Georgia Hassarati has taken the Western Netflix world by storm, but her last name has always rung a bell within the Arab community. And for good reason – it turns out the reality TV bombshell is half-Lebanese! The already down-to-earth sweetheart seems all the more relatable to us Arab girls now, and we definitely see where she got her exotic good looks from. This new-found knowledge raises many questions about the Too Hot To Handle star: Did she grow up in Lebanon? Who of her parents holds the Lebanese gene? Does she love ~shawarma~?

Simply put, how Lebanese is Georgia Hassarati?

Georgia Hassarati’s upbringing

The Perfect Match winner grew up in Sunshine Coast, Queensland and has lived in this small Australian town her whole life. Georgia‘s sunny hometown perfectly coincides with her optimistic, laid-back demeanor. Since she spent her formative years in this beachy Australian paradise, where exactly does her Lebanese side enter the equation?

Georgia Hassarati’s father

Georgia’s dad is of Lebanese descent, and he along with his entire family lives in Sydney. The Too Hot To Handle alumna‘s father frequently visits his hometown in Lebanon, and Georgia is eager to tag along on a summer trip to the bride of the Middle East. The star longs to get in touch with her Arab side, and we absolutely admire that she hasn’t let go of her Middle Eastern roots.

Does Georgia Hassarati speak Arabic?

We can’t help but wonder if Georgia *stereotypically* uses niche Lebanese phrases like “Hi, keefak, ca va?” We now know that Georgia’s dad speaks his mother tongue fluently, but Georgia has shared that, regretfully, she’s never been taught Arabic by her family. The Too Hot To Handle star would only visit the Lebanese side of her family in Sydney during holidays, so she simply wasn’t around them long enough to master the language. Another way of looking at it, according to Georgia, is that her family simply didn’t want her to know what they were talking about. Georgia jokes that her dad didn’t teach her Arabic because his speech profusely consisted of swear words, which she claims to know by heart. We’re loving this ~playful~, jokey side of Georgia.

Georgia Hassarati: a Lebanese foodie

Georgia recalls that, on special occasions like Christmas, the Lebanese side of her family would customarily host big feasts, with ~endless~ tablespreads of the most delicious Lebanese dishes. The Perfect Match star has tried to recreate some Lebanese dishes on her own, but says she *could not* make them as well as her relatives do. All this talk about Lebanese food seriously has our mouths watering, and all we want to do is feast on some shawarma, kebbe, and hummus with Georgia !! The Netflix sweetheart is *head-over-heels* for the Middle East’s land of romance and good food… and so are we.

Georgia Hassarati’s Lebanese background has been a catalyst for her career…

“I feel like there’s not many Australian-Lebanese people in the TV industry with Netflix so far,” expresses Georgia. The Too Hot To Handle it-girl partially attributes her swift transition to Perfect Match (which she ended up winning) to her Lebanese heritage, claiming that in the eyes of her Netflix producers, her unique background gave her a competitive edge in the industry. We’re super proud to see that someone as accomplished as Georgia is repping our shared Arab roots in the Netflix sphere.

Georgia is *not* your average reality TV star: she’s also a midwife and an ambitious entrepreneur. Perhaps Georgia will infuse more of her Lebanese heritage in her future entrepreneurial endeavors. She’s previously expressed that she would like to launch a podcast, create her own brand, or work in TV presenting.

We hope to see more of the Perfect Match champion’s Arab heritage in her future projects. Who knows, she *might* even open a Lebanese restaurant someday!

All images shot on location at FIVE Palm Jumeirah Hotel.

Read Georgia’s full Cosmo cover story here.