Honestly, The Ultimatum: Queer Love Should've Had Tiff's Friend Natasha As Its Host
She's the only one actually asking the hard questions.
Netflix has a whole universe of dating shows now, but the streamer still hasn’t really figured out how they should be hosted. Usually, the hosts just show up at the start to introduce the contestants, and then they disappear until the reunion. Michelle Buteau disappears as the faceless narrator for most of The Circle, much like how Nick and Vanessa Lachey are pretty hands-off with the Love Is Blind experiment... until they stir up all the drama in the reunions. The Ultimatum: Queer Love took a similar approach, but it didn’t have to — because the perfect host was hiding on the show the whole time. The truth is, Tiff’s friend Natasha would have been the perfect host for The Ultimatum: Queer Love.
The hosting situation definitely felt a bit off from the start when it came to The Ultimatum: Queer Love. With Season 1 hosts Nick and Vanessa Lachey stepping back, it seemed the perfect opportunity for a queer woman to host a season that’s all about lesbian love. Instead, JoAnna Garcia Swisher walked in, confirmed she’s not queer to everyone, and then disappeared. Turns out, it wasn’t a huge deal that Swisher wasn’t familiar with the unique issues queer women face, since she really only popped in for a few seconds to facilitate a couple of ceremonial partner switches. As with other Netflix dating shows, the host didn’t actually do anything to guide or advise the contestants. But she could have if the right person had the job. And that right person happened to appear on the show.
In the second batch of releases, Tiff’s friend Natasha met up with her buddy to assess her relationship problems. And she didn’t mince words. After meeting Tiff’s trial wife Sam, Natasha immediately clocked her friend’s intimacy issues, encouraging Tiff to open herself up to Sam. She even gave them homework, something a real host of this show should be doing: “Tonight, try to kiss each other, try to touch each other, try to be intimate. And if you don't like it, be like, ‘F*ck it, I tried.’”
She also worked her magic on Tiff’s long-term relationship with Mildred. She warned her friend she might be holding onto something that can’t last, and pointed out that it wasn’t realistic to expect her communication issues with Mildred to be solved in the short time on the show. She even offered sound next steps for the couple, such as slowing things down and trying couples therapy.
Basically, she was doing the job the host of The Ultimatum should be doing: asking the hard questions, clarifying the underlying issues, and offering guidance on how best to fix things.
All I’m saying is if Netflix does give us another season of The Ultimatum: Queer Love, you’ve got the perfect host for it right here.
