Stranded on Honeymoon Island contestant Amy Dickinson takes us behind the scenes on Seven's reality series
A bold new reality dating series is hitting screens this Monday — and it might just have the craziest premise yet.
Stranded on Honeymoon Island sees 12 unlucky-in-love Aussie singles paired off after a speed-dating event.
They have no idea who they've been matched with before saying 'I do' to a complete stranger.
Sound familiar? Not so fast: not long after, they are turfed overboard from a boat and forced to swim in their wedding gear to a nearby deserted island, where they will spend 21 days living together as bride and groom.
The unique dating experiment, narrated by radio identity Jackie O, has been described as 'Survivor meets MAFS', and is certainly not for the faint of heart.
But as Stranded on Honeymoon Island contestant Amy Dickinson explains, after a string of failed romances, she had nothing left to lose.
'I have a history of failed relationships. Basically, I have got a tendency to choose a narcissist,' the 30-year-old said.
'All of the sort of bad traits you can imagine in a man, I somehow gravitate towards them.'
When Dickinson decided to apply, the
TikTok star
, who has documented her disastrous dating stories for her followers, was fresh from a stint living abroad in Amsterdam, where she had fallen hard for a man who wasn't what he seemed.
'I had fallen in love while I was there (with) this amazing man … who turned out to be a pathological liar,' she said.
Dickinson, co-founder of The Social Summit, a conference for creators, marketers and brands, was sent an ad for Seven's new series, 'and I thought, 'OK. Well, you know what, I am not doing a very good job of selecting the men that I date, maybe someone else can do a better job than I can?'.'
Fast forward, and she's swimming to shore alongside her new groom, TV motoring host Mike Dawes, 38.
The couple must live together in a small gazebo open to the elements for the duration of the experiment, meeting up with the five other couples — each on their own nearby deserted island — at regular scheduled catch-ups at 'Couples Cove'.
Every few days, a mysterious crate will wash ashore, containing memories, news from home and games designed to help the couples connect with one another and the other contestants.
Throughout, each couple will have the choice to stay or to 'flare', essentially tapping out of the experiment, and once everyone's time on their islands concludes, each bride and groom will reunite to make their final promises to one another.
It's certainly not going to be an easy road. Everyone is stranded with just the basics, and only the clothes they wash ashore in — ingenuity is the order of the day.
'You had to get very creative,' Dickinson said.
'And I really enjoyed that side of things, because it was a lot of problem solving, which I really love.'
She and Dawes certainly got creative, fashioning couture out of their cut-up wedding outfits, and using Dickinson's net skirt for other purposes.
'I attempted to craft a hair brush out of a few different things, but I would probably say they failed,' she said.
'At one point I was using the heels I was given on the wedding day as a mortar and pestle to grind up different things — we had to get creative.'
For Dickinson, the hardest part of the experience was undoubtedly the isolation, and the fact she was sharing her experience with a total stranger — if you've seen her explosive promo trailer, you'll know it's not smooth-sailing ahead for the couple.
'We were totally isolated and I think that was the hardest thing for me — not being able to confide in family and friends,' she said.
'And you can't run background checks on anyone via social media.
'You have got to take things at face value, because these days when you date you just Google them, right?
'Well, I obviously didn't with my pathological liar, but now I know that trick!'
MILF Manor (2023):
Sounding suspiciously like the fictional format mentioned on Tina Fey's 30 Rock, this show premiered for real in 2023, and saw eight mums dating each other's sons on a reality dating competition. Yikes!
Dating Naked (2014):
Exactly what it describes, this long-running series sees people dating…in the buff! It's surprising how quickly you forget they're all totally starkers. Gross and fascinating, all at the same time.
Kid Nation (2007)
: 40 children aged 8 to 15 were packed off to New Mexico to build a functioning society from scratch. This US reality series went just about as well as you'd expect (it was cancelled after one season).
I Wanna Marry 'Harry' (2014):
Twelve American women competed for the affection of Prince Harry. Spoiler alert: it wasn't him, but a lookalike named Matthew Hicks. It lasted four eps before being yanked from screens.
Playing it Straight (2004):
The Aussie version of this show saw 23 year-old Rebecca Olds romanced by 12 male suitors, half of whom were gay. If the gay contestant tricked her into choosing him at the end, he got $200k. Um…what?
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