MILF Manor stars Barby Garcia Gutierrez Almeida and Lannette West have candidly revealed the fear they felt at wooing men younger than their 27-year-old sons in front of the eyes of millions during the controversial TLC dating show.
The reality dating show made waves last year when it debuted with a crop of cougars who were joined by their Gen Z sons on the hunt for love.
This year’s twist sees a group of young bachelors, aged 23 to 27, move into a mansion with a group of single older women – before later being joined by their own fathers.
Speaking exclusively to DailyMail.com, contestants Lannette West, 50, and Barby Garcia Gutierrez Almeida, 45, opened up about their discomfort and apprehension on coming face-to-face with men in their 20s.
Lannette West (L) and Barby Garcia Gutierrez Almeida have explained how they really felt about dating men who were younger than their 27-year-old sons on MILF Manor
‘I felt nervous because they’re around my son’s age, and that’s territory that I usually don’t cross so I was trying to tread lightly,’ Barby said.
‘But when you see attractive men that are not your own children, it’s different, right?’
Lannette admitted she was pleasantly surprised by how ‘nice’ and ‘intelligent’ the young men were, adding: ‘I was so impressed when they came off the boat, it just kept getting better and better.
‘Not only are they incredibly good looking, they’re great people. They’re very nice, they’re intelligent, and it was really great to have the opportunity to get to know some of them a little better.’
However, some conversations with the young contestants left Barby feeling conflicted – especially as her dates started using phrases that her own son often drops.
The marketing executive admitted that her decision to take part in the show was somewhat ‘uncomfortable’ for her son, despite the fact he was fully supportive of her ‘journey’.
She stated: ‘My son loves this journey for me, but it’s not his journey. He’s very supportive of what I’m doing but he’s the opposite of me. He doesn’t want to be in front of the cameras.
‘This is not something here that he wants to do. He’s very low key. He’s got a girlfriend… and then mom’s still running rampant on national television.’
But despite the support, Barby and Lannette’s sons decided not to watch their mothers’ quest for love on screen.
Lannette admitted she felt incredibly nervous about how she would be perceived by friends and associates when they tuned in.
‘It was intimidating at times,’ the account manager stated. ‘I was a little nervous about how I would be perceived by my family and the folks that I work with and that I work for.’
The pair joined a new crop of cougars on the search for love in the follow-up to the first season of the controversial TLC series
Lannette admitted: ‘I was a little nervous about how I would be perceived by my family and the folks that I work with and that I work for’
Barby stated that her loved ones felt the show was ‘very on brand for me’ because ‘I live out of the box and I do wild things as it is, just by nature’
She continued: ‘But after a while, after a couple of days to kind of settle into it, you forget the cameras are there.’
Barby said her loved ones knew that the show was ‘very on brand’ for her, adding: ‘I live out of the box and I do wild things as it is, just by nature.’
Lannette added: ‘I think the people that know me really well weren’t that surprised, but the people that know me through people and through work were pretty shocked.’
Speaking about why they decided to sign up, both women said they had grown tired of today’s ‘miserable’ dating landscape.
‘I was looking for a unique opportunity to find love because the traditional ways have not worked for me,’ Lannette admitted. ‘In fact, I think my picker is broken, frankly. I thought, let’s give it a shot. Why not?’
Barby added: ‘I think dating in today’s world is just miserable with dating apps, disposable dating, swiping. No one has the attention span anymore. So I thought we’ve tried everything. Why not do reality TV?’
While she entered the manor to dating younger man, Lannette found herself feeling ‘relieved’ when the bachelors’ fathers arrived in the villa.
‘I was shocked,’ she said. ‘I was so surprised and so relieved because there was age-appropriate men for me to date.’
While she entered the manor to date younger men, Lannette found herself feeling ‘relieved’ when the bachelors’ ‘age-appropriate’ fathers arrived to join the competition
Former stripper turned marketing executive Barby admitted that her decision to take part was somewhat ‘uncomfortable’ for her son, despite the fact he was fully supportive
Barby stated: ‘He’s very supportive of what I’m doing… but he doesn’t want to be in front of the cameras… and then mom’s still running rampant on national television’
The reality star admitted the feelings were born from her fear of facing harsh criticism for taking part in the show.
‘I thought maybe people aren’t going to judge me too harshly. Hopefully.
‘But I also like the fact that it increased our odds because there were six of us and ten men. Honestly, I was just impressed upon initial inspection of the dads.’
Barby quipped: ‘They’re so good looking. They’re so refined. And I think as women at our age, having an older man who’s refined is like a big thing, it’s hot.’
The other MILFs – an abbreviation for ‘mother I would like to f**k’ – taking part also included a 51-year-old twice divorcee, a 48-year-old makeup artist who recently lost her son, and a 59-year-old Pilates instructor.
The show sees the women participating in a series of activities with the young men and their fathers in order to win dates with their favorites.
Explaining why she chose to take part in the series, Lannette stated: ‘I was looking for a unique opportunity to find love because the traditional ways have not worked for me’
Lannette confirmed that her son has so far chosen not to watch the show
US viewers can catch MILF Manor 2 on TLC, while viewers in the UK and Ireland can stream it on Discovery+
Reflecting on what they learned from the experience, Barby said: ‘That I still need therapy… Lots of it.’
Lannette added: ‘I’ve learned that I am still on my healing journey, and I’ve got a long way to go.’
Barby then stated: ‘What I also learn is that you are not over the hill after 40. I never thought that I was going to be in this journey at 46 and life just keeps getting better and more interesting and more fun.
‘I learned that there’s just a different chapter all the time. And we’re in our Golden Girls era. I mean that in the best way possible.’
US viewers can catch MILF Manor 2 on TLC, while viewers in the UK and Ireland can stream it on Discovery+
