The concept of NRJ 12’s show “Total in Love” is simple. Two candidates have three minutes to entice another candidate to spend a weekend with them. How did Mathilde from Cannes find herself in this TV program? “I was a booker (finding contracts for models) in a modeling agency in Nice (Enjoy Models). NRJ 12 called us to find some models. It could be done, but for contracts worth 200 or 300€ per hour. The production couldn’t afford it. Some models volunteered. They asked if I wanted to do it. I thought: why not? I took some photos.”
Mathilde describes herself as a “go-getter”. She loves to enjoy life and was tempted by the adventure. She claims this stance. She only agreed after fully understanding the concept of Total in Love: “They explained it a bit more to me. I saw that we were not obliged to do anything nor forced to be with the person. My profile was on NRJ 12’s website (www.nrj12.com), and there was a video clip where I invited internet users to spend a weekend with me. There were 5000 responses to my application.”
Among this acclaim, two men were chosen: Michaël and Semy. They had the honor of having three minutes to charm the beautiful lady. Michaël did not succeed. Too calm for Mathilde and his drawing of a man and a woman under a sunset, symbolizing for him the ideal encounter, did not have the desired effect. “Semy didn’t reveal himself much. I wanted to know him better. He was a bit more lively,” Mathilde clarifies.
The “encounter” weekend took place in November in Cannes. It went very well. The day started very early at 7 am and included numerous activities: a visit to a perfumery in Grasse, horseback riding, a massage session, dinner in a fine restaurant on the Croisette, meeting Mathilde’s close ones so they could judge “the suitor,” followed by a night in a luxury hotel. A night between two lovers? Absolutely not. Mathilde and Semy only shared the same bed for the two cameras of NRJ 12: “They had us put on pajamas and get into bed. They filmed. We got up, dressed again, and went out. During the filming, they work us. They ask us to get a bit closer to each other or to hold hands.”
Being an actress for two seasons on “Sous le Soleil,” the cameras did not bother her. “Semy was always trying to be in front of the camera as if he was using the show to showcase himself and make a name,” Mathilde is not tender with her “Total in Love” suitor. She explains: “The weekend was nice. The problem is that I was with the wrong person. He was nice, but everything had to be just right for him. He made a fuss because he did not want to ride a horse since it was cold. In the evening, we were all tired, and he nagged us to go out.”
Mathilde organized a gathering on Wednesday at her mother’s house with her friends to watch the show she hadn’t yet seen. “I can’t wait,” she says. A wait without worry. She is serene and doesn’t see anything in the weekend spent with Semy that could compromise her. Her partner, David, shares this calm, even if NRJ 12 had three months to edit the footage and turn a simple meeting into a scripted romance. Verification during the airing on Wednesday and Sunday.
