Temptation Island (TV series)

Temptation Island is an American reality television series originally broadcast by Fox. The series premiered on January 10, 2001, and it concluded with its third season on September 29, 2003. Temptation Island depicted four unmarried couples who traveled to a tropical island to have their fidelity tested. The couples were separated from one another for two weeks, in which they were required to commingle with a group of single members of the opposite sex whose purpose was to persuade the couples to have an affair. The series drew intense backlash due to its controversial premise; however, it averaged high ratings over the course of its first season. The series is hosted by American television presenter Mark L. Walberg.

Temptation Island
Genre	Reality television
Presented by	Mark L. Walberg
Country of origin	United States
Original language	English
No. of seasons	9
No. of episodes	88
Production
Executive producers	Jean-Michel Michenaud (seasons 1–3) Chris Cowan (seasons 1–3) David Goldberg David Friedman
Production locations	Ambergris Caye, Belize (season 1) Roatán, Bay Islands (season 3) Maui, Hawaii (season 7) Kona, Hawaii (season 8)
Running time	42 minutes
Production companies	Rocket Science Laboratories (2001–2003) Banijay Studios North America (2019–present)
Original release
Network	Fox (2001–2003) USA (2019–2023) Netflix (2025–present)
Release	January 10, 2001 (2001-01-10) – present

In 2018, USA Network announced that it planned to revive Temptation Island. The first season of this revival premiered on January 15, 2019. In 2024, the series moved from USA to Netflix.

Production

The first season of the show was filmed on Ambergris Caye in Belize. Season 1 premiered on January 10, 2001, and aired its finale on February 28, 2001. The debut episode drew 16 million viewers.^[1] The show attracted controversy from the outset,^[2][3] which Fox hoped would drive ratings. Four male contestants lived in one section with a dozen female models, and the four female contestants lived in another section with a dozen attractive men. The initial couples were Kaya Wittenburg and Valerie Penso, Mandy Lauderdale and Billy Cleary, Ytossie Patterson and Taheed Watson, and Andy Lukei and Shannon Roghair. Producers removed Patterson and Watson from the show when they learned that the pair had children together. The remaining three couples continued.

Season 2 premiered on October 31, 2001, and delivered poor ratings.^[4] After a nearly two-year layoff, a third edition of the series premiered on August 28, 2003. Like Season 2, Season 3 also delivered poor ratings.^[5]

Mark L. Walberg hosted all three editions. Reruns once aired on Hulu, but are no longer available there.

A revamped version of the show, once again hosted by Walberg,^[6] premiered on the USA Network on January 15, 2019.^[7] USA Network announced the show was renewed for a fifth season on February 26, 2019.^[8] On August 22, 2019, it was announced that the fifth season would premiere on October 10, 2019.^[9][10]

On January 28, 2021, it was announced that the sixth season would premiere on February 16, 2021.^[11][12]

On January 26, 2024, it was reported that the series would be moving from USA Network to Netflix.^[13]

Episodes

Season	Episodes		Originally released
			First released	Last released	Network
1	8		January 10, 2001 (2001-01-10)	February 28, 2001 (2001-02-28)	Fox
2	12		October 31, 2001 (2001-10-31)	February 14, 2002 (2002-02-14)
3	8		August 28, 2003 (2003-08-28)	September 29, 2003 (2003-09-29)
4	12		January 15, 2019 (2019-01-15)	March 26, 2019 (2019-03-26)	USA Network
5	12		October 10, 2019 (2019-10-10)	December 19, 2019 (2019-12-19)
6	12		February 16, 2021 (2021-02-16)	April 27, 2021 (2021-04-27)
7	12		March 16, 2022 (2022-03-16)	May 25, 2022 (2022-05-25)
8	12		June 14, 2023 (2023-06-14)	August 23, 2023 (2023-08-23)
9	10		March 12, 2025 (2025-03-12)	March 12, 2025 (2025-03-12)	Netflix

Reception

Temptation Island received mixed reviews from critics. Michael Speier of Variety negatively compared the series to Survivor, referring to it as "merely a lightweight libido experiment."^[14] Ken Tucker of Entertainment Weekly believed the series to be "creepy-cheesy", in which he assigned it a grade of C-.^[15]

Couples

Season 1

^[16]

#	Couple	Occupation	Hometown	# Years Dating	Status	Notes
1	Kaya Wittenburg	Model	Miami Beach, FL	1.5 years	Dating	They left the island together
	Valerie Penso	Real Estate Agent
2	Billy Cleary	Aspiring Actor	Atlanta, GA	1.5 years	Split	They left the island together but split up before the reunion episode
	Mandy Lauderdale	Aspiring Singer
3	Taheed Watson	Actor	Los Angeles, CA	5.5 years	Dating	They were disqualified from the show when it was revealed they had a child together.
	Ytossie Patterson	Actress
4	Andy Lukei	Owner of Pacific Coast Kayaking	Malibu, CA	5 years	Married	They got engaged after the final bonfire and were married in a special reunion episode
	Shannon Roghair	Lawyer

Season 2

^[17]

#	Couple	Occupation	Hometown	# Years Dating	Status	Notes
1	Edmundo Cruz	Waiter	Chicago, IL	3 years	Split	They left the bonfire together but split up soon afterwards
	Catherine Chiarelli	Dancer/Singer
2	John Dolan	Bartender	Phoenix, AZ	10 months	Dating	They left the island together
	Shannon Rutledge	Sales
3	Tony Schmitt	Sales Account Executive	Ferndale, MI	4.5 years	Engaged	Left the show after episode 5 and chose to get engaged
	Genevieve Deittrick	Business Owner
4	Thomas McGuan	Fleet Service Clerk / Model	Chicago, IL	3.5 years	Split	They both decided to end the relationship
	Nikkole Palmatier	Bartender
5	Mark Detrio	Police Officer	Tampa, FL	1.4 years	Split	Joined the show in episode 6 Kelley broke up with Mark and they left the island alone
	Kelley Sutphin	Bartender / Student

Season 3

#	Couple	Occupation	Hometown	# Years Dating	Status	Notes
1	Michael Pulice	Bartender / Model	Long Island, NY	2 years	Split	Melissa broke up with Michael and they left the island alone
	Melissa Huggins	Promoter / Model
2	Erik Hebert	Caterer	Farmville, VA	3 years	Dating	They left the island together
	Kristin Cobb	Student
3	Anthony	Sales Manager	Chicago, IL	3 years	Split	They broke up and left the island alone
	Stephanie Cantu	Hairstylist / Model
4	Jason	Massage Therapist	Las Vegas, NV	1 year	Split	Kara broke up with Jason and they left the island alone
	Kara	Receptionist

Season 4

#	Couple	Occupation	Hometown	# Years Dating	Status	Notes
1	Javen Butler	Senior Records Clerk	San Francisco, CA	8 years	Engaged	They got engaged on the show.[18]
	Shari Ligons	Recruiter / Human Resources
2	Karl Collins	Para-Professional Educator	Chicago, IL	2.5 years	Split	They broke up on the show, but later got back together. According to Screenrant 2023, they are no longer together.[19][20]
	Nicole Tutewohl	Sales Executive
3	John Thurmond	Business Owner	Fort Worth, TX	3 years	Split	On the show, John dated Katheryn and Kady dated Johnny. Both are now single.[21]
	Kady Krambeer	Marketer
4	Evan Smith	Professional Trainer	Los Angeles, CA	5 years	Split	Evan is the son of Gavin Smith. On the show, Evan broke up with Kaci to begin a relationship with Morgan Lolar. Evan and Morgan became engaged after the show but they ended the relationship the following year. Morgan and Kaci are now on good terms.[22]
	Kaci Campbell	Business Owner

Season 5

#	Couple	Occupation	Hometown	# Years Dating	Status	Notes
1	Kate Griffith	Sales Executive	Hoboken, NJ	3 years	Split	David left with Toneata, but the two later split; David and Kate got back together, but later split again.
	David Benavidez	Sales Executive
2	Esonica Veira	Miss Universe US Virgin Islands 2017	Decatur, GA	6 years	Split	Esonica left with Kareem, but the two later split.
	Gavin Rocker	Private Security
3	Ashley Howland	Dental Assistant	Deland, FL	1.5 years	Split	Casey proposed to Ashley who rejected the proposal; Ashley left with Ben, but the two later split.
	Casey Starchak	Online Sales
4	Ashley Goldson	Store Manager	Boston, MA	4 years	Split	Ashley and Rick decided to leave together, but the two later split.
	Rick Fleur	Model

Season 6

#	Couple	Occupation	Hometown	# Years Dating	Status	Notes
1	Chelsea Orcutt	Marketing Coordinator	West Hollywood, CA	1 year	Dating	Chelsea and Tom decided to leave the island together.
	Thomas Gipson	Actor
2	Erica Washington	Personal Assistant	Los Angeles, CA	2 years	Split	Erica broke things off with Kendal and left the island alone. Kendal left the island with Alexcys, but Alexcys broke things off shortly after.
	Kendal Kirkland	Business Owner
3	Erin Smith	Behavioral Therapist	San Diego, CA	1.5 years	Split	The couple left the island together. Erin broke up with Corey at the reunion, and no longer follow each other on social media.
	Corey Sobczyk	Concierge Manager
4	Kristen Ramos	Physical Therapist	Sewell, NJ	11 years	Married	Kristen and Julian are high school sweethearts. Before they left the island together, Julian proposed and Kristen accepted. They married in July 2022.
	Julian Allen	Personal Trainer

Season 7

#	Couple	Occupation	Hometown	# Years Dating	Status	Notes
1	Ashley Rodriguez	Content Producer	Queens, NY	7 years	Split	Initially Ashley decided to leave with Lascelles, but changed her mind to leave the island alone. Lascelles decided to leave the island with Trace. By the reunion show, Lascelles and Trace were no longer together. Lascelles also made out with Alexa and Meghan at a club after the show finished filming.
	Lascelles Lagares	Recruiter / Personal Trainer
2	Iris Jardiel	Entrepreneur	Seattle, WA	6 years	Split	Engaged on the show but later split.
	Luke Wechselberger	Entrepreneur
3	Gillian Lieberman	Realtor	West Palm Beach, FL	4 years	Split	They both decided to end the relationship. Gillian left the island alone and Edgar left the island with Marissa. Marissa and Edgar later split.
	Edgar De Santiago	Customer Experience Specialist	Indianapolis, IN
4	Hania Stocker	Garden Designer	Santa Fe, NM	1.5 years	Split	Hania proposed to Ash, but Ash said no. Ash decided to leave the island alone.
	Ash Lamiroult	Writer

Season 8

#	Couple	Occupation	Hometown	# Years Dating	Status	Notes
1	Kaitlin Tufts	Fitness Studio Owner	Charleston, SC	8 years	Split	Hall ended the engagement during episode 8 of the show and chose to leave the island with Makayla while Kaitlin left alone.
	Hall Toledano	Leather Sales
2	Leonila "Paris" Pedro	Influencer	Newark, NJ	1.8 years	Split	Paris left the island with Tahjjic and Great left the island with Nafeesah but both couples broke up before the reunion
	Nzubechukwu "Great" Ezihie	Engineer	New York, NY
3	Marisela Figueroa	Bartender	Atlanta, GA	2 years	Split	Marisela chose to leave the island single. Christopher decided to leave the island with Alexius, but they broke up after the show
	Christopher Wells	Fitness Instructor
4	Vanessa Valente	Military Contractor	Los Angeles, CA	1 year	Split	Left the island together but had split up by the reunion show
	Roberto Mal	Army Veteran/Student

Season 9

#	Couple	Occupation	Hometown	# Years Dating	Status	Notes
1	Brion Whitley	Financial Advisor	Atlanta, GA	1 year	Dating	Shante and Brion decided to leave the island together.
	Shante Glover	Account Executive
2	Tayler Bird	Health Education Specialist / Personal Trainer	Nashville, TN	2.5 years	Split	Tayler chose to leave the island alone, while Tyler decided to leave the island with Kay.
	Tyler Breshears	Model
3	Alexa Santamaria	Nurse	Atlanta, GA	3.5 years	Engaged	Alexa and Lino decided to leave the island together. Lino proposed to Alexa and she accepted.
	Lino Troisi	Personal Trainer
4	Ashley Moore	Tax Analyst	Florida, USA	1.5 years	Split	Ashley decided to leave the island with Danny, while Grant decided to leave the island alone.
	Grant Larsen	Business Owner

International versions

Country	Name	Host	Channel	First year aired
Argentina	Confianza ciega	Juan Castro	Canal 9	2001
Argentina  Chile	La Isla de las Tentaciones	Florencia Peña Benjamín Vicuña	Prime Video	August 9, 2024
Australia	Temptation Island	Peter Colquhoun	7 Network	December 21, 2002 2019
Brazil	Ilha da Sedução	Babi Xavier	SBT	2002 2003
	Ilha da Tentação	Flávia Alessandra Otaviano Costa	Prime Video	2024
Bulgaria	Островът на изкушението Ostrovat na izkushenyeto	Vitomir Saraivanov	Nova TV	November 1, 2007 – January 18, 2008
Chile	Amor a Prueba	Karla Constant	Mega	December 1, 2014
Finland	Temptation Island Suomi	Sami Kuronen	Nelonen	2015–present
France	L'Île de la tentation	Stéphane Bouillaud Céline Géraud	TF1	July 6, 2002 – August 26, 2008
		Laurent Fontaine	Virgin 17	April 27, 2010 – June 18, 2010
		Julie Taton	W9	July 2019
		Delphine Wespiser		January 18, 2024
Germany	Temptation Island – Versuchung im Paradies	Angela Finger-Erben (1-2) Lola Weippert (3-)	RTL	March 6, 2019 – present
	Temptation Island VIP	Angela Finger-Erben (1) Lola Weippert (2-)		October 18, 2020 – present
Hungary	A Kísértés	Balázs Sebestyén	RTL Klub	October 8, 2004
		Tibor Kasza	TV2	September 1, 2024
India	Temptation Island India: Pyaar Ki Pariksha	Karan Kundrra Mouni Roy	JioCinema	November 3, 2023 – present
Italy	Vero amore Temptation Island	Maria De Filippi (2005) Filippo Bisciglia (2014–2019; 2021; 2023–present) Alessia Marcuzzi (2020)	Canale 5	May 19, 2005 – June 9, 2005 July 3, 2014 – July 27, 2021 June 26, 2023 – present
	Temptation Island VIP	Simona Ventura (2018) Alessia Marcuzzi (2019)		September 18, 2018 – October 14, 2019
Mexico	Confianza Ciega		SKY	2004
	Temptation Island	TBA	Amazon Prime	2024
Netherlands Belgium (Flanders)	Blind Vertrouwen	Wouter Nicolaas	V8	2001
	Temptation Island	Tine Van den Brande and Ton van Royen	VT4 V8	2002
		Tine Van den Brande and Viktor Brand	VT4 SBS6	2003–2004
		Hans Otten and Tanja Jess	VT4 Veronica	2005–2006
		Véronique De Kock and Co Roworth		2007
		Annelien Coorevits and Rick Brandsteder	VIJF RTL 5	2016–2020
Netherlands	Temptation Island VIPS	Kaj Gorgels and Yolanthe Sneijder-Cabau	Videoland	2018–2019
	Temptation Island: Love or Leave	Kaj Gorgels and Monica Geuze		2020–2021
Philippines	Love In Temptation Island	None	TV5	Supposed airdate was on 2012; Cancelled
Poland	Temptation Island Polska[23]	Michał Figurski	Polsat	September 6, 2023 – November 22, 2023
Portugal	Confiança Cega	Felipa Garnel	SIC	2001
	Ilha da Tentação	Carlos Ribeiro	TVI	2002
Romania	Temptation Island – Insula Iubirii	Radu Vâlcan Iulia Gheorghe	Antena 1	2015–present
Russia	Остров Искушений Ostrov Iskushenij	Vladislav Galkin	REN TV	October 1, 2005 – December 25, 2005
Sweden  Norway  Denmark	Temptation Island	Pontus Gårdinger (2002) Pernille Aalund (2002) Martin Björk (2003)	Kanal 5 TVNorge TVDanmark	2002–2003
Spain	Confianza Ciega	Francine Gálvez	Antena 3	January 2002
	La Isla de las Tentaciones	Mónica Naranjo (1) Sandra Barneda (2-)	Telecinco Cuatro	January 9, 2020 – present
South Africa	Temptation Island South Africa	Phat Joe	Showmax	August 26, 2021 – November 25, 2021
United Kingdom	Temptation Island UK	Ed Hall	Sky1	September 23, 2001 – March 24, 2002