Spoilers for episodes 1-4 of Too Hot to Handle season 6 ahead. An early couple on a dating show faces a very tricky situation: They ensure their spotlight on the show by becoming the biggest targets. At the start of season 6 of the hit Netflix reality series Too Hot to Handle, Brianna Balram and Demari Davis are the couple with the quickest connection out of the entire cast—and the strongest bone to pick with the show's robot host Lana, as their nascent romance is tested over and over in just the first few days. Still, in the case of a couple that's starting so strong, is there a chance that adversity will make the heart grow stronger? Read on for everything we know about Bri and Demari's relationship so far, including any clues as to whether they made it outside of the villa.
What happened between Bri and Demari on 'Too Hot to Handle' season 6?
As soon as they step foot in the THTH villa, model Bri and stockbroker Demari jump straight onto each other's radars. The Atlanta-based firecracker immediately pulls Demari for a chat and declares him her type, but once this season's new, trouble-making robot Bad Lana declares that rule-breaks won't be fined, Bri also keeps her options open for possible connections with other guys. London boy Chris makes his move, with him and Bri sharing a secret kiss in the bathroom, but Demari's still her number one. So, she grabs him for a beach chat and they also share a kiss.
Unfortunately, Bri's forward ways make her a target for Lana. Bri and Kent-based Charlie are declared the biggest threat to season 6's $250,000 prize pot and banished from the villa. They are not eliminated, though. Instead, they have to spend 24 hours in a windowless bunker counting paper clips. Bri's thoughts are only on Demari during this time, as she's bummed and pissed that he could be moving on with someone else, thinking she's gone forever. Demari does share a brief flirty suntan-lotion moment with new/returning face Flavia, a season 4 alum, but Bri gets the chance to monitor from a distance, in exchange for $5,000 from the prize fund. She later spends another $5,000 to learn that Flavia did not choose Demari for a date, leaving her free to reconnect with him when she gets out of Lana jail.
Upon her return, Bri apologizes to Demari for being "selfish" and kissing Chris, while Demari says he understands since it was the first day. They agree to keep getting to know each other and they're both on cloud nine. Bri's even on her best behavior now that she fears the possibility of being banished.
However, that doesn't mean that Lana's done with them. In episode 4, Lana brings in two "grenades" as new guests—one of which, Colombia native Valentina, chooses Demari for a date. If that wasn't enough, Lana also decides to send Bri into banishment again(!) to test "does out of sight mean out of mind."
Of course, Valentina is gorgeous and Demari is gobsmacked when he sees her. Their date goes well, with Demari saying that the newcomer is "on paper" everything he would want. When he's given the option to continue the date for 30 more minutes or let Bri out of banishment, Demari decides to extend the date. And within that period, he and Valentina share a kiss.
Demari gets a second chance to either bring Bri back after the date time's up, or to keep her in banishment for another 12 hours. Thankfully, he decides to release her, but that leaves Demari with a lot of explaining to do when he arrives back at the villa with Valentina and Bri's already waiting there for him. Bri also overhears Valentina and Demari chatting with the boys and discussing "spending money" before he can speak with her, so by the time they have a private chat, Bri is furious. Demari is upfront about the kiss, but Bri (who has admirably strong boundaries) puts her foot down and kicks him out of her bed.
That night, Demari decides to share a bed with Valentina, but the pair have a chaste night together. When Valentina asks the next morning why he didn’t break any rules with her, Demari can only talk about how he feels about Bri, and Valentina has to point out that he’s sprung. Demari finally realizes how big a mistake he made, but when he apologizes to Bri that night, Bri recognizes that he doesn’t fully understand just how much he messed up. Still, Bri cares about him, which is evident by how much she watches him during the mirror challenge.
It turns out that the wisdom of a mother is what Demari needs to reach his full potential. Episode 6 includes the wildest Too Hot to Handle challenge yet, where the boys enter fake wombs and listen to recordings of their mothers telling them to do better. (Psychologists can have a field day with that one.) Demari is affected by his mother telling him to treat every woman the way he would respect a man to treat his mother. When Demari apologizes to Bri again that night, he opens up about his married older brother who nominated him for the show, saying he wants a wife and kids, too, and that he knows he has to change to have that future. This genuine apology shows Bri that it’s safe to move forward with him, and when they pinky-promise that Demari’s head won’t get turned again, the couple receives the first green light of the season.
Of course, now’s the time to test whether that pinky promise goes both ways. In episode 7, Bad Lana sends Bri on a date with bad boy Jalen Noble, complete with a box of sultry goodies to try out. The wild version of Bri who first entered the villa comes back out for a bit; she is into Jalen and flirty during the date. Jalen even gives her a massage—and it’s clear that she’s thinking about Demari kissing Valentina way back when. Though the second episode drop ends on this cliffhanger, episode 8 promptly lets viewers know that Bri did not kiss Jalen. In fact, she’s also honest about getting the massage, so she and Demari get another green light.
At their romantic final date, Demari tells Bri that she’s the kind of girt that his older brother hoped he’d find, but Bri is still nervous about Demari possibly hurting her again (see the Valentina incident, above) on the outside. Demari quells her fears by promising to commit to her 100 percent, and asking her to be his girlfriend. In the finale, Lana announces the couple as one of the finalists for the $100,000 prize pot, along with Katherine and Charlie. With seven votes to one, the other retreat members vote Bri and Demari as the couple who has changed the most, and the new couple take home the pot.
Are Bri and Demari still together after 'Too Hot to Handle' season 6?
As usual, newly minted Netflix stars Bri and Demari are making it hard for fans to find any spoilers on their social media. As of season 6's premiere, the pair do follow each other on Instagram and have liked some of each other's posts, so they appear to at least be on good terms. It also seems like they were both in L.A. around the same time earlier this summer, though that could have been for general influencer business rather than meeting up with each other.
Though neither has addressed their relationship status as of the season 6 finale, Bri did speak to Us Weekly about reliving the love triangle with Valentina. “I’m still upset watching it, hearing about it, seeing all the comments … and everything. It’s just actually seeing it in real life hurt more than knowing about it,” she told the outlet. “I think it’s just something that we’re just actively working on trying to get past it all, but it is very hard to watch on TV.”
The day after the finale aired they gave an interview to People magazine, revealing that they tried to date long distance but faced some challenges and decided to go on a break. (But both confirmed they aren't dating anyone else at the moment and even met each other's families.)
"At first when we came out the villa, it seemed fairly easy because we were FaceTiming every night, but he is on a different time zone, so it did start to get really difficult," Bri explains. "And then he told me that he was having delayed reactions from the whole experience, and so we just decided to take a break, separate for a little bit, and we actually weren't speaking for a while."
DeMari called the current situation "complicated" noting that they are still "working on things." "It was real in there, but it was such a small window. So we've really have been trying to learn each other on the outside [and] figure things out."
He hinted that watching the reality show back was the root of some of their current problems.
"Even though we both know how we feel about each other, regardless of the title or not, it has been tough for Bri having to watch that whole Valentina situation back. And even me, I'm not jealous, but I got a little tic there, watching back Chris... but it really does let us play into remembering how good things are as well, how real those feelings were when we were in there."
Bri reassured fans though that they have great communication and ultimately are "still on our journey of BriMari."
