12 Christmas Dates’ Garrett defends his seek for love

Imagine your favorite Hallmark movie come to life. In the picturesque, snow-capped mountains of Austria, HBO Max’s 12 Christmas dates follow three main roles:Chad Savage, Christian Believe Fernandez and Garrett Marcantel– when they set out to find true love. Or at least someone special to bring home for the holidays.

And while Faith and Chad’s endings on the show were TV magic, thankfully Garrett looked a little different. Presented with six applicants, the real estate developer who came out gay five years ago … didn’t pick anyone. Now that fans (and his dates) are questioning his decision, the 29-year-old looks back on his proverbial journey and why he has no regrets.

Before the pandemic, I was living my normal life in NYC when I received a DM request on Instagram. The news was about a Christmas dating show and I thought it sounded like a scam. I mean a Christmas dating show? Come on. But shortly after, I received a follow-up email from the same person and they seemed pretty serious about talking this through. I thought to myself, “OK, I’ll give you 10 minutes and listen to it.” I didn’t know how those 10 minutes would change my life …

On the way to 12 days of Christmas I had no expectations. I was open and viewed it as the beginning of an adventure. It was such a random opportunity that I thought maybe something very special was about to unfold. I love meeting new people and living in a castle. When I heard the dress code was suits and tuxedos, I thought why the hell not?