‘Match Me Abroad’s Monica Opens Up About Leaving the U.S. Behind to Find Love With an International Matchmaker (Exclusive)

Single mom Monica is leaving her life in California behind in search of a “passionate” Brazilian love on Match Me Abroad.

The TLC personality opened up to PopCulture.com about her decision to travel south of the equator in order to work with matchmaker Luisa on Season 2 of Match Me Abroad — and why the lackluster American dating culture inspired her to take that leap of faith.

“I tried to try to date domestically, and it was just bad date after bad date,” Monica confessed. “It was almost to the point of being comical.”

Discouraged by her negative experiences with her dates’ “frivolous behaviors” and “superficial” actions, Monica decided to stop dating completely. “I got to the point where I just thought I was just going to give up,” she shared. “I succumbed to just a life of loneliness. … But that’s a very sad existence. I was lonely, and deep inside, I think I was pretty sad.”

Thinking there had to be a “better way” to find love in this “big giant world with beautiful people all over the place,” Monica agreed to step outside of her comfort zone to see if Brazil had more to offer her in terms of its dating culture.

“Does it differ? Are they different? Do they treat women differently?” Monica wondered, noting that she’s always thought of Brazilian culture as a “very passionate, loving” one.

“I was so tired of the apps and the people just not wanting to date just one person, never feeling good enough, being ghosted, being expected to pick up the tab — very American culture type of stuff,” she told PopCulture. “And my thought was, perhaps this is different in Brazil! They’re passionate, they’re loving, they’re energetic … and so I thought, my gosh, those are the things I want in a person! So if I can get this opportunity to travel and meet wonderful, passionate, colorful, loving people, I have a better shot.”

Working with a matchmaker like Luisa was another eye-opening experience. “What’s funny is I didn’t even think matchmakers were real,” laughed Monica. “I had seen it maybe on TV or heard of it, but I just didn’t think people actually [had] that [as] their profession, right?”

“So it was cool and great to understand that there are professionals out there that specialize in finding people love,” she continued, “because Lord knows I needed it — 100% needed it.”

Traveling across the world and putting her love life in the hands of Luisa was “the biggest leap” of Monica’s life. “It was beyond any comfort zone. It pushed me to the limits, and what I learned about myself was that I can do these things. I don’t have to be so afraid,” Monica said of her experience. “I can give people a chance, and there are good people in the world.”

And while there may be a few “tears” and a bit of “controversy” fans will see on Monica’s search for love this season, she says that after everything, the biggest lesson of all is that “love exists” in every country.

Match Me Abroad airs Sundays at 10 p.m. ET on TLC.