Circle, send message: You're all single now.
For the social media competition series' fifth season, which premiered Dec. 28, The Circle is switching things up and having everyone play as single, no matter their relationship status. And, naturally, tons of flirting has already ensued.
But, did the twist switch up the competitors' strategy? For the non-catfish in the group, not really.
"Going into it, I was very transparent in my bio," Sam Carmona exclusively told E! News. "I said, 'My love life is a s--t show.' Clear as day. Because I just haven't had any luck!"
Raven Sutton, who also went into The Circle as herself, agreed, saying it was a "no-brainer" to play as single.
"My strategy the entire game was, 'Yes, I was single because I am single,'" she explained. "Part of my strategy was indeed to be myself, to be authentic. It didn't change my strategy in the game. I already knew how I was coming in I was gonna flirt with folks, ‘cause that's just how my personality is."
But for Shubham Goel, who previously competed in the Netflix series' first season and came in second place, flirting didn't come as naturally—especially since he revealed that he had to go undercover as a catfish for his second time around.
"I was nervous as a girl to flirt," the software engineer, who has yet to officially make his Circle return, shared. "So maybe I tried to stay a little away, but I was always open to it."
And who, exactly, caught the contestants' eyes? While Raven started up a flirtationship with Marvin Achi, Sam shared that she didn't find love in The Circle because no one was her type.
"The options that I had were way too pretty for me," she explained. "I like my men with dad bods and insecurities. Like, Marvin was gorgeous. I was like, 'Oh no, you're too pretty for me. You have all of your teeth. No, I can't do it.'"
Find out which single rises to the occasion in the first four episodes of The Circle season five, out now on Netflix. New episodes premiere every Wednesday.