Yanira D. Kivi 
After sleeping in the same bed from day one of the show, Raymond and Johnson had to adjust to not only living in separate homes, but also having a life outside of retirement. Suddenly, they were trying to maintain a long-distance relationship instead of dating in what another contestant called the show’s “petri dish.”
Narcity recently caught up with Raymond, who spoke about his relationship with Johnson and life since the series premiered on Netflix.
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“Retirement changed me a lot. I went out with a boyfriend, and […] I enjoyed it so much,” Raymond said.
She added that her biggest benefit was finding a relationship with someone she could trust, and she said she found Johnson very genuine from the start.
“I let my guard down so much, and it was really quick for me to do that as well,” the British native said. “I haven’t been treated very well in the past, and it takes me a long time to trust someone, so I trusted them, and it turned out really well.”
Johnson initially had his sights set on Australian co-star Georgia Hassarati, but after Hassarati threw him into the friend zone, Johnson ended up realizing his perfect match was right under his nose – or shall we say sheets. ? – all the time.
“Harry, you can tell he’s so confident and bubbly, and he was really approachable,” Raymond said. “You really see our journey of being nothing and then creating something so amazing.”
She added that she really enjoyed seeing the relationship develop onscreen afterwards, once the show aired.
“It was so nice to be able to watch this with my own eyes, and then with all my friends and family, and they were crying and things like that. It’s so cute that you can actually see the relationship.”
Although their on-camera chemistry was evident, after the series ended, Raymond and Johnson had to deal with the reality of living apart and learning to juggle their relationship.
Eventually it became too much and the couple broke up, Raymond said.
“I’ve never personally done long distance, so I think I was a bit scared when I came out of retirement. I went from being with him every day, then all of a sudden, to nothing, and we were both dreading it,” she said.
She added that the COVID-19 restrictions were making it difficult and the UK having lockdowns after filming wrapped was not helping.
“It was quite tricky, so unfortunately we broke up. But we saw each other a bit,” Raymond said.
“We always talked, we always talked – every day – we were always close, so we never let him be mean,” she said.
And even though they broke up, it seems like there’s still a chance they’ll be okay in the long run.
“We rekindled the last few weeks, and it’s been really, really good,” Raymond said.
“Things are looking better for us. We’re COVID-free now and maybe planning to go on vacation and things like that. So things are definitely looking up.”
She said if things go well, one of them might move to get closer to the other.
“If we try again, which I think we do, obviously we’re going to face the distance, and I feel like he might get a little closer to me anyway,” he said. she stated.
Raymond added that it helps to have so many people cheering him on on Instagram and encouraging him to make it work with his boo.
“I’m really enjoying everything right now, supporting myself and Harry on this journey,” she said.
“And then I hope you see more.”
This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.
