Who doesn’t love a good, old-fashioned love story?

The Courtship is the latest dating show with a twist. This twist being that instead of conventional dating, we’ve traveled back in time to the Regency Era, where we watch 16 men compete for the affections of the stunning Nicole Remy.

The show is a lot of fun, and Nicole is the perfect lead, with her effervescent personality and megawatt smile. I got a chance to talk to Nicole and had an absolute blast laughing with her and hearing all about her amazing journey to find love.

Hi Nicole.

Hi Whitney. How’s it going?

It’s going great. How are you?

Good, thank you. Thanks for having me.

Yeah, of course. I’m really excited to talk to you. I have been really enjoying The Courtship so far.

Awesome. I love to hear that.

Can you tell us a little bit about how you got the opportunity for The Courtship and what had you most excited about the experience?

Yeah, definitely. This opportunity was presented to me and I wasn’t necessarily looking to go on TV, but I was looking to find love, so I was like, “You know what? I will give this a try.” And, step back in time in this Regency era, and see if I can develop more meaningful connections with people.

Because I feel like, in my dating life previously, I just haven’t been as successful. And so, I thought, get dressed up, live in a castle, be in England, be courted by 16 guys? That sounds like a recipe for success.

Yeah, for sure. I’m not that familiar with the Regency era, but were you at all familiar with that era and the traditions and customs at that time, prior to the show?

Not a whole lot, to be honest. I’d seen a couple Jane Austen movies prior to the show, but I didn’t know a whole lot about the etiquette of the time. And so, going into the show, all of us, myself, the suitors, and my family, the court, we all had to learn the etiquette.

So we sat with a historian and she taught us how people courted each other back then, and she taught us about what balls typically looked like and how you approached and respected elders and that kind of thing. It was all very interesting to learn.

Oh, I bet. So, that first night, when they have the ball and you’re meeting all the suitors, can you kind of walk us through that night and what that was like for you? 

Probably my favorite moment of the whole process was that night, really. Walking into that ballroom for the first time in that red dress and seeing these guys for the first time ever, it was just magic. And I really want to stress that. Dating shows where you know the lead or you know the people that are a part of cast going into it?

We didn’t know anything about each other. I didn’t know the guys. They didn’t know me.

So that moment was just magic, and I was so excited all day. I felt like a little kid on Christmas, excited to unwrap all these presents, which are 16 guys. It just was so exciting. All of that energy and excitement going into it, and then being able to meet the guys one on one, I felt excited, but also overwhelmed, too.

I was like, “Can I get name cards?” I’m dating 16 guys at once. This is not normal. And then, also, getting to know them by their last name. It didn’t end up until, I think, it was the third or fourth-week episode that I really started to learn their first names.

The whole thing was just so bizarre to me and so different, but I also loved it because it just felt like a little magical fairytale. It was fun.

Yeah. It definitely came across like that on TV. It was really gorgeous.

I know in the beginning of the show, they talk about it being the most romantic period, but you could really feel that when you watch the episodes. It feels very romantic. And that first night, it really came across magically on screen, too.

Mm-hmm (affirmative). Definitely.

One thing that I really like about the show, which I think sets it apart from some other dating shows, is that you have that court with you that you were talking about.

I know you spoke in the first episode about being excited for them to be on the journey with you, and as the season went on, how was it to have that support and insight there with you along the way?

It was really important to me. I mean, prior to this, I haven’t really tapped into my parents’ sort of knowledge of dating, because that’s not typically a topic that I talk about with them. We don’t usually talk boys, but I will say that having them there and being such a great example of love and sacrifice and compassion was really important.

They’ve been married for over 35 years and the love that they’ve shown towards each other, the time that I’ve known them, clearly, has really just given me hope in the fact that I can also find love like that.

And then having my sister and my friend clearly was amazing, because I talk boys with them all the time, so that is a little bit easier for me, being able to connect with them, but also being able to connect with my parents. I felt like our relationship grew so much as a result.

That’s great. As you were going through the process, were you ever nervous about when it was over and stepping out of that romantic world and back into the real world?

Of course. Yeah, I thought about that because, obviously, we’re in that bubble and in that fantasy, and I’m not seeing what these guys typically dress like. I’m not seeing them around their family and how they interact with people. I think a really good test of how somebody is, is how they interact with the waiter.

And so, just those little things that I missed because of the way that this experience was sort of filmed, I was definitely worried, but I will say that if I find … I always thought to myself, if I find somebody that I really love and have a deep connection with, regardless of what time period we’re in or where we are, that love will stay consistent.

I was really looking for somebody that I felt like had that deep love for me.

I think gaining that foundation there, will definitely carry over into, any type of situation you guys would find yourselves in later.

Definitely.

What would you say to those who don’t believe that these kinds of dating experiments work? What would you say to people that feel that way?

Well, of course, I was skeptical too, because I’ve seen these shows and I’ve seen a lot of them not work out.

But I think what’s important for people to realize is that anytime that you’re vulnerable and let yourself open up to something new, you’ve already made a huge step and you’re that much closer to allowing yourself to be vulnerable with somebody else. I think that’s really important.

Of course, I went into it looking for love and wanting to find my person, and I think because I was vulnerable right from the start, these guys really opened up with me too, along my journey, so I found that I was able to really start to believe in this idea of finding love in this space.

Now that the series is live, and you’re watching it alongside us, I always see you live tweeting. I love your tweets.

Oh, thank you.

You’re welcome. What kind of feedback have you been receiving?

Honestly, everything has been so positive, and I think one of the things that the fans always like to comment on is who I’m really jiving with. A lot of them pointed out, and now I know my tell. When my eyes start to flutter, that’s when you know. That is when you know I’m into somebody.

I’m thinking to myself, oh my gosh, they must have been able to hear my lashes fluttering on set because those things were working overtime with some of those guys. I’ve literally never held up of mirror to myself as I’m meeting somebody, so it’s so funny to watch in real-time.

But, yeah, definitely the fans have been, like, “I saw the way you looked at him.” And I’m like, “Oh, I saw the way I looked at him too. Okay.”

That kind of goes into my next question. Watching the episodes now, are there things that are surprising you, like the confessionals and those times that maybe you weren’t around the guys?

Oh gosh, you should see me watching. I cringe every time because I don’t know what these guys were saying in the confessionals, and especially too in the parlor. I wasn’t a part of the parlor scene, so I’m kind of sitting here like, “Oh gosh, what did they really think about me?”

For example, I’m watching Mr. Chapman and he’s talking about how much he wants to get to know me and stuff like that, and how into me he was right from the start. I’m seeing Captain Ken getting jealous, and I’m seeing Mr. Bochicchio keep it a secret that we kissed on our first date.

So, I’m picking up on these little things about them and kind of keeping them in my head is so like, “Oh yeah, I liked how they acted there. Or I didn’t like how they acted there or, oh, that makes sense that they thought this way because this is how it turned out.”

For sure, yeah. I imagine that would be really interesting watching the confessionals back and seeing all those little things that you didn’t get to see at the time.

Exactly. And I think one thing, too, which I kind of knew before, but we see Mr. Shanklin sing quite a few times, and to know that he was also singing without me being around, it totally adds up.

Mr. Shanklin is my favorite with the singing. I’m obsessed with him. 

It’s so funny to me. I said it on the last episode. He sings more than he speaks. And then he says that I don’t want to show off. I’m like, “Oh gosh. Of course not. Yeah, right?”

Right. I obviously don’t know what’s going to happen, if he’ll get one of those dances, but I just imagine you guys dancing and him singing to you quietly. And I’m like, “Oh my God, Mr. Shanklin.”

I’m crazy over that idea. That’s funny. Oh my God. That is so funny.

Besides the dating part of the show, what was one of your favorite things you got to do over in England?

Gosh, one of my favorite things? Oh gosh. Without giving anything away, I think I can say this because they’ve teased it a little bit, but we have this really incredible date where there were fire dancers and there was a, what are they called? A carousel, right? Is that what they’re called, with the horses? They go up and down?

Yep, a carousel.

Yeah. Thank you. A carousel. There we go. That was a really, really cool bait and a nod to a simpler time. I’m a really big carnival and amusement park fan, so for me, that was really fun. But there are a lot of dates that were just like, oh my gosh, I loved it. Like with the archery.

They teased that a little bit and I’d never done archery before, but I felt like Katniss Everdeen out there. I loved it.

That’s great. I can’t wait to watch that.

What is something that you learned about yourself through this process?

I learned that I’m a lot stronger than I thought I was. I’m out there dating 16 guys. I have so many emotions. I’m also trying to make sure that my family and my court feel good about everything that’s going on.

I’m very much so the kind of person that wants to make sure everybody’s happy, and at times, that would really make me feel kind of just exhausted, taking on other people’s emotions.

But I was able to get through the whole thing, staying true to myself, continuing to be myself, showing that compassion and kindness towards people, but also putting myself down when I needed to, and I was really proud of myself for being able to balance both of those things.

And then just the last question from me. Is there anything you can tease for us about the rest of the season and what’s to come?

Oh gosh, there is so much to come. If you watch episode two or episode one and two and you’re already in love with it, let me tell you, things are about to get wild. There’s definitely going to be a lot more drama. There’s more passion.

There are going to be some more intimate moments, which makes me cringe even thinking about watching it, and I’m like, “Mom, Dad, you definitely don’t need to watch this episode.” So, I hope anybody watching stays along for the ride because it just gets better.

Okay. Thank you so much, Nicole. This was a lot of fun. Thanks for taking the time to talk to me.

Yeah, absolutely. Thanks for having me. This was great.

“The Courtship” is moving from NBC to USA Network starting with the premiere episode on Wednesday, March 16 at 11 p.m. ET/PT, following the season premiere of “Temptation Island.” (Episodes 2 & 3 will air back-to-back on USA on March 23. Episode 4 will premiere on March 30 and weekly thereafter at 11 p.m. Wednesdays.)

Each week new episodes will continue to drop the next day (Thursdays) on Peacock. (Episodes 1&2 are already available on Peacock, so Episode 3 drops March 24 and Episode 4 on March 31).

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