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Alas, Katie and Luke, we hardly knew ye . . . in fact, who were ye? Perhaps they should have been mindful of the old adage “the squeaky wheel gets the grease." As the fourth team eliminated from Beauty and the Geek, Katie, a 25 year-old retail store manager and Luke, a 23 year-old robotics engineer, weren’t at the center of drama or a mismatch of partners. In fact, they were downright invisible. Well, at least until they were gracious enough to talk to me while held at gunpoint. Oh, I kid . . . about the gunpoint, anyway!
Hi, Katie! Thank you so much for doing this again.
Oh, no problem! .
How did you become interested in trying out for Beauty and the Geek?
I had actually gone to a downtown Chicago area nightclub, and someone had approached me for the show Age of Love. I tried out Ago of Love and didn’t get on that, and, then, the producer, it was the same company, called me and asked me to try out for Beauty and the Geek, and I was like, “Sure!” They just submitted my stuff for me.
Had you watched previous seasons?
You know, I had seen a couple of the previous seasons—like a couple of the shows, but I wasn’t a religious watcher.
That Age of Love show? Was that the one where there had the young women and the old women?
Yeah!
Well, hopefully, you were being the young woman!
Yeah, I was being the young woman. [laughs]
How do you feel the two of you meshed as a team, and if you had the chance, would you have paired up with anyone else?
Oh my God! Me and Luke were like two peas in a pod. He’s someone that I’ll be friends with for the rest of my life. Originally, I had wanted to be paired with Dave, and he [Luke] wanted to be paired with Hollie, but it was just luckily we got paired together, and we got along great. We had a blast together, and he is somebody I’ll know for the rest of my life.
When we talked the first time, did you tell me Luke didn’t consider himself a geek?
Yeah, Luke does not think that he is a geek. He didn’t realize he was a geek.
Did he think he was a beauty? [laughs]
He didn’t think he was a beauty. He just thought he was kind of normal. He does robotics, so a lot of guys that he knows are like him. He wouldn’t stand up straight. He wore jean shorts. He wore socks with tennis shoes. He talked about robots, and his hair! He just needed some work. From day one, he was the happiest, funnest, outgoing person that I’ve ever met.
That doesn’t really fit the geek mode, does it?
Yeah, no. Outer appearance, he was a geek. He stuttered a lot, and he didn’t carry himself very well. He’d always be hunched over, but inward, he was definitely awesome!
Katie, you are a retail manager and have attended college, so the assumption you are all beauty and no brains doesn’t fly. How do you feel being referred to as a beauty, and do you find a downside to that label?
I mean, there is definitely a downside. I have blonde hair, and people, of course, are going to make the blond jokes. But, I’m a very successful business woman, and I was very successful in college. Everybody is going to stereotype, but the people that know me and love me for who I am, even though I may have some blond moments, it doesn’t mean that I’m stupid. I just think the whole show is about stereotypes and just really it’s not a good idea to stereotype people—geek or beauties.
You probably had a preconceived notion of what the show was going to be like before you appeared on it. Was the experience as you envisioned it to be?
You know the experience was an amazing experience, and everything that I thought it would be, it was that plus a million times more. You learn so much. You grow such close friendships and bonds. I mean, it was everything I expected, and then some, on top of then some.
Did you accomplish what you wanted to in terms of personal growth and transformation, and, if so, what were those changes?
You know, I definitely have changed and grown as a person from this show. It really made me realize, like, the kind of people I want to be—the kind of people I want to hang out with. It made me feel a lot more self-confident. It made me realize that life is short. You just need to live every moment to the fullest.
How did you help each other during the course of the show toward that growth and transformation? I want to read to you what Luke said.
“Katie was always there for me. Whenever I was worried, or anxious, or got stressed, Katie calmed me down and reminded me what was truly important. Katie really brings out the best in people; I know that with her help I was becoming a better person.”
Wasn’t that sweet?
Oh my God!!! I know! He always does that stuff. Luke would just be like, “You’re the best person I’ve ever met. You’re the best friend I’ve ever had.” He would be like, “You’ve changed my life.” Everyday, you know, was great and that he felt like he could conquer the world, like, whenever we were together. So, yeah, we really just helped each other. Luke gave me a lot of self-confidence. Luke has such a carefree personality, and he really lives life to the fullest.
I thought that came across on the show, and I was really disappointed when I was looking back on the show that I didn’t really see that much of the two of you.
I mean, when there are twenty people on the show, honestly, we both said it that while we were on the show it’s not about how much TV time we got, and it’s not about becoming famous, nothing like that. It’s just an awesome experience, and, unfortunately, it’s on camera, so we weren’t there to be worried about our TV time. We weren’t going to act to get more TV time, and we weren’t going to cause drama to get more TV time. We were there to learn, and grow, and have a really good time.
You got the real message of the show.
Yeah, and, you know, it was awesome that we both had that same outlook on it because you can tell the people that are there a) to win the money. You can tell the people that are there b) to get famous. You know what I mean? Luckily, it was me and him, and we were like, you know what? We’re going to do this once in our life, and we are going to do it to the best of our ability, and we are going to make some great friends. It’s a game, but just let’s just have a blast.
How did you feel about the twist of the male beauty and the female geek, and how did that affect the group dynamic in the house?
It definitely affected the group dynamic. It was kind of like there were nine teams. We had done the sleepover together, and then they threw in the tenth team, and so everybody was like, “Let’s get them out. Let’s get them out.” A lot of people were thinking there was less chance right after that. Me and Luke, we were there to give everyone a chance, and we clicked with them right away. I don’t think they ever forgot that. We were the first team in the house to be their friend and offer them a hand. Me and Nicole got very, very close. Luke and Sam got very close. It really sucked that we went up against them in elimination room considering they were some of our closest friends in the house.
One of the contestants stated that this was not a dating show, rather a learning experience. What are your thoughts on the Rebecca and Sam romance, and what kind of impact did it have on the other contestants during the show?
You know, I thought that it was bound to happen. When you’re going to throw in one hot guy, he is going to end up probably hooking up with somebody. I really felt they were truly there for each other, and it’s just bound to happen. My problem with it is that if Rebecca had been making out with a geek, nobody would have said a thing. So, why does it matter if she was making out with a hot guy? If Nicole would have made out with a geek, nobody would have cared. How do you know? But, me and Luke didn’t want to have any part of it, especially since we were good friends with them.
How much input did you have in the makeovers because it seemed the stylists took over and gave you what they wanted, and I know you advised Luke a lot on the show.
They would have taken any thoughts into consideration, I’m sure. Me and Luke had talked about it, but I think the stylists pretty much got it right on, and they are the professionals, so we’re not going to tell them how to do their jobs.
What did you think of the makeover, and I asked Luke if it was something he was keeping, and he said it was.
The thing that I loved about Luke’s makeover, and it wasn’t just Luke, it was a lot of the guys, was the confidence changed immediately. The minute Luke walked in the room he was standing up straight, he was smiling, he was confident, he talked without stuttering. So, the transformation is just as important on the inside as it is on the outside, and Luke’s transformation was so much more on the inside. He got the confidence he’s been looking for. He just felt proud of himself. So, even though we went home last week, Luke went home definitely a different person, and he was changed on the inside as well as the outside. That left me feeling better about us going home
You got the awkwardness of asking--and getting asked--to go to a prom. How were your prom dates, and what was that whole experience like?
Dave was my prom date, and me and Dave clicked from day one. He was another one of our very close friends in the house. I was thrilled and honored to go with Dave to the prom. We had a blast. It was the funnest night that I had in the house, and just seeing the guys out of their element and being confident and talking to people was just a really proud moment for me.
I thought the Derek Zoolander thing with Luke was hilarious! What wee your thoughts on that?
Oh, God! I think I’d rather not comment! The Derek Zoolander bit—I was kind of like when I was watching that was, “Awesome!” That’s Luke’s personality. He’s silly, he’s funny, so, I mean, you go, Luke!
I couldn’t help but think that the elimination challenge was unfair. Nicole may be a geek, but she is still a woman and would have an edge for studying the beauties material. What are your thoughts on that?
I think that in a lot of the challenges they are going to have the advantage, but it’s a game, and it is what it is. I’m glad that if I had to lose to a team, I’d want it to be Sam and Nicole, just because they are such great people. So, I mean, they won fair and square, but Sam’s questions were way easier than mine! I mean, let’s be realistic about it. It’s the luck of the draw.
I’m curious about the study materials you receive. Could all the questions they ask be found there?
No ma’am. They could not. A lot of it was stuff your partner was supposed to teach you or common knowledge.
Do you think it’s possible to study enough so that you could win every challenge, even though you just answered that!
There’s no way! It’s all—it is what it is.
Do you think a lot of it is just luck of the draw with the questions you get?
Absolutely! That’s why I didn’t study very much because I realized after hearing what the other questions were in the elimination room, either you’re going to know it or you’re not. So, you can sit around and study all day super-hard like Sam does, or you can have a blast and lay out by the pool and talk to everybody and hang out, and just know that the questions—you’re either going to know the questions or you’re not. If you study all day, I don’t really think it’s going to help.
Luke said that both of your questions weren’t in the study materials.
And Luke got both of my questions wrong!!
What was your favorite moment on the show?
To sum the whole show up in a moment, like my favorite moment, that would be pretty difficult. The hardest moment for me was saying goodbye to everybody, especially Luke, and just knowing that I wouldn’t get to talk to everybody for a long time. My favorite moment on the show—I mean, that show is such a life-changing experience. Everything that happened on the show, every moment there was my favorite moment. I just loved being there. I loved those people, and that was probably my favorite moment.
What was the most challenging thing you had to do on the show?
Leave. Leaving was probably the most challenging thing for me. You know, you know that you are going to go, and you know every week somebody is going to go, but it’s just really hard to leave those people and say goodbye.
What’s in the future for you?
I’m going to keep working a lot. I moved to the Schaumburg area, which is by Chicago, and I’m working. I’m just living life to the fullest and having a great time.
Do you have any final words you’d like to leave with our readers?
Just that the friendships on this show are real, the tears are real, the people are real, and it was just an amazing experience. I thank everybody that supported me and Luke and for all their messages and comments on the message boards. If any of the other contestants on Beauty and the Geek are reading this, I love ‘em, and I miss ‘em, and I can’t wait to see them again.
Thanks, again, for talking with me.
Thank you!
I’m glad you made it as far as you did. Wish you could have gone further, but I want to wish you all the good luck in the future, Katie!
Thank you very much!
Many thanks to THE CW and Katie for this interview opportunity, with an extra-special thanks to Katie for being re-interviewed after technical difficulties!
Photo Credit: THE CW
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I loved Katie on the show and I still like her after this interview!
