Usually, love don't cost a thing, but on Netflix's latest reality dating show, Too Hot to Handle [1], making love comes at a price. Like Love Is Blind [2], Too Hot to Handle features young singles who, before they can engage in any kind of physical intimacy, must get to know one another on a deeper level. However, rather than keeping the participants in pods, everyone can look — they just can't touch. A $100,000 grand prize [3] is introduced at the start of the season, but any kissing, "heavy petting," and sex of any kind results in a deduction from the pot . . . for everyone. Cue the drama!
But just how much do those transgressions cost? Every time a couple slips up, all the retreat members are called to the palapa, where LANA (the cone-shaped virtual assistant who plays Big Brother on the series) gives them the bill. Francesca and Harry were the first to learn the financial repercussions of a kiss, as their smooch cost the group $3,000. Yup, that right — a makeout sesh comes at the price of $3,000. Right away the pot was brought down to $97,000, and that definitely wasn't the last deduction.
After a kiss shared by Haley and Francesca — and, later, a Chloe-and-Bryce makeout — brought the group down another $6,000, the prize pot took its biggest hit so far when Sharron and Rhonda spent a night in the retreat's own "fantasy suite." Though it's not quite clear exactly what went down (besides kissing), their sexual antics cost $16,000. Then, after Francesca and Harry got their turn in the private suite, their inability to resist having sex resulted in a $20,000 bill, bringing the pot down to $55,000. Yikes.
The final hits: two more $3,000 kisses (one between Chloe and Kori, and one between David and Lydia) and one $6,000 . . . er, act of oral sex. (Thanks a lot, #Frarry.) The pot dipped all the way to $43,000, but luckily, a chaste night in the suite allowed Francesca and Harry to earn back the $32,000 they'd lost together, bringing the grand prize up to $75,000.
So basically, here's the breakdown: Kisses on Too Hot to Handle cost $3,000. Oral sex costs $6,000. Whatever the hell #Sharonda got up to in the suite cost $16,000. And sex costs a whopping $20,000. But the end result was a lot of emotional growth, amazing new friendships, a few genuine love connections, and $75,000 grand split 10 ways for all the winners, so it seems like those sexual transgressions were well worth the price.