'Too Hot to Handle' Contestant Larissa's Law Career Was Inspired by 'Legally Blonde'

The sophomore season of the increasingly successful Netflix dating show Too Hot to Handle is finally out, and millions of viewers have already watched a new round of sexy singles try to keep their hands to themselves in order to win a large cash prize. Now that the Season 2 reunion has premiered, viewers are anxiously awaiting news to see if their favorite couples are still together.

One contestant who caught the eye of many viewers was Larissa Trownson, a lawyer from New Zealand. Despite her typically prudish profession, Larissa has made it a point to use her newfound platform to prove "you can be intellectual and wear a bikini too."

In fact, she's said her decision to go on the show was, in part, to help break that stigma and prove to viewers that you can be seen as much more than your day job.

In an interview with Stuff, Larissa admitted that she'd long been told to consider a law career.

“From an early age, since getting into first stream, it was drilled into you that you do either law or medicine," she told the outlet. "I hated blood and I loved English."

Her love for Judge Judy and Legally Blonde partially influenced this decision — which is fitting, considering she described herself as the "real-life Elle Woods," to Daily Mail.

When she made the decision to apply for Too Hot to Handle, she said that she primarily wanted to help break the stigmas that primarily surround women in these industries and subject them to one-dimensional stereotypes.

“A stereotype exists that if you are a lawyer, you can’t do things like go on reality TV, wear bikinis, be sexy, have fun, talk about sex," she said. "I wanted to help break those stereotypes, but obviously there is still a long way to go.”

Larissa said she has often experienced surprise from her coworkers and colleagues about her profession — even before her stint on the show.

"I've had instances where I've turned up for a meeting and they say, 'Can you get Larissa Trownson,' and I say, 'I am Larissa Trownson,'" she told Daily Mail. "People judge me constantly."

Larissa told the outlet that since her season started streaming, she's received messages from many female viewers who were considering going into law, supporting the message she's trying to send viewers.

“I made a joke about how my boobs get me free drinks and how my brain doesn’t. On a reality show, every aspect of our personality is blown up," she said to Stuff. "But it goes toward my point, I don’t think this is harmful. We aren’t just brains."

Larissa was admitted to the bar in 2016, meaning she's only a few years into her professional career, but she's already secured a full-time role.

Larissa currently works for Winegrowers in New Zealand, a national organization that manages many of the wineries in the country.

Beyond talking publicly about being a lawyer, she has shared little else about her day job, likely to protect the privacy at her place of employment.