Insects, horrible loos and no makeup – all in the hope of finding love
“It was hell.”
That’s how David describes his experience of roughing it on a remote tropical beach.
“The mosquitoes were just eating us alive,” he says. “I couldn’t stand the amount of flies and the crazy extreme heat.”
He also had just one set of clothes to wear.
“You just feel nasty, you feel dirty,” the 30-year-old says.
He wasn’t describing a boot camp. Instead, he was talking about his time on new BBC dating reality show, Stranded on Honeymoon Island.
Hosted by Davina McCall, it’s like a cross between Love Island, Married at First Sight and Survivor.
Couples meet for just five minutes on a speed date before being matched up by experts, having a fake wedding and embarking on a honeymoon. Stranded on an island, and living in beach huts, they must learn to cope.
For some contestants, it was a lack of makeup or beauty products that broke them.
“I love my fake tan, I love my lashes,” says Helen, 35. “Nothing could have prepared me for stripping it all back.”
And then there were the loos.
“I was weeing on the beach,” says a third contestant, 29-year-old Hannah. “I’m a festival girl, and I’ve seen festival toilets in better condition than what the island toilet was.”
Hardly, then, the ideal circumstances in which to find love.
But that’s the whole point of the show.
The idea is to discover whether love can thrive in isolation. So can it work?
‘People weren’t trying to be influencers’
Critics of existing dating shows often say their “fakeness” is what’s most jarring.
Contestants say part of the appeal of Stranded on Honeymoon Island was precisely the fact that all of that was stripped away.
“It’s less superficial,” Hannah tells me. “The authenticity really stood out.
“You don’t have to dress up pretty every day. You’re not told what conversations to have.”
People on dating shows often say they genuinely want to find a partner. But Hannah insists it’s true.
“The people I was sharing the experience with weren’t trying to be influencers, they weren’t trying to get brand deals, it really felt like every single person was there for love, and it was a challenge.”
‘Getting deep with someone in paradise’
Facing adversity can also be a good test of whether a relationship will last in the real world.
“Because of the way they’re having to trust each other, it could lead to a stronger result outside the show,” says showbiz reporter Catrina Rose.
That’s something David agrees with.
“It’s not something that’s just going to be fun,” he says. “You’re going to have to actually work hard and build a solid foundation with your partner.”
Another contestant, 31-year-old Ollie, says the idea that you could “really get deep with this person in paradise” was a huge draw for him.
“That in itself sets up the perfect dating challenge. Because it is a challenge. It’s not easy.”
Sick of ‘typical dating’
There are a plethora of dating reality shows at the moment.
Love Island just wrapped up another season. Married at First Sight kicks off soon, and Virgin Island has been commissioned for a second series.
So do we need another? Ms Rose – who describes the programme as “the BBC’s answer to Love Island” – says it will be challenging to make this new show work, but by shaking things up, it could attract a new audience.
“It’s offering something different, by showing the contestants in survival mode,” she says.
“The emotional stakes are higher as they’re stripped away from all luxuries.”
The introduction of a new show, with slightly older contestants, could also be an indication of the nature of the dating scene at the moment.
The average age of contestants on Stranded on Honeymoon Island is around 30, compared with a show like Love Island where the cast are mostly in their early to mid 20s.
Ollie, who’s 31 and has been single for six years, says it shows people are settling down later.
“I think people are trying to achieve more financial freedom or achieve goals before settling down,” he says.
For him, the show offered a way to “cut through the rubbish of typical dating”.
Others say age has given them perspective on what they’re looking for.
At the “grand old age of 35”, Helen says she now knows what she’s looking for.
“It’s not the tan, it’s not how you look, it’s not the material things,” she says.
“Do we like each other? Can we get on? Will we get on through the ups and the downs? I think when you get to a certain age, you realise what love actually is all about.”
Stranded on Honeymoon Island begins 3 September on BBC One and iPlayer.
