Fresh from her reality television debut on a steamy Netflix series, a Sunshine Coast woman now has her sights set firmly on her dream role – and it’s not on camera.
Reality fans might recognise Georgia Hassarati from the recent season Netflix series Too Hot To Handle, which launched on January 19.
But off camera, the 26-year-old is swapping her bikini for scrubs as she prepares to enter her final year of midwifery at university.
Growing up in Buderim, Ms Hassarati decided to grow her social media account as a “side hustle” while completing her bachelor degree.
It was from there the invitation of a lifetime came for her to star in season three of the British-based television show.
The show takes 10 hot singles who are notorious commitment-phobes when it comes to relationships, and it puts them together in an island villa for four weeks.
There is prizemoney up for grabs, but to get their hands on it, the contestants must remain celibate for the show’s entirety.
Ms Hassarati told Sunshine Coast News she initially ignored the first request to be part of the show as she was unsure if it was a real opportunity.
“I was contacted by the casting team through social media, initially I didn’t think much of it,” she said.
“I wasn’t sure if it was a real opportunity or just a random message, so I didn’t respond the first time.
“I actually was contacted again through my management … so, I responded and everything just worked so perfectly from there.
“Everyone I met through the process was so lovely it just felt right, like I was meant to go on the show.”
Help keep independent and fair Sunshine Coast news coming by subscribing to our free daily news feed. All it requires is your name and email. See SUBSCRIBE at the top of this article
Being a show with an international cast, Ms Hassarati, who has a Lebanese background, said she loved the opportunity to meet people from across the world and was able to fall on her feet despite having never been in front of a camera.
“It is a very unique experience. Initially I was very nervous as I hadn’t filmed for a reality show before.
“Luckily, I got used to it pretty quickly and learned to feel comfortable in front of the cameras.
“Everyone I met was extremely professional and very lovely so that made the experience easy.
“Being an international show it was the perfect experience for me to meet people from all over the world.
“I love learning about other cultures and countries so I was able to do that, while also meeting people I probably would have never met otherwise.
“It’s so unique in that aspect as you don’t really have shows that have people from a range of different nationalities, it makes everything so much more interesting.
“Plus, now I have places to stay when I visit all these different areas of the world!”
Currently based in London to meet up with some of the cast, the self-confessed Harry Potter fan said she was enjoying the “cool” change and chance to rug up, but that the Coast will always be home.
“London is very cool and I love the cold and being able to dress in jackets and beanies, it’s so much fun experiencing weather like this.
“I wouldn’t dream of wearing jackets and beanies on the Sunshine Coast.
“But for me the Sunshine Coast is always going to be home. I grew up there with my sisters. All my childhood friends and earliest memories are from the Sunshine Coast.”
Not entirely ruling out being part of more reality television in the future, for now Ms Hassarati is excited to fulfill her dream of becoming a midwife.
“It’s my passion to become a midwife, I’m fascinated by anything related to pregnancy – even labour. I love babies.”
