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In the summer of 2015, Lifetime premiered the first of a four-season scripted drama series that took viewers into what really goes on behind the scenes of a romantic reality television show. Unreal was conceived by a former producer of The Bachelor as a young reality TV producer was pushed by her dishonest boss to try and jazz up an otherwise run of the mill reality dating show with plenty of lustful drama and even manipulating the contestants to make it as outrageous as any on the dial.
However, the genre of reality dating shows have been in the news a lot in the showbiz industry lately for similar reasons behind the scenes, none bigger than what's happened to the show Unreal producer Sarah Gertrude Shapiro once worked on. In the past year, Bachelor Nation has found itself embroiled in behind-the-scenes drama surrounding race despite making inroads having Tanisha Adams and Matt James as their most recent leads, and host Chris Harrison stepping away from Katie Thurston's upcoming Bachelorette season next month after he also got caught in the crossfire of racial controversy over a contestant on Matt's season when he talked to Rachel Lindsay, herself Matt and Tanisha's predecessor as the franchise's first lead and as co-host of MTV's Catfish spinoff Ghosted.
Over at MTV, one of its contributions to the dating genre has also been under fire in the past month when Gianna Hammer from Season 5 of Are You The One? brought forth the same kind of charges that was leveled at Bachelor spinoff Bachelor in Paradise. There, she brought out into the open that she was sexually assaulted in an off-camera incident when she was drunk one night during her stay in the Caribbean. The show's producers in Lighthearted Entertainment are already under investigation as the production and casting process for Season 9 has been paused due to this rather disturbing matter, along with her season also being taken off of streaming platforms following the emergence of these charges.
Now, things have gotten even worse: even more dirty little secrets from the Truth Booth have now been exposed, where race was once again at the heart of matters as well as the single biggest moment of Gianna's season. And perhaps, we are now getting deep into witnessing the real-life version of Unreal unfolding inside the most controversial season ever of AYTO.
This month of April 2021 have seen plenty of scandals take place in this imperfect world. There's the continuing wave of shootings that have put gun control, police brutality and their mistreatment of persons of color in the spotlight, spurring another round of protests in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. There's also the many political ones from an impending recall of the governor of the largest state in the union, the challenge of reopening cities, states and countries during the pandemic, and when twelve of the biggest powers in club soccer announced their intent to create a breakaway continental tournament, and got burned when the enormous people power foiled their ambitious plans for the European Super League.
And then, there's what has been happening at ViacomCBS -- and though the integration of MTV and CBS' parent companies has been seamless, things haven't always been smooth sailing. Last year, just about everyone in the reality world united to show vent anger at what they saw on Big Brother All-Stars, which led to CBS making a pledge to cast more persons of color on their reality shows. And this winter, an Los Angeles Times investigation blew the whistle on the Eye network's local news operations over hostile working conditions and snaky behavior also involving race as well as sexism, and led to the ouster to two of its top executives and a pending merger of its TV station group and the network news organization, itself also having had its share of controversy in the past two decades.
MTV is celebrating its fortieth anniversary this year with The Challenge All-Stars and a reunion of the first Real World cast headlining the new offerings on Paramount+ to go along with the current slate on the linear channel itself. But earlier this month, a notable development came up that didn't involve the upcoming launches of The Hills or Siesta Key, or the season finale of Double Agents, but something that may have lasting consequences. And here, one member of the only cast that never got to celebrate a moment like others had on the show they did finally decided to take a stand and end her silence on something that has never come to light until now during this time of reckoning in this world of ours.
Ordinarily, we at DCBLOG tend to be a place of escapism, much like the reality shows that you enjoy and we cover here. But this feeling of wanting to take a break for this has been more needed for those of you to take your minds of what has been a chaotic month of March which fortunately ends tomorrow. Of course, this has been dominated by one word and classification: the coronavirus and COVID-19. This story is just a small exception in add a lighthearted way to the madness going on.
There is no doubt that all of us have now taken our health very seriously in the past few weeks since the startling announcement of the coronavirus becoming a pandemic, placing everything from what the President does to organizers of events planned for this middle part of 2020 in a microscope. It has turned your local grocer into scenes straight out of Black Friday mall madness as those across the country have binge-shopped before being told to stay in, as we all are right now with seemingly no end in sight. Yesterday, the lockdown order was just extended for the next month, while the stock market is on the verge of a deeper recession that that of 2008, as unemployment claims are jumping and businesses are trying to survive.
All of us being in quarantine has seen the term "social distancing" become a buzzword this month -- even this blogger did his best to do that when I walked to the bank near my house earlier today for my first outdoor activities in almost three weeks. But, it has also seen at-home activities become an everyday part of this new life we're in as we're all trapped with family, friends, loved ones and the kids. That also includes more of us using the internet to do whatever we want, and where TikTok has seen everyone from those who we follow around the MTV world here to even my niece doing dances... as well as another staple of late night in this universe: live Instagram sessions where tea is usually spilled after an episode airs.
Being in love while also being at home is something couples are used to in living together, eating together and sleeping together... but this also means that as lockdown orders are in place in cities across America it also means that dates can't take place at a fancy restaurant, among other things that are commonplace on a weekend or after work. And that has seen those who are married or who are together romantically look to other things to keep themselves cuddled up during "cuffing season."
Back before Ex On The Beach's winter season in early December, we spotlighted an alum of MTV's fellow romantic reality series, Kathryn Palmer of Are You The One Season 5, as she had to deal with having her Facebook account get suspended and had to travel back in time to the '50s to get help. That sketch is part of DWECK, a YouTube comedy channel that aims to take a different approach to mixing humor with the current events of the moment, compared to its late night counterparts.
As production of late night talk shows such as Stephen Colbert's Late Show has been scaled back to mixing reruns with fresh at-home content with its hosts, the outlets for original comedy in this tough time have been limited. But the DWECK channel, led by its lead actor Victor Dweck, has been able to find a way to strike the right mix to wanting to make us laugh when there's not much out there as everything has been on hold... its latest sketch does exactly that.
Here, Kathryn and Victor are enjoying a date in the comforts of their own apartment instead of being out and about. And they find that it is a bit different than what they are used to with them wearing masks and using hand sanitizers. Below, find out how they handle all this in a video that a YouTube user wrote in the comments below, "This sketch jumps all over the place. You never know what is going to be the next punch line. Just as ridiculous as hoarding toilet paper or buying 17,700 bottles of hand sanitizer. Thank you for keeping up with the content in these troublesome times, it is nice to see something funny when you are in lockdown!"
In less than 24 hours from now, Ex On The Beach returns from what like a short hiatus of sorts after spending our summer and fall with Aubrey, Devin and company in Malibu, and where the franchise has spurred plenty of buzz both on the show and outside of it too, thanks to appearances by its alumni on various other TV shows. To a degree, Ex has become sort of a Redemption Island for the only cast in the eight-season history of Are You The One? to not have a moment of them rejoicing in money, confetti and love at season's end.
When you look at it, Season 5 - which unveiled its cast three years ago this weekend - can easily be ridiculed for not winning the jackpot that goes to the cast if everyone in the house aligns with their respective perfect matches. Short term, they were the subjects of jokes from the Twitter-verse for going home broke, but in the long-term the cast who were the first to have twenty-two singles in the cast roll-call have still churned out some good castmates who've redeemed themselves in a way after that chaotic last matchup in the Dominican Republic, much like any other AYTO group.
♥Kam Williams went onto The Challenge starting on Vendettas, became a big figure in the elimination dome in all of her seasons as well as her power plays in her four seasons, and is now contesting her second final on War of the Worlds 2. ♥ Kam's vendetta on her rookie season, Alicia Wright, became a cult figure on EOTB Season 1 in making two memorable entrances as Cory Wharton's ex and then later as a replacement single. ♥Gianna Hammer & Hayden Weaver fell in love for almost two years and gave birth to a baby son last year, while his match Carolina Durate recently got engaged to Cam Bruckman of Season 4. ♥Derrick Henry has become a dating show fave having been on EOTB1 with castmate Andre Siemers, Game of Clones with Kam, and three YouTube dating shows, along with two Challenges. ♥ Earlier this summer on EOTB3, we saw Shannon Duffy come on as an ex to Anthony M. from Season 6, while Ozzy Morales fell in love with Nutsa from Season 7. ♥Casandra Martinez had another shot at love on 2018 show The Proposal, while Kam & Alicia's love interest, Edward Williams, appeared in this year's stripper doc This One's For The Ladies. ♥ And of course, there was the news this fall of Taylor Selfridge revealing her pregnancy with Cory, bringing another storyline to the ecosystem of his baby mama, Cheyenne Floyd, on Teen Mom OG, though since our story on them in October she revealed she lost one of two twins in her early stages.
And before Tyranny Todd becomes the sixth person from season 5 to get another chance at love on Ex On The Beach, we'd like to focus in on another member of this cast, Kathryn Palmer. She is that lady from Tallahassee, FL who, as we wrote on her in our AYTO5 preview, "...is an elegant Southern Belle who also finds the time to get down and dirty. In spite of having some positive energy, this blonde has a bad habit of falling for guys who want to being her down. Yes, Kathryn pleases the people and loves romance, yet she's incapable of spending more time with any one man. She is eager to make this all work and always believe what a man tells her, but the guys she's seen hasn't been quality guys either."
It was after that season that the gossip sites were buzzing, at least in a small way compared to other instances of reality crossover love: someone who shared a common alma mater and roots in reality dating seeing Kathryn was Robby Hayes of Season 12 of The Bachelorette (for which fellow suitor Daniel Maguire is on the Peak of Love cast and who, like other contestants Chad Johnson and Chase McNary also appeared on Bachelor in Paradise). When Robby met Kathryn and fellow AYTO5 castmates Tyler O'Brien and Michael Halpern on South Beach, it sparked some rumors between the fellow Seminoles, though they were quick to reiterate that their relationship was just being friends. Robby has also been linked to Juliette Porter of Siesta Key (whose relationship with the queen of the beach now sees him join the show when it returns next month) and Scheana Marie of Vanderpump Rules, for which her date with Robby was on last season and for whom she has had some issues in the past week with a member of Team MTV.
Last week, Kathryn (now a budding actress post-AYTO) got to turn her attention to YouTube and collaborated with comedian Victor Dweck for a sketch that was posted over the long Thanksgiving weekend on his self-named YT channel, considered by some an answer channel of sorts in the world of political humor to the late night Trump bash fest and created for conservative-leaning outlet BlazeTV. The six-minute video below sees her play the female lead in a video called Brunch McKlane, and it mixes both old school and new.
In the story, Kathryn plays a helpless young journalist named Gwendolyn when suddenly finds out that she's been banned on Facebook, and who then finds herself in a time where radio, television and newspapers were more prevalent, and where social media and handheld technology was only pipe dreams. The person she meets to try to pray for some hope during this time is a P.I. played by Dweck, and this takes place during the '50s. Find out what happens when they get together below.
As we have now had our first glimpse of it at midway through this week's episode, the Match-Up Ceremony is always the most intense part of every episode of Are You The One? - if not tied for that room of lasers known as the Truth Booth. It's in this outdoor setting where hopes and dreams or $1 million live or die in light beams being lit into the night sky. And it's what happened in the last one before this that offers the context for this Follow-Up to something that happened on Season 5.
Philippines native and L.A. resident Shannon came to the Dominican Republic intent on changing around her dating habits, which after her last serious relationship saw her question whether love existed. A key story in the Caribbean was her relationship with Tyler, which saw them stay together for much of the season, one that was marked by other couples staying together long after they had not been proven to be perfect matches.
The most-talked about moment as far as the game is concerned came in Week 9 when the girls had their pick, and faced with having to go for strategy and the house vs. her heart, she opted to choose Tyler over her intended house pick. And although the cast got to nine of the eleven beams they needed to win, her choosing Tyler proved to be the difference and the week after, their last ditch effort came up just short. Then, Shannon and Tyler were together for some time, but then had a very bad breakup with him.
Back in June -- and three months after the season finale - and having to put up with so much hate being sent her way for being the one who let the cast lose, Shannon took to Twitter to respond to those haters who got on her at the end of that season, and then what happened when the romance she thought was perfect was anything but and then some. Originally posted as a screen-cap of something she wrote on her Notes app on her mobile, below is her response in rich text form.
"I just saw everything being commented on Twitter and I'm completely at lost with words. All I have to say is that my heart is too big and it gave away too many chances to someone who did not deserve it. I am not perfect and I will never claim to make the relationship I was in perfect. It had its ups and downs, hardships, love, laughter, and tears. As everyone saw on the show, I was very naive and truly wanted love out of it. Unfortunately, I made a foolish decision that ultimately cost the loss and I'll continue to forever take the blame. It made my relationship very difficult and it caused a lot of problems, but I always thought it would get better. i forgave after I was lied to, manipulated, embarrassed and betrayed and I accepted all of it. I took the harsh words, the constant ignoring, and the shady excuses and I brushed it aside. I lost my self respect, forgot my worth, and accepted the love I knew I did not deserve. Majority of people would agree that I gave a lot of affection and love and maybe a little crazy, but I never let it affect me. I always believed that love conquers all. But for all you ladies that have ever been afraid to stand up for yourself or to call someone out for their wrongdoings, don't. Don't be afraid to walk away from anything that doesn't make you happy. I don't regret loving someone as much as I did, but it's a lesson learned. Not everyone will be ready for the love you are ready to give them."
Since what happened that chaotic March night and then dealing with that breakup, Shannon has stayed strong and has even gained much support after airing things out on Twitter and a final fight with Tyler before he cut ties with her. But she's not alone in dealing with AYTO heartbreak, and just recently fellow Season 5 castmate Carolina, who had her heart broken by Hayden on Second Chances earlier this year, moved in with her in SoCal.
Last week, there was a transition of power at Are You The One?, as Ryan Devlin will pass on his hosting gig to Season 5 After Match host Terrence J for Season 6 this fall. Over a week ago, one of those who was part of Ryan's last duty as host and lived through in the show's most infamous moment ever, got a chance to become a winner for a change, and be part of a group of rich friends of an NFL superstar as Training Camp is now underway with rookies now starting to report in the July heat.
Chad Johnson spent his childhood and adolescence in Miami and flew out west to college, and as a senior was a key member of the 2000 Oregon State team that made it to the BCS and knocked off Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl. The Cincinnati Bengals made him a 2nd round pick in the 2001 NFL Draft, but it was in second year in the league where Chad started to make his mark in the Queen City. There in 2002, he had the first of what would be seven 1,000 yard seasons in eight seasons during his eleven year NFL career, notching six Pro Bowl appearances, a receiving yards crown in 2006, eleven franchise records for the orange & black, and membership in the 10,000 receiving yards club.
Chad left Cincy to help lead the Patriots to Super Bowl XLVI but only after changing his last name to Ochocinco and encountering some turmoil late in his tenure in Ohio. And he came back to his native South Florida with aspirations to finish his career with the hometown Dolphins, but him getting arrested during training camp was the last straw, and him getting cut by coach Joe Philbin was shown during the team's season of HBO's Hard Knocks. And Johnson's last pro playing time came with the Montreal Alouettes of the CFL in 2014, and a recent one game stint down in Mexico.
Along the way, Chad's off-field credentials are immense: contestant on Dancing with the Stars, an NBCSN show with fellow NFL showman Terrell Owens, guest hosting WWE Raw, riding a bull in the PBR, and running against a racehorse for charity and leaving the thoroughbred in the dust. In his post-NFL career, Johnson now hosts a show on ESPN in a Hispanic-targeted version of SportsNation, influenced by a childhood love of soccer which translated into a four-day training gig with Sporting Kansas City of MLS during the 2011 NFL lockout, and him being a fan of both Real Madrid and C.D. Guadalajara - Chivas of Mexico's Liga MX.
The last time we saw Hayden from Are You The One? Season 5, it was back in April of him and his perfect match in the house, Carolina, facing the music and Karamo Brown on AYTO Second Chances when they were up for The Choice. They got together after he & his true love, Gianna, returned a truth booth no match, and after their fling in the Dominican Republic and then down under, it was obviously clear that Hayden was more attracted Midwest love, and he chose steal to take away the $60,000 from their pot back to the Midwest much to Carolina's displeasure and to the joy of the Ohioan in being able to invest in their own summer boat. You can best call this move the "Bananas."
This past week, Hayden hung out with some of his Team 22 pals out in Los Angeles and while he was there to take care of paperwork that will move him & Gia out west, he got to run into Mr. Ocho Cinco. Chad posted a video on Instagram which is located below, but not before he and Hayden had a chance to tweet thanks to one another. And the Colts/Pacers fan captioned on Instagram, "Went from being a fan in the stands years ago to becoming one of OchoCinco's "rich friends" last night at LAX along with Dwayne Bowe and Miko Grimes. This took "pics or it didn't happen" to a whole new level. Thanks for the beer and good times! #ChildPlease"
Thank you so much for the beer @ochocinco, tonight was one of the coolest moments of my life. Good luck to your daughter tomorrow!
Him being able to meet up with Ochocinco only adds to Hayden's strong sports fandom, exemplified best by his love of his native Indiana's favorite game of basketball as showcased here earlier this year before both NCAA March Madness and his AYTO cast's Caribbean heartbreak. Him & Gianna have spent the past weekend down in Honduras to help the needy of that country for charity, and we'll share you their inspiring journey later during this cycle.
If you have been peeking at your social media timelines in the course of the past week or so, there has been plenty of Twitter beefs going around in the MTV community, and if you have some popcorn around to read them above, you've been entertained. Now here late on this Sunday night, we have something even more juicy: a fight taking place not on your social media timelines, but on the streets.
Last night - or earlier this morning depending upon how late you come home from your Saturday night activities, a fight broke out in the streets in Los Angeles. But it was not an ordinary one: if you watched the infamous Season 5 finale of Are You The One? last year, the last couple to be paired up in the last matchup ceremony were Derrick of this Ex On The Beach cast, and California girl Shannon Duffy... the moment of him giving his necklace to her as a good luck charm before the lights dimmed remains burned in our brains for what happened next when they lost.
Shannon, Derrick and some of their fellow AYTO alumni were partying late into this morning during the Pride weekend activities of this weekend taking in the birthday of one of their MTV friends when she and her friends started getting into a vicious fight that was posted on Instagram fan account @AYTOTea2 and instantly made waves after it was posted. Derrick did whatever he can to stop the fight, but much to his and everyone's disbelief he simply sat back and watched it unfold as if he was an onlooker watching girls go at it at 2AM in the morning.
Derrick posted on Twitter afterwards at @imDroc15, "So ppl wanna talk about the fight like they were there. Ask anyone who actually was there, I tried stopping them from fighting 6 times (yes I counted). After a while, you have to allow grown adults to make their own decisions. You hear me say “I tried so many times!” Season 2's Briana replied, "Why are people even mad about this lmao let em fight if they wanna fight 🤷♀️ If fighting makes @shannnonmaee trash then I am the worlds biggest trashcan. Y’all can’t even see what’s happening in that 2004 Nokia flip phone recording anyway."
This spurred some talk with two other fellow castmates: Hannah tweeted, "This is disgusting. Wow.", while Shannon responded, "Lol but spitting on someone isn't disgusting? Racist tweets aren't disgusting? GIRL BYE." And Shannon's ex Tyler replied, "They used to try and tell me I have no class.", and her clapping back, "Can someone please tell me why my ex is still talking about me a year later lmao." And in support of Shan, Gianna added, "You don't mess with small and fiesty!"
Shannon replied to Briana, "LMFAO. I only did it cause I was defending my friend but I’ll stay trash if that means I have my friends back 🤷🏽♀️". And she responded to the new mom in waiting, "Lol it’s like when I didn’t do anything at the reunion and everyone gave me shit...and then I actually do something and people STILL giving me shit!! I can’t win over here 🤦🏽♀️"
The man who we just saw get voted off in the EOTB season's last Cut or Crush elimination, Charles, was left to wonder, "Can someone explain to me how @imdroc15 is always around drama lol I’m starting to think he starting it 😂😂😂." Derrick replied, "Lol bro chill!! I already get blamed for everything 😅 lol hahaha. Ask anyone that was there that night, I tried stopping them from fighting so many times but it got to a point where I couldn’t do anything anymore, it was gonna happen. it was 5 girls in a fight. You tell me how the hell Im supposed to grab 5 girls. Please let me know." And Shannon added, "LMFAO I tried not fighting, I even told her we were too pretty to fight 😭 but then she pushed my friend and I don’t fuck with that !!" Charles replied to her, "It be like that sometimes.. I already know lol but no more! Your officially retired."
This all comes after a now famous AfterBuzz aftershow for Ex On The Beach where Alicia decided to spill major tea when she exposed Taylor and Carolina in revealing that both ladies had tweeted racist tweets with reference to the N word and it forced the former to delete her Twitter account, and just after the ladder broke up with her Season 6 boyfriend Keith. For your enjoyment, the video is embedded below in its low-def quality... a caution: it contains adult language and violence and is NSFW.
— The Challenge MTV (@challengeteamtv) June 24, 2018
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Well, while we try and catch our breath after all that - Tuesday or at midweek we'll WRAP up Champs vs. Stars with a review of the season's second half, a trip to the Strategy Room for analysis on the final and champs, and more on the most tension-packed finale since Joe and his AYTO kids ascended into "11th Heaven" in New Orleans. That is just the start to what will be a busy final week of this first half of 2018 in the MTV Reality year, with our Reality Debrief to come soon as well as a preview of Final Reckoning, a look at Season 1 of Floribama Shore and much more.
For now, hope you enjoyed your weekend, and we'll see you soon. Have a great week everyone, and good night.
A mystery that has haunted MTV Reality fans the past six months has been, "Whatever Happened to Edward Williams?" For those who might remember, he was the one who found himself in the middle of a love triangle in the Are You The One? Season 5 house with Kam Williams and Alicia Wright - when the ladder hooked up with him in the overnight dark after he and the former were one of that season's two Truth Booth perfect matches.
Those who watched the premiere of Season 31 of The Challenge Vendettas on January 2nd last saw him, in a TV sense, running up the hill of the Rock of Gibraltar off the coast of Spain. But after he did make the cutoff for the competitors who survived that overnight test to make it to the house, Eddie was nowhere to be seen after that first episode for reasons that were never revealed on-air.
And in typical fashion, it took for social media tea to emerge afterwards: the girl who now finds herself in a fight with the girl who's been around his ex on the Ex On The Beach house had a restraining order against the model. And instead of getting perhaps into it with Alicia, Eddie decided it was best to leave the house and not get dragged around.
Like many cold case stories and high-profile murders such as of who killed Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa in the mid-70's, no one seems to exactly know of the whereabouts. But with Alicia has to deal with tomorrow night and after having seen Kam have a solid rookie run on Vendettas, we happened to stumble upon something that will not tell us what has happened since then to Eddie... and it takes place in a much different atmosphere than his two MTV shows.
Whenever anyone decides to audition to be on an MTV show, they go through a registration process as hard as trying to make it to Harvard or taking up a job at a Fortune 500 company. Glance over at the casting registration form in the back of any old Real World book at the local library, and the questions there will ask you just about any question imaginable: from what a typical weekend night would look like, what social issues you're passionate about, or what three wishes you'd have if you held the Aladdin lamp.
When potential castmates go to open casting calls or when they fly to the final casting phase of any season of Real World, Are You The One? or other reality series, casting directors will ask them to go more in-depth on these questions than one in a several-page application would fit. And talk about being put under pressure: any spine-tingling answer that amuses the casting directors can be the difference between being casted, getting on MTV and scoring hundreds of thousands of social media followers, or not being chosen and being left on the outside looking in.
This winter, we saw Kam Williams prove that there is more to the Are You The One? Season 5 cast than the notoriety that they unfortunately have had to live the past year with being the only cast in that show's six-season history to not win the jackpot if they light all the matchup beams. Killa Kam joined a good list of those being able to win three eliminations in one season, but also a small list of those being to do it as a rookie… and she also made it to the final in her first go, as well as compete on Champs vs. Stars III.
With a vibrant personality, Kam was part of one of the most intriguing love triangles to take place on an MTV show. What happened in the Caribbean brought her to the honeymoon suites, and created a vendetta with a girl who stole her perfect match under the rug after a successful trip to the Truth Booth (and who also happens to be an ex of the most high-profile cast member of Ex On The Beach and a rival of a few of those girls she grew close with), which was the reason why she went onto The Challenge: Vendettas in the first place. And perhaps there's more in store for her as part of this new generation of females who are being touted on a show that's now going around the world.
On the weekend after that now-infamous tenth matchup ceremony and reunion special last year, Kam posted many videos on her YouTube channel where she got to share some valuable tea of what went on in the Dominican Republic, but also got to share a story that helped her being cast. It begins in, of all places, in the self-checkout area of a Walmart store in the Philadelphia area, where when she was looking for her wallet, Kam finds that a guy from the hood is staring at her and - in usual fashion - decides to ask her for her number, then proceeding into a bowling date gone bad. Yes, a story like this is as creepy as it sounds in someone who had just been released from jail for a crime which usually involves violence and regarded as more serious than a small misdemeanor, and would usually see the person who committed the crime spend time behind bars or even get death. And it's when she asks for the check that Kam read her date's body language and behavior that he was not the person she was looking for, being someone who had a run-in with the law and did not embody the types she likes in a guy.
The expanded version of this story is told below in lighthearted fashion by Killa Kam... the one story that, despite the nature of it, got her the chance to be part of history - both the one that no cast can ever want to be associated with on the show she got her start on, and of now becoming part of a new generation of the fifth major pro sport.
Besides this odd story, among other videos Kam also posted on her iAmKamiAM channel include three with fellow AYTO alum Kaylen from Season 4, and a New Year's vlog with the girl the Queen grew closest in the Dominican Republic, Tyranny. You might remember Tee as the one who got into the face of Alicia on the Season 5 reunion before the ladder made the two most dramatic ex entrances on Ex On The Beach.
Following are excerpts from DCBLOG's Are You The One? posts, reposted in the interest of our readers and featuring a key figure in last night's first part of the AYTO Season 6 Reunion which will be covered on here this weekend.
As we told you back in early January, those in Las Vegas look forward to its first big event of the year and the annual kickoff of wondering what's next in those gadgets we rely on everyday - the Consumer Electronics Show. But one notable item wasn't introduced at any of those shows that take place after the buzz wears off of the holiday shopping season, also the world's largest annual convention taking place in the city with the most convention space of any city anywhere.
Ten years ago, the iPhone was introduced by Apple patriarch Steve Jobs at the MacWorld 2007 convention in San Francisco's Moscone Center, up the ways from the company's headquarters in Cupertino, CA. The first two models - a 4GB and 8GB - went on sale in the U.S. that June as hundreds of customers lined up outside Apple stores nationwide to the phone that would be the game-changer in the world of mobile phones, with some media calling it "the Jesus phone." The iPhone has become an essential part of the lives of countless millions of people here and around the world. And you're not alone: I was given my first iPhone for my birthday back in 2011 and am into my third phone - an SE in case you ask. I do utilize the two previous phones for the sake of being able to retweet cast members' tweets on my DCNOW live hub when episodes of the Trifecta air on TV, and the same goes for sports events and awards shows too. And of course, I'm on my phone much of the time when I'm not at my day job - always keeping an eye out for what's up around the world, or capturing photos and video for my various social media platforms.
When we met Carolina, she was that Brazilian who now calls Seattle home, and who is honest and independent. Through the help of the Flow Chart that was posted on last week's AYTO Aftermatch, she was first spotted with Joey, then with Ozzy and with Jaylan, but sat for five straight weeks with Hayden at matchup before they were sent into the Truth Booth and became our second Perfect Match. And in the week or so since, she, along with both her perfect match and Gianna, have gotten some hate in social land. But something that wasn't mentioned much in her MTV.com bio was that when she came onto the show, she was a student in video & music production in college in the Seattle area. In prep to do this vignette, we happened to find her YouTube channel, which features her going skydiving and a few other odds and ends. She has something in common with me in having a passion to do original videos which we then post on that site. A video that came up there was one she made in Fall 2014, following the release of the iPhone 6, which increased the screen size and upgraded cameras, connectivity and speed to where now everyone in my family except me have that model (I opted for the SE upgrade so I can still keep the same sized phone holder on my belt, by the way). In the video we have embedded below, she and her class made a parody video where they went into an Apple Store in the Pacific Northwest, had a guy play the role of Apple CEO Tim Cook and where they predicted that the model for the iPhone 7. Check it out for yourself below...which also includes Carolina as well.
If you caught that peek at Episode 8, you might've spotted someone very familiar: Taylor from Season 5 invading the house for next week's challenge in what should be the most anticipated "exes" visit we've ever had for the purpose that someone from a previous season will, for the first time ever, return on a regular AYTO season -- not counting Second Chances. That offers the bridge to this brief but hilarious bit of ExtraTime.
Amidst iPhone mania we've been having this month with the releases of X and 9, earlier this year we showed a parody video featuring Carolina from the first cast to ever lose the money when her, Tay and their cast came up short in Week 10. There, she and her friends discussed a prototype version of the iPhone 7 that ultimately didn't get approval from Tim Cook and the board. But we've also happen to find on her YouTube channel something, as we like to always say, you'll get a kick out of.
In the following film short, Carolina is the lead character in their class's sendup of the 2000 film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, the wuxia film that became a surprise worldwide box office hit. That movie won four Oscars including Best Foreign Language Film and remains influential for its martial arts, screenplay and behind the scenes aspects. In their version of the film entitled Crouching Jogger, Hidden Late Fees, Carolina plays the role Zhang Ziyi played of martial artist Jen Yu in the original film, as she jogs through the Western Washington wilderness when a man comes out of nowhere and she decides to take to a fight. Check it out below.
Following are excerpts from DCBLOG posts during Are You The One? Second Chances earlier this year, reposted in the interest of readers and fans of The Bachelor following events that happened with our subject during Bachelor in Paradise this past summer.
And from a group of AYTO originals to a group of AYTO losers -- of course, we're talking about the Season 5 cast, and two of them meeting one of those Bachelors... if you know someone who also loves watching The Bachelor and The Bachelorette like my mom, then it's likely they know about Robby Hayes, who came on last summer's installment of The Bachelorette as one of those 24 guys who went to Thailand for a chance to land the woman of their dreams: former Bachelor contestant JoJo Fletcher.
The former competitive swimmer described himself in his cast bio as a hopeless romantic like Ryan from season 1 because, as he added, "...there is nothing more satisfying than a genuine, big smile from the girl you would give the world to." Robby made it all the way to the end and to the final two last summer before JoJo chose Packer quarterback Aaron Rodgers' brother Jordan Rodgers to not only be the last one standing, but also shortly after get engaged and currently have wedding dates planned.
The runner-up hasn't found love just yet, but he did get to hang out with Season 5's Kathryn and Tyler down in Miami over the weekend. And here's something that links Tyler with the Bachelor, The Challenge and a hip-hop heavyweight: last week, Robby signed with modeling firm Wilhelmina Models, which comes on the heels of Nicki Minaj adding a modeling deal to her broad resume alongside being in the headlines of late in having a public beef with rival rapper Remy Ma. Tyler does modeling work for Wilhelmina, as does CJ from Real World Cancun and two Challenges.
A week or so ago, we told you about the night at a club in Miami where two members of the Are You The One? Season 5 cast got to hang out with the man who finished runner-up on The Bachelorette last summer. Well for one of them, this has turned not only from just them hanging out in South Beach into something a little bit more.
Rumors have been circulating that in the wake of the loss that rocked the MTV Trifecta (at least until Laurel lost this past week's Challenge elimination to Camila), that Kathryn from the most recent AYTO cast has been seeing Robby Hayes from my mom's favorite show. And last weekend, the two posted Instagram pictures from when they went to a zoo in Jacksonville, and sparked some additional talk when in an additional photo with Robby, Kathryn captioned, "They say Florida State has the best looking students.... I agree," referencing to them being fellow Seminoles.
Kathryn & Robby can thank their parents for bringing them together as as her mom is friends with an acquaintance who knows his sister, who no doubt enjoyed watching them on romantic reality TV. But, Kathryn clarified to E! News that this relationship is, for right now, nothing more than a good friendship:
"We've been talking a little bit over Instagram and then he got my number and then we chatted a little. We went out. He invited me to his event in Fort Lauderdale so we hung out then. We had a great time. We were at the zoo, but we're not taking things too seriously right now because Bachelor in Paradise is an option [for him] so we're just sitting back and seeing what happens. Right now, he's a really great guy and I enjoy hanging out with him. We had a lot of fun."
As for Robby, he talked to US Weekly about this latest romance and echoed Kathryn's word that they're just friends and that he's still on the market, just as he is on the shortlist to be on this summer's Bachelor in Paradise:
"We enjoy getting to know each other and have fun hanging out. She's a super sweet girl, but there’s nothing too serious going on. We’re definitely not dating. We have a mutual knowledge of reality TV, so it’s fun to talk to her about that and share our experiences. We're Florida born and raised, so we have a lot in common."
But, there might be something out there for Robby & Kathryn some 3,000 miles away along I-10: recently he and best friend (and fellow Bachelor contestant) Chase McNary moved in with fellow Bachelor alum Jef Holm out in Venice Beach, and she may make the ride too. Robby adds, "She wants to move out to L.A. and that was something she wanted to do before I met her. She wants to get a house out here with Shannon and Carolina from her show, which I encouraged. I’d love to hang out with her here. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t."
Whatever the case, once again this small world of reality TV again has produced another crossover romance - this time with a show I love and a show my mom loves. And with a lot in common, Kathryn may have found her true perfect match in Robby. We'll see how this one ends up.
Following is an excerpt from DCBLOG's Pulse for The Challenge XXX Premiere from earlier tonight, reposted in the interest of readers who don't want to scroll down.
If you were with us for the last Trifecta cycle, at the end of our first Pulse post for the last regular Challenge season - Invasion earlier this year, we went outside the MTV bubble and into the Olympic world. There, we offered an appreciation of longtime NBC Primetime host Bob Costas, who stepped down from that chair after 24 years and 11 Games as anchor of the world's greatest sports event, and passed the torch to fellow Syracuse grad and longtime ESPN broadcaster Mike Tirico, who will take the reins for the first time in Pyeongchang, South Korea this February.
As we begin this ride around the Trifecta again, there's another passing of the baton, and we here want to take a moment to offer some appreciation in this, the 25th anniversary of the beginning of MTV's realty TV odyssey. More than a week after the finale of Champs vs. Pros when this one month offseason began, there was a big bombshell that was dropped. And while we focus on The Challenge XXX, in the long term it will become more noticeable when the time arrives for us to welcome the twenty or so newest members of Team MTV towards the end of the summer.
Late on June 26th, a tweet was posted by the man who began on MTV a decade ago hosting Entertainment Tonight's weekend roundup around filming as part of the cast of UPN's Veronica Mars. But, he became a late bloomer of sorts because of him helming the addictive social love experiment known as Are You The One? and all that we've seen there since it debuted more than three years ago. Accompanied by a picture of him and ten beams, this was his announcement…
After five seasons as host of AYTO, Ryan Devlin has decided to step away from that role to focus on the great acting career he's built up over the years as he'll now be pursuing that on a more full-time basis… not to mention his This Bar Has Lives venture. That tweet above garnered a lot of reaction from AYTO fans including myself and some of the 103 girls and guys he presided over during his reign as host. And showing how fan friendly he is, he got to personally reply back to just about everyone as they got to say thank you. That includes one who's been with this show since it all began in Hawaii.
● ME @DC408Dxtr:"@RyanDevlin Good luck w/ what the future has for you, been lucky to follow #AYTO from day 1 & it's been a tremendous ride. Best wishes again." ● BRANDON/Season 2 @Tindel10:"No! Are You The One won't be the same without @RyanDevlin… that freaking sucks."
- Ryan: "Thanks, my man. My hosting and your insane ability to win challenges will live on." ● CHRISTINA/Season 2 @MTV_Christina:"Blessed to know you. Thanks for being an awesome person and an amazing host! Love always, your one and only #Eleven" ● BRIANA/Season 2 @BlaCuesta:"What in tarnation" ● ELLIE/Season 2 @whaattaafoxx:"WTF? What is this bs?! They can't do this! You can't do this?!" ● AMANDA/Season 3 @MTV_AmandaG:"Bye Ryan hopefully I will see you never." ● DEVIN/Season 3 @MTVDevinWalker:"@RyanDevlin @AREUTHE1 cheers to 5 great seasons and 3.5 mil thanks to those suckers on #AYTOSzn5. Job well done my friend. U never gave up on love."
- Ryan: "Never have and never will give up on love! Or foamers." ● CAM/Season 4 @CamBruckman:"Bummed to see this! He's a great guy, go check out what else he does when he isn't hosting. Good luck with things Ryan!" ● NICOLE/Season 4 @Nuhcole11:"But, but, but… NO ONE will be able to say 'This is a blackout!' quite like you… you'll always be our favorite sass master." ● STEPHEN/Season 4 @StephenJohnII:"From the bottoms of our hearts, @JuliaRose_33 and I thank you @RyanDevlin, it was a blast #PerfectMatch" ● TORI/Season 4 @Tori_Deal:"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" ● GIANNA/Season 5 @GiannaHammer:"Honored to be your last hoorah." ● MICHAEL/Season 5 @MikeHalpern92:"Cheers to this guy, as cool in real life as he is on television." ● TAYLOR/Season 5 @TayloriasSecret:"We were so horrible even Ryan quit." ● OSVALDO/Season 5 @OzRomero_:"@RyanDevlin I will always remember your last words of advice… Thanks for never making a moment awkward." ● KAM/Season 5 @IamKamIam_:"I know what season those 10 beams didn't belong to… wish you the best though Ryan!"
Like those such as me who's watched every episode from when it debuted in January 2014, Ryan has seen the evolution of this show from when it started in Kauai. He was there at the beginning when he welcomed Adam, Shanley and the Season 1 originals, at the end when gave the Season 5 cast their doomed fate last spring, and every single getaway challenge, truth booth and matchup ceremony in between. He's taken a page from TJ Lavin's playbook to be brutally honest when the singles are not playing the game, and he's also had his moments as well. Remember when he got into it with Amanda in Season 3? Or when he told the Season 5 kids to "Shut the f... up?" Or even him dressing up for Halloween as a rapper on the After Show during Season 2? Ryan has been a great host and will be sorely missed when he and us will be watching Season 6 as viewers from our couch this fall.
At the same time, with the always unenviable task of having to replace Ryan and follow in his footsteps, you can't ask for anyone better suited to take over the AYTO host gig than Terrence J. He hosted Season 5's After Shows as well as its eventful reunion in the aftermath of the shocking 10th round knockout loss that Derrick H. and his cast went through back in March. He's had experience before in romantic reality shows when, last year, Terrence hosted FOX's entry in that genre, Coupled. My Debrief colleague Andrew Kirk enjoyed watching him on that show as well as the After Match and is more than the worthy choice to take over for Ryan on AYTO. Hopefully, the now former host has passed along some advice to the new one on how to berate the newbies… obviously we'll be interested in how gets to scold the singles for not breaking up with their non-matches.
Terrence has amassed a stellar resume covering TV, movies and other things, with a career that started across the Viacom lines at sibling BET as longtime host of 106 & PARK, among other things. This past week as he prepares to take over that spot on the matchup patio as well as other acting gigs in the pipeline, he will offer viewers a warmup for that as began hosting MTV's SafeWord with celebs joining him each week for a game of words after Nick Cannon's Wild N Out. In fact, to prove how busy he is, Terrence did press for that show in New York while taking a break from filming AYTO Season 6 which, per the grapevine, will take place for the first time stateside down in New Orleans. And having already glanced a little bit at the cast that's been uncovered so far, it should be a really good group who'll look to bounce back after last spring's unprecedented loss.
Being host of a show in and outside the Trifecta bubble takes on greater responsibility, and that includes having to police the cast, school them if they are not being honest, be great to them if they do something really awesome, and in this social media age to also be as fan friendly as the cast. Just a select handful of people have taken on that role since this ride began two decades ago, and out of all of them Terrence might be the most well known: proof being nearly 2 million Twitter followers, an Instagram following near that number and his resume.
Are You The One? has been the guilty pleasure for many MTV fans for a few years now, and probably the one show that's emerged in the post-Jersey Shore era that's had the biggest success along with another series which debuted in the post-Teen Mom slot, Catfish. Those like me who've been there every step of the way have seen a lot of big moments, memorable hookups, dramatic breakups and so much more, and there'll be more in the seasons ahead. This show will no doubt be in good hands going forward with Terrence J. at the helm and the twenty or so singles as its stars.
As your weekend is now winding down, it's time for us here at DCBLOG to bring you the main event of this packed week in the MTV Trifecta. It was back on December 8th of last year that the ride began for the 22 newest members of Team MTV (in reality, it began for them in filming last fall), and now just on this, the last full day of winter, we head into spring with the 'Pulse of the Finale of Season 5 of Are You The One?.
Last week in the Dominican Republic, the house finally got a chance to relax and party up after gaining much needed momentum in getting out of the four-beam zone, but a fight between Derrick and Michael saw the end to the ladder's relationship with Kathryn. In trying to follow in what happened with Carolina & Hayden, the group began to focus more on the game and looked to a house strategy to bring together new couples, even if it took for them to accept the trade-in offer and seeing Shannon follow their heart. In a way, they succeeded: nine beams at the week's matchup.
This week, it's week 10 and the last chance this house who has been desperate all season long have at love and to win money or to face the harshness of being the first cast ever to lose it all. For one couple who connected early on, Kathryn and Ozzy find sparks yet again, while the man who has dominated challenges all season long, Joey is tasked with being the one who could have the game in his hands. For Hannah, the house tries to open their eyes to the reality of her relationship. And of course, it all comes down to one last matchup ceremony for a chance at the cash.
Coming up, all the action, reaction and interaction of this final AYTO Wednesday, the Finale itself, the Reunion and all the day-after aftermath. And stick around after the diary, as ExtraTime will bring you the emotional homecoming of a member of the Second Chances cast as he flies halfway around the world to surprise his biggest and most important fan... you'll want to have those tissues ready.
• As we begin, please note there is explicit language in many of the tweets below, but they are kept uncensored in order to retain the heat of the moment. So if you are mature enough, please read with discretion. :-) • Plus, if you haven't watched the episode yet, then do not proceed with reading this post. But need not worry...DCBLOG will compile all of these tweets into these posts after every episode so you won't be in the dark of how your favorites saw this all unfold.
It's one last chance for the house to get it all right. We've made you wait all day, and all weekend in fact for it...and it's sure worth the wait. After the jump, its our MEGA 'Pulse of the Finale and Reunion of Season 5 of Are You The One?. Join us there.
