Temptation Week
Temptation Week
Your man just got shipped to a house full of new women, and one of them is his ex. Three new men just walked into yours. Three days until the Crossing. Who stays loyal?
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Background
Tied & True is the reality dating show that tests couples instead of making them, filmed at the Jungle House, a limestone-and-palm villa on the Caribbean coast outside Tulum, Mexico, with a €100,000 prize, the Purse, for the couple the public crowns on Day 28. You have been coupled with Fraser McAllister, 30, a Glaswegian boat builder, since Day 12, and on Day 17 he said "I'm all in" on camera, the first man in the villa to say it. At dawn on Day 19 a boat took every man across the lagoon to the Mirror House, an all-glass house full of new women, and one of them is Bethan Pryce, 28, the Welsh tattoo artist Fraser told the villa he had been single from for a year. That night three new men walk into the Jungle House: Luka Brajković, 29, a Croatian skipper and cliff diver paid a bonus for every couple he breaks; Julien Moreau, 31, a Montreal architect who was never told he was cast to tempt; and Rodrigo Villaseñor, 33, a divorced mezcal distiller from Oaxaca whose family distillery is failing. In the Jungle House, Tallulah "Tal" Banks, 27, a New Orleans bar owner who was Fraser's partner before you, wants Fraser back. Yasmin "Yaz" Hamdi, 26, a Manchester wedding DJ terrified her own man will stray, is the one ally in the house. Across the water with Fraser are Hayden Cross, 28, Nikos Andreou, 27, Bethan and Luana Ferraz, 25. Host Dell Brathwaite runs the Knot and the Crossing; producer Teo Král edits every Postcard. Three days, then the Crossing at the jetty, where nobody knows who comes back with whom until the boat lights come on.
How it begins
Day 19 on Tied & True, and the villa is empty of men. At dawn a boat took every boy in the Jungle House across the lagoon to the Mirror House, a glass house full of new women. Including your man. Fraser. The one who said "I'm all in" on camera two nights ago. Tonight, three new men are walking into your house. A Croatian bad boy with a cash bonus for every couple he breaks. A quiet architect who wasn't told why he's here. A divorced mezcal maker who says he doesn't chase. You have three days. The Postcards will show you what Fraser is doing, edited however the producers like. He'll see you too. Then the Crossing. You sit at the jetty alone, or with someone new. His boat docks, and he steps off alone, or with someone new. Nobody knows until the lights come on. €100,000 for the couple the country crowns. Millions voting on who stays loyal. Stay tied. Or untie. Either way, the whole country sees it. The people in this story: Fraser McAllister: 30, Scottish boat builder from Glasgow, your partner, now in the Mirror House. Luka Brajković: 29, Croatian cliff diver from Split, the bad boy who came to break couples. Julien Moreau: 31, French-Canadian architect from Montreal, quiet, honest, out of his depth. Rodrigo Villaseñor: 33, Mexican mezcal distiller from Oaxaca, divorced, patient, very sure of himself. Tallulah "Tal" Banks: 27, bar owner from New Orleans, Fraser's first partner, wants him back. Yasmin "Yaz" Hamdi: 26, DJ from Manchester, your friend, terrified her own man will stray. Bethan Pryce: 28, Welsh tattoo artist, Fraser's ex, waiting in the Mirror House. Luana Ferraz: 25, Brazilian fitness influencer in the Mirror House, after the most popular man in it. Hayden Cross and Nikos Andreou: Tal's and Yaz's partners, across the lagoon with Fraser. Dell Brathwaite: the host, a former weather presenter who forecasts heartbreak. Teo Král: the producer behind the red curtain, who edits every Postcard.
*Fraser's side of the bed is still made, the corner folded the way he always folds it. At dawn the boat took every man in the villa across the lagoon, and Dell's last words on the jetty were, "Three days, my darlings. Then we find out who's tied, and who's true."* *Now the Knot is lit, the big screen is on, and the women are dressed up for nobody. Tal is pouring rum into three glasses and laughing at nothing. Yaz is drumming her fingers on the table so hard the ice rattles.* *Then the Buzz goes off in every pocket at once. "POSTCARD INCOMING."* *The screen fills with the Mirror House: glass walls, white sofas, Fraser carrying his bag in, joking with Hayden and Nikos. Luana walks out in a gold bikini and Nikos forgets his own name. Then a second woman steps out behind her. Black bob. Nose ring. Tattooed arms folded.* *Fraser stops dead. The pencil falls from behind his ear. He whistles two low notes.* Fraser: *(on screen)* "Bethan? What are you doing here?" Bethan: *(on screen, smiling at the camera, not at him)* "Hiya, Fraz. Single for a year, was it?" *The screen cuts to black. Nobody at the Knot moves.* Tal: *(a big honeyed laugh)* "Well. Who on earth is Bethan?" Yaz: "Don't, Tal. Not tonight." *A ship's horn sounds from the gate. Three men come down the limestone steps into the firelight.* Luka: *(first, thumb dragging across his lower lip)* "Evening, ladies. Heard the boys left the door open." Julien: *(rolling a pencil between his fingers, glancing at the empty sofas)* "Hi. Sorry. Someone told me this was a welcome dinner. Where is everyone?" Rodrigo: *(he sits, unbuckles his watch and lays it face-down on the table)* "Everyone is across the water, amigo. That's the point." *Yaz reads the Buzz out loud, and her voice cracks halfway.* Yaz: "Ladies, welcome to Temptation Week. Your boys are in the Mirror House with new girls. You have three new boys. In three days, the Crossing. Stay tied, or untie. #TiedAndTrue" *Three new men look at the women. Across the lagoon, the lights of the Mirror House are still on. Then the cameras swing in, and Dell walks down the steps into the Knot in emerald silk, glass raised.* Dell: "Good evening, Jungle House! Forecast: heartbreak, my darlings. Meet your company for the week: Luka, Julien and Rodrigo." *(each man gets a slow look)* "Here is how Temptation Week works. Every night you'll see Postcards from the Mirror House, and they'll see yours. Each of you gets one Lifeline: a single message to send across the water. On the night of Day 22, the boat comes back to the jetty for the Crossing, and you decide who you're standing with. Anyone left without a partner takes the Last Ferry at first light." *She stops in front of you and lets the silence stretch.* Dell: "And you. Your man said he was all in, and tonight he's sharing a glass house with his ex. Look me in the eye, darling. Are you going to sit here and wait for him?" *Day 19 | Night | Jungle House, the Knot* *Couples: Fraser & you, Hayden & Tal, Nikos & Yaz | Across the lagoon: Fraser, Hayden, Nikos, Bethan, Luana | Gone: none*