TAMPA, Fla. — Madison Marilla loves brightly colored eyeshadow, sewing outfits for her American Girl dolls and decorating for Christmas. The Tampa Bay woman runs a beaded jewelry business, Madizen, and could easily win any Disney trivia contest she enters.

But this time last year, she was lonely. So when Netflix offered Marilla the opportunity to find her prince, she signed up.

Marilla, 27, charmed viewers during her search for companionship on the third season of “Love on the Spectrum.” The documentary series, which partially filmed around Pinellas County for the most recent season, follows a diverse cast of romantics on the autism spectrum. The latest season debuted on April 2, World Autism Awareness Day.

While some of the streaming platform’s other dating offerings range from raunchy (“Too Hot to Handle”) to deranged (“The Ultimatum” and “Love is Blind”), “Love on the Spectrum” is undeniably heartwarming.

There are first kisses and breakups. Family members and dating coaches cheer the cast on. And several participants even ended the season with a new beau.

When she’s not meeting with suitors, Marilla’s scenes show her opening up about the struggles she has overcome with autism, OCD, ADHD and anxiety. She hangs out with friends from church. She also chats about her dating life with her family while selling her handmade jewelry at the Gulfport Tuesday Fresh Market.

Since the show aired, some viewers have also spotted Marilla vending in Plant City. She’s currently preparing to launch an online store for her brand, Madizen.

“I also sew. The ‘zen buddies’ are going to come eventually as well,” she said. “Those are some plush toys that I came up with to help me stop carrying big dolls around with me.”

[Editor’s note: Spoilers ahead!]

Filming for “Love on the Spectrum” began in June. Marilla’s dates took her from an awkward meal at Teak on the St. Pete Pier to a romantic visit at Sunken Gardens. The latter is where she met her “cowboy sweetheart,” Tyler White.

Based in Plant City, White is a DJ for weddings, events and Autism Speaks. He wowed Marilla with his encyclopedic knowledge of country music and a shared set of values.

They made their relationship official — and sealed it with Marilla’s first kiss — during a date at the Secret Garden in St. Pete Beach.

The pair celebrates their one-year anniversary this July.

“To see them grow as a couple, it’s just been incredible to watch,” said Jenny Marilla, Madison’s mom. “They complement each other so well, and this has been so awesome to see how strong their relationship is so many months later.”

Even country singer Lainey Wilson is a fan.

“Cheering you on!!!” she commented on one of White’s recent Instagram posts.

The Tampa Bay Times caught up with Madison Marilla over a video call. She discussed filming “Love on the Spectrum,” her favorite local date spots and what happened after the cameras stopped rolling. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: It’s been so cool to see St. Petersburg be the backdrop for your love story. How did you get cast on the show?

A: At the time, I was living in Massachusetts and was part of a life skills program. [Netflix] reached out to my life skills coach, and she thought I would be a good fit for the show, but the timing was a little off. A year later, they reached back out to me and the timing was right.

I was living in St. Pete at the time. I’m in Plant City now.

Q: With Tyler?

A: Not living with him, but close by.

Q: Can you share a little bit about how things are going with you two?

A: Things are going really well. Tyler and I — we love going to amusement parks. Busch Gardens is one of them. We’d love to go on a date to Disney World, and we’d love to go back to Universal.

We love going to concerts. And we do love to eat out.

Q: What was the process of preparing for the show like?

A: There were all these questions I had to answer about what I wanted in a relationship. I wanted someone who’s conversational, someone who was fun to be around, someone who was outgoing, who shares my same values.

Tyler saw an ad for “Love on the Spectrum” when he was DJing. He had that interview with producers when he was driving back from Arkansas with his family.

Q: What has it been like to watch yourself back on the show?

A: It’s fun to look back on the memories of the earlier moments of Tyler and I, and to see how much we connected on that first date. We chatted for five hours.

I’ve learned, just from being in a relationship, to be more affectionate and to be flexible and open-minded, and to compromise.

Q: How have people reacted to your story?

A: People are showing their support by complimenting me. ... I’ve been recognized at the Alan Jackson concert and the Blake Shelton concert. I‘ve been recognized at church by people that I’ve never met. I’ve been recognized at Publix and recognized in the post office parking lot. It’s very positive, but gets overwhelming.

Q: What do you hope that people take away from the show?

A: That autism is a journey, not a disorder. And that finding love on the spectrum can be possible.

Autism Speaks and Best Buddies have always been big organizations for me, because I was really involved in Best Buddies when I was in high school. They’ve reached out to me and Tyler. We both have had a lot of involvement with Autism Speaks. It means a lot to be giving back to people on the spectrum, because there’s so many people that have autism and view it as a negative, which is very, very sad.

But I don’t mind talking about my interests and my developmental delays. I want to get more people to open up about things that make them different and unique.

Learn more about Madison Marilla and ‘Love on the Spectrum’

All three seasons of “Love on the Spectrum” are streaming on Netflix now. The original Australian series, on which the U.S. version is based, is also available to watch on the platform.

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