'The Courtship' Star Derek Kesseler Is From Vancouver & Here's What We Know About Him
He's about to be your new favourite gentleman!
Derek Kesseler from the new reality TV show 'The Courtship'
A new Bridgerton-inspired reality show has hit the screens, and one of the suitors is Vancouver's own Derek Kesseler.
NBC's The Courtship takes viewers back to Regency-era England — castle and all. The contestants take part in a number of activities, including letter-writing and waltzing, in a bid to win the heart of the leading lady, Nicole Remy.
So, who is Derek? Well, you might recognize the 31-year-old TV reality star, as he was a contestant on season six of Big Brother Canada.
Similar to Big Brother Canada, this show has lots of drama.
Narcity interviewed Kesseler and got all the details about his dating life, what made him audition for the show and what he's like off-screen.
‘The Courtship’ Star Derek Kesseler Is From Vancouver & Here’s What We Know About HimNarcity | YouTube
There were some surprising facts about him that are definitely good to know before watching the season. Overall, he wants to make Canada proud and seems to be a down-to-earth guy just looking for love.
He was born in Alberta
He grew up in Beaumont, Alberta, and then moved to Vancouver when he was 25 years old.
Kesseler actually worked on oil rigs in Fort McMurray but said he "hated the whole thing" and decided to quit his job.
His younger brother and older sister still live in the area, so he goes back to visit the small town.
He was a 'Big Brother Canada' contestant
If you recognize him from somewhere, it's probably because he has been onscreen before.
He confirmed to Narcity that he was actually on reality TV previously — season six of Big Brother Canada back in 2018.
He said that when the opportunity came for him to be on the show he took it, but also said The Courtship is a much different experience.
He deleted his dating apps
Kesseler even went so far as to say that basically his whole TikTok before the show was about "bashing dating apps."
He was super over the apps and decided to delete them to focus on himself instead.
Then the chance for him to go on the show came up, and he took it!
He watched 'Bridgerton' to prep for the show
Not only did he rewatch the iconic Netflix show in order to prep for stepping into the Regency era — but he said it was actually super similar to The Courtship.
Filming felt like stepping right onto the set of Bridgerton, he admitted.
His last girlfriend lived in LA
Kesseler said the last girlfriend he had lived in L.A., and that they dated in 2018/2019.
He actually loved travelling to visit her on the quick flight from Vancouver.
He was a server in Vancouver
After he quit his job on the oil rigs, he went to Vancouver and started working at a restaurant in Yaletown called Earls.
He also worked at Rodney's Oyster House as a server at first, and then on their marketing.
He loves the outdoors
"I chose Vancouver just because I'm super outdoorsy and there's so much to do here," Kesseler said.
He loves going hiking, paddleboarding and camping. He also lives downtown so walks the seawall almost every day.
He was a professional golfer
Back in the day, Kessler was super in hockey, skateboarding and snowboarding — and even golfed professionally.
He said that back home, he played in tournaments and taught golf lessons. Then he came to Vancouver, and things totally changed for him.
"I changed my hairstyle, and my fashion started changing. I feel like this city is very artistic," he explained.
Through that, he realized he had dreams outside of sports and started to embrace his artistic side more.
He had to remember his etiquette
Kesseler said that while on the show, the contestants had to remember all of the etiquette of the era — which wasn't easy.
The hardest thing for him was remembering to only refer to the other guys by their last names.
Hello, Mr. Kesseler!
He loved the outfits
One of his favourite parts of stepping into the Regency era on the new show was the fashion.
Kesseler said that he loves fashion, so getting dressed up in an old-school style was amazing.
He still has a group chat with high school friends
Even though he's moved away, Kessler still stays in touch with people back home in Alberta.
He said that he loved growing up in a small town, and is still in a group chat with all of his best friends from high school.
He's a romantic at heart
Kesseler said that he's always thought that he would never meet his wife in Vancouver — or even Canada.
Before the show, he thought to himself: "It's gotta be somewhere like in Europe where I just bump into her at a coffee shop and I'm like, 'You're the one.'"
Could this be a hint?!