In the first episode we meet Josh, who is almost 21 years old and lives with his family in Auckland. He wants to find love because "I love hugs and kisses." His parents, his brother, sister, and friends marvel at his positive attitude and his go-getter personality. Ideally, he would want to find someone who also has Down syndrome so that they have something in common. He gets help from Dave Hicks, a relationship expert who helps people with disabilities, and Hicks tells Josh that eye contact is very important. Josh's first date, at the theme park where he works, goes well, but it's not a love match.
We then meet 19-year-old Libby, who lives with her grandmother in a suburb outside of the city. She is a model and an actress, she starred in the movie Poppy; she feels that the relationship her character had in that movie gave her the confidence to pursue a real one. She lost her mother to cancer when she was 12 years old, and her mother is always at the forefront of her thoughts. She goes on a sailing date in Auckland, and that too ends with the two just being friends.
Brooke, 27, and Jesse, 25, have been friends since they were 13 and 11, respectively, and have been together for a decade. In fact, she asked him to marry him when they were teenagers. They eventually want to live alone as a couple, and are working toward the ability to do so. Do you want children? It seems like Brooke does but Jesse doesn't, but that hasn't hurt things between them. Josh and his mom visit Jesse, Brooke, and Jesse's mom so Josh can get some relationship advice.
So Josh and Libby go on a second date... with each other, and they hit it off. Like Love On The Spectrum, Down For Love is all about showing people who are looking for love in the best light possible. Although it's essentially a series of dates, it's not trying to show horrible dates or love mismatches. The producers of Down For Love are encouraging love connections, and even when their subjects go on dates that don't end up being loving partners, they all come away from the experience with a new friend and a better idea of what they want and do. I don't want in a partner.
An interesting aspect of this series is the producers profiling couples and singles. They have already found love and have to deal with the same problems that other couples have to deal with. But when both partners have intellectual disabilities, there's also the issue of whether they can live on their own and understand some of the more complex aspects of being in a relationship.
Once again, all of these topics are approached with care and respect. Yeah, when two people like Josh and Libby hit it off, they go right into the puppy love phase, because that's their idea of a relationship. But we'll be interested to see if these couples deepen their bond as they discover more about each other.
Watch Down for Love 2023 Tv Series Trailer
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