The last time we saw Izzy Zapata, his then-fiance, Stacy Snyder, left him at the altar on season 5 of Love is Blind. Leading up to the big day, we saw the two have some back-and-forth, but ultimately, Snyder left him at the altar. Now, Zapata has returned to our screens for the second season of the popular Netflix reality TV series Perfect Match. I sat down to talk to Izzy about his time on the show, the behind-the-scenes tea, and his new love interests.
Perfect Match sees contestants from across all of Netflix’s reality TV shows enter a villa hoping to find their perfect match. They compete to form relationships, couples play matchmakers, and even break up other couples, with the sole winners walking away with a vacation. Nick Lachey hosts the series.
Izzy was among the first ten people to walk into the villa, where we saw him match up with Tolu. However, after being sent on a date, Tolu matches up with Dom, eliminating him from the show. Fast-forward to the end of the show, and Izzy matches up with Micah, who ultimately returns to her earlier match, Kaz. Later, he is sent on a date with Jessica, but things quickly go wrong because Jessica still has feelings for Harry.
I had the opportunity to catch up with Izzy to discuss his time on Perfect Match. We discussed some stuff we didn’t see, what happens when you aren’t in the villa and the new lady in his life.
Perfect Match Season 2 Izzy Zapata Interview
RV: Was there something that you wish was shown that didn’t get shown that you were involved in?
Izzy: I did have a conversation with Tolu initially, and I think that was something cool. It showed it was a deep conversation about what we’re looking for relationship-wise and the partner and stuff like that. I wish they would’ve shown that obviously to show my side that I’m serious and looking for a relationship, but also with her. We matched by default, but I think a connection started to happen after that, and it was gradually growing until she left with Dom.
RV: What was the mood like within the house after the “kiss heard around the world” and the explosive battle?
The minute that happened, we got to the mixer, walked in the door, and Nick came and talked to us, and it was crazy immediately. They didn’t show this part, but we’re all just standing around Nick’s asking questions. Christine was talking about Kaz, and then Melinda said, “I kissed Harry,” and everyone was shook.
This is before we break apart, and all the girls sit at the table. So within like three minutes, they’re like, holy shit, this is about to be a shit show of a night. And it sure as hell was, that’s for sure. So I stayed back after a while and just hung out with the guys. The girls were so much more involved with that than mingling and matching. I was like, okay, well, at this point, I’m just gonna drink with the boys, and as the drama went on, I just sat back and watched, but it was pretty intense for some people, I’ll tell you that.
RV: Towards the show’s end, we see you go on a date with Jessica. If the date had happened earlier, would things have played out differently?
Izzy: yeah, I think so. We look for the same things in relationships. It was hard, man because I kept catching the shitty end of the stick. Micah was bummed out with Kaz and then, and then Jess with Harry. I was like, God, I can’t catch a break, you know? And I think, like some other girls at this point, they wanted to avoid the drama after we already had the mixer. In the back of my mind, I was like, man, I know this girl’s like going through it. So I was hoping to see if she would push forward and try to give it a shot, but she was just out of it. I don’t blame her. So it worked out for the best, though.
Ricky Valero: We recently saw you announce that you were in a relationship; tell us a little about that.
Izzy: I met her when I got back from filming Perfect Match. We’ve been together for almost a year now. She’s amazing; she’s been huge for me because she’s been by my side through the ride of Love is Blind airing and has been a big support system. During the airing of Love is Blind, things were a little rough sometimes, but she helped me through that, and now I am with Perfect Match.
I took her on a date to a cooking class. We got there, and Stacy (who he was engaged to on Love is Blind) was in the same cooking class. Because of the date, we got matching tattoos that say, yes chef. We’ve been dating for almost a year, and it’s gotten pretty serious that we are ring shopping. In the next step, we will move in together, and the rings will come soon.
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