Alessandra Rampolla, an intimacy expert who has spent five years assisting Australians with relationships on Married At First Sight (MAFS), has voiced a notable observation about dating in Australia: she believes Australian men "have no game" and need to "step it up" in their romantic pursuits.
Rampolla, a Puerto Rican relationship guru, shared her perspective during an event where she spoke alongside Showpo founder Jane Lu. She highlighted a significant cultural difference in how men approach seduction in Australia compared to Latin America, where she has worked for over 25 years. "There's a big difference in the way men approach seduction in Puerto Rico, in Latin America, versus Australia," Rampolla stated. "It was quite a shock to me when I first started coming, because I'm very used to men taking the lead in terms of letting you know they're interested."
She described the typical approach in Latin American cultures as more proactive, with men clearly expressing their interest. "If a man is interested, he will pursue and he will let you know," she explained. In contrast, she finds that Australian men often do not exhibit this level of initiative, leading to her assertion that they "have no game."
Rampolla acknowledged that this difference has presented challenges in her personal dating experiences in Australia over the past five years. "My experience in Australia as a single woman the past five years that I've been coming has been difficult in that sense, because I am so not interested in somebody who will not do their part," she said. She defines a man's part as "doing the seduction, doing the wooing, letting me know, being proactive, doing the whole conquest thing."
This observation extends to her professional work on MAFS, where she sees a recurring pattern among the couples. Rampolla suggested that this reticence could stem from a degree of "laziness" or a sense of entitlement among some men, leading them to believe they do not need to exert much effort. She feels this is detrimental to women and advocates for higher expectations of men in initiating and pursuing romantic connections. "Yes. Aussie men, step it up," she urged, laughing. "Aussie men need to step it up."
Her comments follow earlier remarks to the Daily Mail about the MAFS season, where she indicated that some of the most extreme contestant behavior was not broadcast. Rampolla noted that while the televised version is accurate, certain moments were too intense for television. Despite these observations, she has developed strong ties to Australia, which has become a second home for her over the course of her involvement with the reality dating show since 2022. She expressed a desire to spend more time in Australia while balancing her work across Latin America.