Updated May 27, 2026 to include current coverage
If you watched Natalie Cruz choose Yamen Sanders over Nick Pellecchia on “Perfect Match” Season 4 and felt bad for Nick, the post-filming social media trail has some good news for you. The two have apparently been hanging out for nearly a year — they just could not post about it until now.
Here is everything we know.
What Happened Between Them on the Show
Nick and Natalie matched on night one and had genuine chemistry from the start. Nick told her he would be honored to have her as his match. She said she liked him. They kissed. For about 48 hours, they looked like one of the more straightforward couples in the villa.
Then Dave Hand arrived with the new singles in Episode 2, kissed Natalie within hours of walking through the door, and the dynamic shifted. Natalie was honest about it — told Nick she had kissed Dave two seconds before he apologized for spending time with Alison Ogden. She was never cruel about it, just direct.
By the Episode 2 matching ceremony, she had switched to Yamen Sanders, telling the group that Yamen had been standing in front of her the whole time.
Nick was left without a match and walked out first — calm, self-aware, and without bitterness. His exit confessional said the cookie just crumbled in a different direction.
As EGO has previously reported, Yamen ultimately ended up with his Love Island: All Stars match after filming wrapped. Which means Natalie walked away from Nick for a connection that didn’t last — and Nick was waiting on the other side of it.
What Their Instagram Says
Natalie and Nick have been posting together in the days since “Perfect Match” Season 4 dropped, and the content makes it clear this is not a casual post-filming friendship.
The first post was a video captioned “how I remember us deciding we should match” — a playful nod to their night one connection on the show. It pulled in over 3,300 likes and brought castmates to the comments immediately. Hashim Moore commented that was how he remembered it too, even though he was at the hotel. Jimmy Presnell dropped a reaction image.
The second post leaned even further into their dynamic. It showed the two of them watching themselves on “Perfect Match” together at what fans familiar with Nick’s Instagram recognized immediately as his Miami apartment.
The video played through their scenes on the show with Natalie reacting in real time. When a clip of them in bed together appeared on screen, she asked “are you sure everyone can see this on Netflix.” Nick described the night one energy as everyone else blow-drying their hair and cuddling while they were running around naked.
The post racked up nearly 6,000 likes. Demari commented “my boy was trying to get ACTIVE.” Brianna Balram said “straight out the gate no time to waste.” Mackenzie Bellows said she loved it.
That post is also where Natalie replied to a fan questioning her intentions — saying they had been hanging out for a year, just not able to post together until now, followed by a red heart.
UPDATE: The Finale & What Happened After
The finale answered the Yamen question definitively. Natalie told Tudum that she and Yamen do not talk. “There’s not necessarily any major bad blood, but we have no relationship,” she said. Yamen, for his part, described them as just friends. They came out of the experience on very different pages.
What the finale revealed was something nobody outside the cast saw coming. The credits rolled over footage of Natalie and Chris Dahlan together in December 2025 — her saying “plot twist,” him saying he didn’t know how to put it except that they were doing great, a Chanel purse he got her for Christmas on camera. They had started seeing each other while Natalie was still with Yamen on the show and while Chris was still entangled with Kayla Richart. The entire cast knew. Kayla and Alison were the last two to find out.
Alison confirmed in her Tudum interview that Chris was dating Natalie — and then noted that he is now dating Kayla again. So that chapter appears to be closed.
As for Nick — he and Natalie are still posting show-related content together since the finale dropped, keeping the connection visible without confirming anything more. Her comment from back in May still stands: they had been hanging out for a year, just not able to post about it. Whether that means something more is still something only they know.
The Verdict
Natalie Cruz chose Yamen on the show, ended up briefly with Chris after filming, and is now on the other side of both of those situations. Nick Pellecchia was eliminated first, spent a year quietly in her orbit, and is still there.
Nothing is confirmed. But the first person eliminated from “Perfect Match” Season 4 has been the most consistent presence in Natalie’s post-show story. That is not nothing.
Perfect Match Season 4 is streaming now on Netflix.
Read next:
- Nick Pellecchia Just Won a Million Dollars — So Why Is He the First to Leave ‘Perfect Match’ Season 4?
- Are Jimmy Presnell & Ally Lewber Still Together After ‘Perfect Match’ Season 4?
- The Biggest Plot Twist of ‘Perfect Match’ Season 4 Is What Happened After Filming
- Are Jimmy Sotos and Alison Ogden Still Together After ‘Perfect Match’ Season 4?
- ‘Perfect Match’ Season 4 Winners Are Dave Hand and Sophie Willett
- Yamen Sanders’ Relationship Timeline Gets Complicated Ahead of ‘Perfect Match’
Browse the full Perfect Match Season 4 guide here.
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