything. I’d love to get into different areas of TV, like hosting or presenting. If I was to do another reality show then I’d love to do something challenge-based – nothing that involves dating! I’d also love to create my own fashion or jewellery brand one day.
Dress: Marli
Earrings: Stylist’s own
Cosmo ME: Knowing what you know now, what would you tell your younger self before entering this industry?
Georgia Hassarati: Don’t have high hopes for anything. Just have fun, be yourself, don’t get involved in the drama, and ignore the negativity. At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter if you’re the best person on earth, there’s always going to be someone that hates that about you, and you can’t change that. Everyone likes to be liked, but as long as you stay true to yourself and know that you’re a good person, you’ll do just fine.
All images shot on location at FIVE Palm Jumeirah Hotel.
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