Spoilers for all episodes of Perfect Match season 3 ahead. “I’ve always dated boys, now I’m ready for a man,” Lucy Syed declares at the start of Perfect Match season 3. Challenge accepted: the Too Hot to Handle season 6 alum pairs up early with Daniel Perfetto, from Dated Related, but their time in the villa isn’t without its ups and downs.
Things get off to a good start between these two on the Netflix reality hit, and they’re the first pair we see officially match—but when Lucy doesn’t rank Daniel highest in a kissing challenge, it sparks a humongous fight that leaves Lucy in tears. Newcomers to the villa also introduce competition and a questioning of motives that test their true compatibility.
So, are these two truly a perfect match? And are they still together now? Let’s run down everything we know about Lucy and Daniel’s relationship on Perfect Match season 3 and after the show so far.
Lucy and Daniel on a date practicing the Japanese art of Shibari.
What happened between Lucy and Daniel on 'Perfect Match' season 3?
Both entered the villa in the opening episode and spent some time getting to know a few other hopefuls; Daniel flirted with Juliette (Siesta Key), and Lucy with Clayton (The Bachelor), but they ultimately shared that they were into one another and decided to make things official.
“I’m in my own little world with Lucy, I forget who else is around me because I’m literally just focused on her. And to be honest, I’m happy with that.” Daniel gushes. He’s happy with her, and though he’s tempted somewhat when Alex (Temptation Island) enters the villa, he and Lucy choose to stay together.
Whatever calm these two had, though, completely imploded after episode 3’s compatibility challenge: All the couples had to wear blindfolds and headphones while kissing one another, and then ranked those makeouts. Daniel ranked Lucy highest, giving her a 10, but Lucy only gave him a 9…and ranked Ollie’s kiss higher. Daniel accuses Lucy of making him look like a fool in front of everyone, and their argument leaves her in tears; she knows she embarrassed him, but swears she didn’t do it on purpose. Ultimately, he decides that being upset over it means he really cares for her.
Daniel and Lucy were the first couple to officially pair in season 3.
Lucy considers Scott (Love Island USA) as a potential suitor, but ultimately decides he’s too young for her. (He’s 23, she’s 28.) Daniel says it’s a “hard balance” trying to play it cool while she explores her options, but he’s still happy with his match.
The pair score a big win when they ace a difficult compatibility challenge: working together to drop balls into the water while swinging overhead on a pole. They’re rewarded with the most chaotic boardroom visit of the season so far: choosing two couples to pair up with new singles, and those participants’s current partners have to leave the villa.
The introduction of new faces—two men, two women—upends their happiness again, because Daniel takes issue with how “loudly” Lucy was chatting with Ray (Love Island USA). He accuses her of now embarrassing him a second time, and again Lucy walks away in tears. She doesn’t want to be with someone who’s embarrassed by her, but also doesn’t want to blow up their relationship over one argument. So they match again, but say they still have more to talk about and want to continue that conversation.
Lucy cries during a tense conversation with Daniel.
The two part ways for their respective mixers, and things get wild at the guys’s party. Daniel kisses both Olivia and Juliette during a game of Truth or Dare, taking things even further by licking Olivia’s thigh on another dare, and kissing her again outside the game.
At first, he only comes clean to Lucy about the kissing and leaves out the part about licking Olivia’s thigh. Eventually, she finds out about this from AD, who saw it happen. She’s shocked and mortified, and Daniel knows he went too far, saying he’s willing to do whatever it takes to make it work. At first, it seems like Lucy is over it (“I know he cares, but I’ve worked bloody damn hard on myself to not just accept shitty behavior,” she says), but she winds up deciding to give him another chance. Still, she makes him sleep on the couch.
Lucy and Daniel were refreshingly drama-free for the final round of matches. They briefly discuss trust issues during their final date, with Lucy mentioning how he did her dirty, but he made it clear that he didn't want to walk away from her. "I want to be better for you, not only for myself, but for you, because I care about you," he says. "No matter what that is or what that means, I know I wanna try for you."
Daniel and Lucy in episode 6.
Did Lucy and Daniel win 'Perfect Match season 3?
Like previous years, season 3 of Perfect Match ends by bringing the entire cast back for a grilling season, where everyone could say their peace about everything that happened. Daniel gets called out for lying, but he takes responsibility and says that hurting her made him realize he cared about her. Meanwhile, Lucy says that she appreciated that he challenged her to share how she felt instead of staying bottled up after arguments.
Then, instead of going straight to a cast vote for the winner, host Nick Lachey pulled out one last compatibility challenge! (Hasn't this season been long enough???) It's a classic elimination-style newlywed game, and the final two couples standing, who move forward to the vote, are AD and Ollie and Lucy and Daniel. (A.K.A. the two most likely couples to win even without this random extra hurdle.)
Finally, the votes were taken, and the winners of Perfect Match season 3 are...Lucy and Daniel! After the credits roll, we get an extra confessional from a happy, happy Lucy, where she reveals that she was applying to be an air hostess at the time, which would hopefully mean lots of chances to see Daniel.
Unfortunately, that didn't all pan out.
Lucy is shocked.
Are Lucy and Daniel still together after 'Perfect Match' season 3?
As the title card reveals at the end of the Perfect Match season 3 finale, Lucy and Daniel broke up weeks after winning the competition. (They didn't even make it on the all-expenses-paid prize trip.)
Speaking to Elite Daily, Lucy revealed that it became clear soon after filming that long distance did not help the pair's existing issues. "Straight after filming, we went on a holiday in Cancún, and it was quite obvious there were a few things that we were just very different on," she told the outlet. "When we went back to our respective countries, it was the time difference, and we have very different lifestyles. The long distance was quite hard, especially with my job at the time. I was working in a club, and I think that was really hard for him. He wanted to know where I was and what I was doing a lot of the time. And it was just so early on that we realized this was going to be too difficult."
Despite the split, Lucy confirmed to Swoon that there is "no bad blood" between her and Daniel, and the pair still follow each other on Instagram. So, all's well that ends well.