‘I felt a lot of anxiety’: QLD influencer Sari Thaiday on dating on 10s new reality show

She’s confident and bold to her thousands of followers on TikTok but Queensland influencer Sari Thaiday says she never felt more vulnerable dating on new reality show, The Real Love Boat.

Despite sharing her life online to her 200,000 TikTok followers, Queensland influencer Sari Thaiday says she’s never felt so vulnerable.

Thaiday, 24, who is from Cairns, is among the first batch of contestants to search for love on Channel 10’s latest dating reality show The Real Love Boat, premiering on Wednesday night.

The group of eligible singles board the Princess Cruises ship, Regal Princess, and sail through Spain, Greece, France, Italy, Turkey and Montenegro while going on dates.

Thaiday jumped at the chance to be part of the show but admits she felt “anxious” opening up on national television.

Cairns local Sari Thaiday is on new Channel 10 show The Real Love Boat

“I felt like I was put in a vulnerable situation,” she says.

“I was discussing various parts and aspects of my life that I hadn’t brought up before to people I’d never met before and realising it’s also on a show a lot of people will be watching.

“I hope they can see part of my personality, especially during my personal moments, I’m hoping they can see the different things, who I am as a person.”

Thaiday, an Erub and Yidinji woman, hopes her appearance on the reality show will break down barriers.

“It is representation for First Nations people, that is a big thing for me,” she says.

“I feel like with what I’m doing, I’ve impacted a lot of people and this would just boost it a lot more and spotlight and provide a little more attention.”

Thaiday ended her last relationship of three years because, she says, “it wasn’t good for me”, and has spent the past year single.

“It was a learning experience … without it (the relationship) I probably wouldn’t have understood what I did and didn’t want in a relationship.”

Thaiday couldn’t wait to be part of the show but says it was an experience she could never have prepared for.

“Even the littlest things definitely made you feel frustrated, a little angry or anxious,” she says.

“I was feeling a lot of anxiety when I was there.”

Thaiday says she “can have a few opinions and sometimes be a little unpredictable”.

But it’s her bold personality her fans love, with Thaiday amassing more than 200,000 followers on TikTok since she started making videos in 2020.

She shares everything from beauty, travel and food to the more serious, including moments she was allegedly racially profiled.

She hopes her experience with social media will help her handle the added fame that will inevitably come with being on a reality show.

“I’ve dealt with media, social media, influx of followers, the hate and hate trains and also the bullying (that comes with fame),” she says.

“I was pretty concerned for some members of the cast and I was concerned with how they potentially will be portrayed and anxious for them.

“I hope they will be able to cope with the potential impact of social media.”

Gold Coast's Daniel Goodburn is on new Channel 10 show The Real Love Boat

There’s a raft of Queenslanders among the contestants on the show, including Burleigh’s Daniel Goodburn.

The 25-year-old is the territory sales manager for Husk Distillers in Tumbulgum in the NSW far north coast and has been single for five years.

The Gold Coaster admits he’s “very picky”, but thanks to a string of horror dates, he’s figured out what he wants.

After one particularly bad date, it prompted him to start a list of what he wanted in a partner.

“I literally have a list in ‘Notes’ in my phone,” he laughs, joking it’s called My Dream Woman. “I just add things to it or take stuff away, things change as you grow up and mature.

“The more trivial things that I used to care about a lot are now not a big deal.”

The Real Love Boat premieres on Wednesday on Channel 10.