Love In The Jungle Stars On How They Got In Touch With Nature On Set - Exclusive
To say the concept of Discovery+'s new reality show "Love in the Jungle" is wild would be an understatement. The dating series finds its sexy singles adopting an animal persona and attempting to navigate finding a mate like the animals do: without any words. It's a challenge for a rambunctious group of hotties used to getting by on their words and the show stops at nothing to make sure its jungle metaphor carries through.
As stars Paige and Stephan told Nicki Swift in an exclusive interview, the series' setup allowed them to "embrace" their "wild" side in a way they would have never imagined. "In the beginning, we did personality tests, which kind of helped narrow down your inner animal," Paige, the show's adorable and bubbly starfish, explained. "We really tried to embrace it, but at the end of the day ... we were really wild and just trying to act like animals in general with the nonverbal [communication] and stuff like that."
Stephan, who showed what a sting feels like as a bee, recalled "the grunts" the cast would make while trying to communicate during the show's party scenes. "Revert to the cavemen days, literally," he joked. With its one-of-a-kind premise, the reality dating series sees contestants get in touch with nature on their journey to love in the jungle.
And yes, they really were out in the wild!
Don't get us wrong, the show's entertainment lies in the way its contestants try to find love — and those mating ritual challenges — but "Love in the Jungle" also highlights the beautiful wildlife. Filmed at "a private eco-reserve in Colombia," according to Realscreen, its stars told us that despite the glamor of filming a TV show, they certainly felt what it was like to get in touch with nature.
"[Where we stayed], we call it Tarzan's mansion," Paige revealed. "There were trees ... No doors, it was completely open. So we slept under these nets [and] there were bugs and spiders. And it was a lot." As for Stephan, he won't forget "the torrential rainfall every morning that [they'd] wake up to," which occasionally delayed production. "We'd have to kind of wait for everything and the people around, so that was really the jungle experience," he said.
It wasn't all wild emotions, though. The cast certainly saw their fair share of wildlife, too. "We saw monkeys," Paige recalled. "Honestly, there were such beautiful butterflies and it was just such a beautiful environment to be in. ... Everyone really let their wild out because we were really in the jungle."
The first two episodes of "Love in the Jungle" are now streaming on Discovery+.