When MTV asked Nicole Zanatta if she wanted to go on a date with a doppelgänger of her celebrity crush for the network’s new show “Game of Clones,” the Staten Islander was all in.
“I figured, why not date someone hot,” Zanatta, whose previous reality TV stints include “Real World” and “The Challenge,” tells The Post.
The boldface object of her desire was Ciara, who, according to the 28-year-old FDNY firefighter, is “the full package. She’s gorgeous, she has a great personality and she does charity. She can move, too.”
But Zanatta got more than she bargained for on set, when she was introduced to not one, but seven fake Ciaras — all identically dressed and made over to look like the “Goodies” singer.
“My first thought was, which one do I hook up with first?” says Zanatta. Facing seven hip-hugging leather skirts and blond blowouts, “I [couldn’t] just base it off of looks . . . [I had] to find something that sticks out about their personality,” says Zanatta, who is a triplet herself.
Nicole ZanattaMTV
The show, which premiered last week, has also featured “Jersey Shore” resident DJ Pauly D, who hopes to smoosh a Megan Fox look-alike, and Kailyn Lowry from “Teen Mom 2,” who has her pick of rapper Quavo derivatives. The series’ objective is to encourage daters not to judge a book by its cover and to uncover the essence of the contestants — or, at least, their motives.
“I want someone who has goals. I wanted to see if they work, because I don’t want to be a sugar mama. My typical dating experience hasn’t been great. Most of them didn’t have jobs and like to be lazy,” says Zanatta, who peppered her suitors with questions about their families, résumés and interests.
Other contestants have had different expectations. In the first episode, when Pauly D meets his seven Megan Foxes (they look more like a mashup of Robert Palmer girls and “Transformers”-era Fox), he puts them through different challenges, including “Gym, Tan, Laundry” where he makes them lift weights and fold his T-shirts while he has to reciprocate with their underwear — exercises that might otherwise be known as windows to the soul. One took off Pauly’s sock with her teeth to exhibit her unique persona.
CiaraWireImage
For the choosers, it’s a little unsettling not knowing what everyone looks like beneath the wigs and makeup. “I did not see any ‘before’ photos, which was the worst part,” says Zanatta. “I don’t know if they are wearing wigs, or their bra is padded or their ass is padded. At this point, I could be screwed.”
Zanatta, whose episode airs Thursday at 9 p.m., is coy when asked if the experiment gave her a deeper understanding of her dating woes. But the self-proclaimed commitment-phobe says she learned a lot about herself.
“I think I came out a better person,” she says. “I know that if you don’t look a certain way, I’m just not attracted to you . . . [Physical] attraction is not secondary to me.”
