In the midst of this Valentine's Day weekend, soon the sun will set on the fourth installment of the American adaptation of MTV's global reality dating phenomenon, Ex On The Beach. But unlike the first three seasons of this version and over forty other different seasons of the show that have aired in the U.K. and thirteen other global territories, Peak of Love has taken place not on a sandy beach under a scorching sun, but at a winter resort with snow, colder conditions and plenty of heat coming from heaters and a sauna to keep everyone warm during cuffing season.
For a series that was introduced to us here two years ago by having four of its alumni from the originators of the EOTB franchise in the United Kingdom, each U.S. season of Ex On The Beach has had representation from competitors from The Challenge. Several seasons' veteran Cory Wharton starred on that first season which debuted after Vendettas in 2018, soon followed by his fellow Young Buck Nelson Thomas, Bloodlines alum Nicole Ramos and Big Brother transplant Jozea Flores on Season 2, and Cory's Final Reckoning partner Devin Walker & his ex Marie Roda in Season 3.
When we first saw her in Chicago at this time in 2015, Nicole forged friendships with her roommates, had a rough fight one night with one of them (Jason Hill) near the end of that stay in the Windy City, and was part of a long line of Staten Islanders to make their way to reality TV. We, of course, got to see Nicole on Invasion and Vendettas where she forged that now infamous relationship with Laurel, which in turn brought them to New Zealand during this Challenge offseason. And she's found time to do these shows in between what is always a proud duty in her part of the Big Apple: being an EMT and a firefighter, and where she also works alongside one-half of SI's most well-known reality duo: Angelina Pivarnick of Jersey Shore.
You may or may not like her, but while Ex On The "Peak" is her fourth different series she's done for MTV (having also starred on last year's U.S. adaptation of European reality format Game of Clones), you probably don't know that Nicole was on national TV before she made it onto The Real World. And before becoming the most well-known person in her household, this Staten Island native found herself in a totally different environment than when she's been in her MTV life: with the ones she's known her entire life going through picking a key element to the one magical day where love wins. By chance, this installment of Before They Were MTV Stars also stars a fascinating man with abs who returns to our TV screens with his crew once Nicole leaves the Peak at month's end.
In 1972, a cable channel unusually titled the Appalachian Community Service Network went on the air to serve viewers in the Mid-Atlantic. Its original purpose was to provide educational, instructional and children's programming to viewers in the Appalachian mountains like public access cable outlets still do today, but after it became available nationally via satellite that it become The Learning Channel, or TLC for short. But by the mid-1990's, it was purchased by the parent company of The Discovery Channel, and eventually the channel's focus shifted away from resembling a PBS member station to something totally different.
For most of the past two decades, TLC has become more well-known for becoming Discovery's first entry into the reality television genre and being its representative in the field of interior design shows. Trading Spaces, Junkyard Wars, Jon & Kate Plus 8, Toddlers & Tiaras and Cake Boss have become staples of the modern day TLC, and the two ladder shows were recently made available on the free streaming service Pluto TV, owned by MTV's parent company ViacomCBS. And most recently, TLC has become the home to one of cable's most-buzzed-about shows, 90 Day Fiance, where its stars have three months to get hitched or else.
The series Say Yes to the Dress follows the progress of sales associates, managers and fitters at wedding dress fitters in New York City and Atlanta as they seek to find the perfect wedding dress while also finding out about who these brides are. The main series has been airing since 2007 and its Atlanta sister began three years later; spinoffs focusing on bridemaids, plus-sized couples and wedding makeovers have also been produced out of this franchise, while local versions having been adapted in Asia, Australia, Europe and Canada. For its current season, SYTTD: America is featuring couples representing every U.S. state plus Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., and where 52 couples will tie the knot at the same place at the same time when the season concludes right as wedding season begins next month.
Those who watch Say Yes see friends and family join the brides-to-be to offer their two cents on possible dresses, the neverending quest to find that perfect dress, and overcoming the fears of concerns about weight and body image. There's also that always tricky task of having to pick the right dress at the right price, as the show's original location of Kleinfeld Bridal in Manhattan is considered the FAO Schwartz of wedding dress retailers. Outfits designed by Kleinfeld's designer Pnina Tornai and tried on by prospective brides can cost anywhere from $1,000 to the price of a nice-looking luxury car (that is, $40,000). Tornai is only part of a bridal salon full of larger-than-life employees operated by retail vets Mara Urshel & Ronnie Rothstein, and where Randy Fenoli is fashion director.
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| Ashley, Nicole & Samantha (TW @N_ZanattaMTV) |
Nicole grew up with as a part of a trio of triplets, where she lived under the same roof with two other identical twin siblings, Ashley and Samantha Zanatta. When we first met her, she and the sisters were had big blowups over traditional house chores and other petty matters, and where the girls have walked the fine line between being normal and larger-than-life, and being a diva and a tomboy, and being anything but identical sibs when it comes to being themselves. But Ashley would go onto the stage of local politics, where she ran for a GOP nomination for New York State Assembly in 2018, but after low statistical voting support dropped out months before midterm election day.
Sam gave Ellie a preference of a mermaid dress, but her sisters had other ideas of wanting to have it being adorn with jewels... and mama Zanatta gave the designers a limit of $4,000 to find the best dress without breaking the bank. The bride elect was ready to tie the knot to an Army serviceman boyfriend who have spent much of their time being separated by his service to the country, and who had plans to have their wedding take place up at West Point, home to the U.S. Military Academy.
Staying true to the theme of threes, Samantha tried on three dresses: #1 designed by Sophia Moncelli that cost $3,300, #2 made by Tara Keely with a $2,000 price tag, and #3 by an unnamed designer whose price was not revealed. For the first dress, sales director Nicole Sacco called it "gorgeous" but sister Nicole didn't agree with it as did the bride who felt it didn't fit her personality. For choice #2, Sam liked the satin outfit as her mom and Ashley wiped away tears in calling it classy and beautiful, but again Nic wasn't buying it in not feeling the color or the fabric. And for dress #3, Nicole had a different opinion than the first two in that she liked it, but it was the opposite for Ashley.
Nicole walking out with that third option wedding dress shocked Sam as she saw her in a dress for the first time in a long time as the future Challenger joked to her, "We're getting married together." In seeing the outfits alongside one another, thanks to having her sister help out the verdict came down a bit more quicker, and in the end Ashley got to say yes to her $2,000 dress -- and its beaded belt & sweetheart neckline -- over Nicole's dress. The bride would say of her decision, "I love everything about the dress. I love that it's classy, I love that it's form-fitting, and I love that it's me. I hope my fiance starts crying when he sees me in this dress and calls me 'beautiful' just like he does every day."
As fans of MTV's biggest series ever anticipate the return of Jersey Shore in twelve days from now, the icebreaker of the resumption of its Family Vacation revival and its ninth overall season will be of Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino being released from prison. Him reuniting with both his adopted second family and his wife Lauren after serving time in jail for tax evasion charges -- stemming from not reporting to the feds $9 million in income at the height of the show's success -- will be among the things to watch, along with the aforementioned Angelina having her magic moment walking down the aisle to get hitched to her boyfriend Chris, a year after the Situations became official.
During Jersey Shore's six-year hiatus and while Nicole's Real World season was airing, in spring 2015 Big Daddy Sitch was on TLC with the rest of the Sorrentino clan -- sister Melissa, her fiance & a high school friend of his Michael Sussman, mom Linda, and brothers Frank and Marc (still behind bars on a two-year term for similar & more serious charges than Mike) -- came by to look over wedding dresses for the little sis' big day later that year and was also documented by the SYTTD cameras... a few years before Mike himself became the star of his big day last summer.
Wedding days are always a joy in many ways... this blogger knows it well having seen his sister & brother in law get married on 7/7/07 and going to one up in Reno last year the same time I won $2,000 on the slots. We saw Mike have his moment also last summer on his show, and soon it will be Angelina's turn. And hopefully in no time, it may be Nicole's.
- I AM DC
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