Surviving Each Other

The warm island breeze was tinged with excitement, as my toes sunk into the warm white sand - I could barely focus on the announcement being made.

“We’re about to bring out the guys now, to catch the initial reactions of everyone and then we’ll list off the matches. Super exciting, I know, so feel free to react any which way - the bigger the better!” Our producer, Alex explained.

This was really happening, I was really here.

It still felt like a fever dream. Only six months ago, I stumbled across the casting call while scrolling through Instagram. Ended up clicking on it out of a mix of boredom and curiosity.

Singles wanted for the debut season of a brand new reality dating show!

Boring.

Ever heard love is a jungle? Well we’ve taken that very literally, and you’ll potentially be finding your ideal match while surviving the island.

Like love island? Except this made it sound more rustic…like love is blind meets survivor. My interest piqued.

Except…the odds are higher than ever with both money and love on the line. Your future spouse and $1 million dollars is what our lucky contestants stand to win.

$1 million dollars? I’d do almost anything to see that kind of money. Not to mention, finding a good guy is nearly impossible these days. Society was in a clear decline in that regard. With both my dating life in shambles and my financial situation looking bleak, how could I not pay attention to the too-good-to-be-true ad.

Must’ve stared at it for a minute, then 30, then an hour - cogs turning as I considered. Before settling on the obvious fact that I had nothing to lose and probably no chance of even being selected.

So recklessly, before even consulting the bestie - my application was in, with a sloppy video testimonial to boot. It was silly, nothing important, wishful thinking more than anything else…right?

Wrong.

After a whirlwind 6 months, here I stood.

On a remote tropical island with 9 other contestants, all awaiting our promised ‘other halves’.

Absolutely unreal.

Before the tittering and excited chatter could continue, a group of guys strode our way. A momentary hush fell as we took in the new arrivals.

The most diverse group ever almost had me giggling, were they making a conscious effort to be the most diverse group in the history of reality TV ever? Not only was there variation in heights and builds, but there was a clear variation in culture - black, white, asian, one of the guys looked middle eastern with his perfect head of dark hair ,the other seemingly mixed with a curly head of blond hair but a natural looking tan. I mean they were definitely good looking, all just in a different way.

My eyes flitted through them, unknowingly already trying to figure which was mine…I immediately stopped the treacherous thought, that would only be setting myself up for future disappointment.

Then our hosts strode out from the sides; the gorgeous Mikki - a fan favourite from an earlier season of Love is Blind who unfortunately ended up single, was the first to speak, “Welcome to the island, our hopeful romantics! I know exactly the butterflies you must be feeling at this very moment. You’re about to meet your perfect match. And looking at these handsome men, oh gosh, I wish I was one of you!”

Some cautious laughter erupted at her joke.

“But that’s not all you’re here for. You’re here to play the game, survive, and potentially win the $1 million dollars if your time in the jungle proves successful.” The deep, no nonsense tone of Chris rang out. He was a survival enthusiast, featuring on Naked & Afraid, Survivor and probably other shows I’d not heard of.

The difference between the two hosts was glaringly obvious. With Mikki in perfect jungle glam, namely a tropical dress and somehow wedges even while navigating soft sand, while Chris wore practical khaki pants and a plain shirt. I wondered if the juxtaposition was done on purpose by production.

Cracking a perfect smile his way, Mikki continued, “That’s true Chris, okay, maybe that side of the show is not exactly my cup of tea.”

More laughter as my eyes flicked Chris’ way, he remained stoic.

That made me want to laugh for a second, maybe the real challenge of survival for Chris would be surviving Mikki.

She continued unperturbed, “But as to not draw out the suspense. We’re going to jump right into the pairings before we go over the full show briefing. Okey dokey?”

A resounding yes rang out, as they prepared to read the names.

Between the sun shining down and the anxiety of knowing who I’d be paired with, I was uncomfortably warm. Would probably be drenched in sweat by the time I was paired up, I winced at the thought.

And then the roll call started. I could feel my heartbeat in my ears.

“Alina please step forward,” a redhead stood forward, nervously waving hi, “your partner is…”

They dramatically drew out the moment, Chris reading out the second part, “Kai.”

The first of the men, the tall and striking asian walked forward to meet her. Both smiling, they said hi before awkwardly standing in the middle of both sides. Their awkwardness crept our way, the rest of the group starting to feel uncomfortable at the strained moment of meeting.

What were we even supposed to do after being introduced?

Eventually glancing back at the hosts, Kai asked, “Uhm now what?”

Breaking the tension, a few laughs rung out. Boy was I glad not to be first.

Finally noticing that they didn’t quite know what to do, Mikki motioned for them to head over to the side and then smoothly continued reading names.

The rest went by quicker - some guys offering a funny one liner when meeting. Others hugging, or more funnily, giving a formal handshake.

All of it a blur, I was too anxious for my match to really notice other reactions. I could rewatch all this another time. And I’d have plenty of time to get to know the other contestants. For now I was too nervous to focus.

The clear view of cameras all around didn’t help.

Before long, only I remained on the girls side, and who I imagined to be my match on the other end.

Carefully tousled light brown hair on a lanky frame, light eyes met mine. I couldn’t quite make out their colour but he was already smiling my way, walking forward at the same time as me.

“Juniper and Noah are our final couple!”

Taking a deep breath in, I neared the man who was slated to be my partner for the show. Hazel green eyes meeting mine, he smiled easily, “Guess you’re stuck with me hey?”

“Guess so.”

Before we could say much else, we were moved off to the side and then led to a central area through a forest path, due to be our meeting spot I assumed.

Once we arrived they jumped right back in, “Okay everyone, we’re about to go over the rules once more, for the viewers and for those of you who skipped over the important pre-arrival pack.”

Sat next to Noah, feeling the heat of him near, belly flopping at the thought, I did my best not to look his way too much. Careful not to seem over eager, I instead studied the other couples.

There was still a generally awkward feel to things, but I could already notice Devon staring Angels’ way with something akin to wonder. Sweet.

Mikki stepped forward, “I’m gonna start with the fun stuff, and let Chris handle the survival side of things.”

She smiled, looking around the group.

“Rest assured that the person now sitting next to you is the one precisely chosen for you and all your wonderful traits. You’ve all been matched up by the experts carefully. They’ve spent hours choosing someone for you that matche your ethics, morals, psyche evaluation, your preferences - basically on paper, your compatibility on all the important things had to be 80% or above to make the match. So if you’re willing to give it a proper chance and overlook some of the perhaps more superficial things that we all get stuck on - this might genuinely be your person for life.”

Her eyes glittered a little, like Mikki really truly believed every word of what she was saying, like she wasn’t just reading from a script. I couldn’t help that it made me believe just a little more. You could see the other girls around me falling for it too.

“But…if you really feel this isn’t your person. Recouplings are allowed. The only rule is that you need a partner to stay in the game. No singles allowed. And at the end you need to be in a genuine relationship to be liable to win the prize money.”

She paused, eyes flicking through the couples as if anticipating their next question, “How will we know you might wonder? Well there will be final tests and maybe even a lie detector. And anyways, faking being in love never holds up - take it from me!”

I think that might’ve been a reference to her season on Love is Blind but I never watched it so it went over my head.

Chris stepped forward.

“On the more serious side of things,” clearly the guy cared very little for our love lives, “you’re here to survive the island as a team. To that end there will be challenges every few days, they could be surprises so be ready at any moment. These challenges can result in extra cash prizes and advantages up for grabs or simply provide things to make your lives easier. But they also might be for elimination.”

One of the girls, Tara, I think raised her hand, “How does elimination work?”

“Good question,” she beamed a tad too brightly his way, “you’ll always be told whether a challenge is for elimination. Everyone who successfully completes a challenge is safe, save for the bottom two. Those couples will go to elimination, where the rest of the islanders take a vote. The rest of your questions will be answered throughout the day but for now I want to move onto the survival aspect.”

I heard a groan from somewhere.

The group was quite mixed, people who might’ve never even been camping before, some that seemed to live on social media, and a few that would probably be alright roughing it. As for me, all the farm and camping trips with my dad made me think I had this in the bag. I was almost too excited to prove myself good at survival, more than I was for the rest of it.

Survival 101 - I could crack, Love 101 - I was less sure about…

“You will be given a few basics, such as biodegradable toothpaste, deodorant-”

“Thank goodness,” someone shouted.

“Indeed.” Chris drily continued, “biodegradable soap so you can use it in the sea or rivers, feminine hygiene products of course and there are porta potties positioned that way. As for tools, you all only have the clothes on your back and shoes available to you so try not to ruin them. Each couple will receive one machete, swiss army knife, fishing pole and net, pot, one large packer of rice and a fire starter, as well as a simple satchel each. You will also be provided with a water bottle each that is full for now but you need to boil water to refill.”

“That’s it?” A new, high pitched voice spoke up, it was a girl who looked more suited to be doing a ‘get ready with me’ than being stuck in the wilderness.

“Yep. More than enough to survive if you’re smart.”

Clapping his hands together his explanation continued, “Okay so first order of business if for you guys to build a shelter. I’ll be around to assist with pointers but you guys will want that up before nightfall, fire too.”

Then Mikki was prancing up, smiling brightly, “Let’s get this show started, Island lovers!”

Looking Noah’s way, we started up to get our supplies, “You ready?”

He just shrugged, looking unfazed, “How hard can it be?”