Temptation Island's third-season premiere introduced four new couples at a crossroads trying to determine whether they want to stay together and a batch of 24 singles looking to break up the relationships during Tuesday night's episode on USA Network.
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Chelsea and Thomas had dated for over a year before applying to appear on Temptation Island.
Chelsea and Thomas met through a mutual friend and he slid into her DMs on social media.
Thomas said he was a bachelor who changed his ways once he met Chelsea. The couple apparently read and meditate together and have a beautiful scheduled life, but Chelsea apparently didn't trust her man.
Chelsea accused Thomas of being flirtatious, but Thomas believed Chelsea was projecting her past of failed relationships into their romance.
"The whole point of going to this island is to see if he can keep it in his pants," Chelsea told the cameras.
Next up was Los Angeles-based couple Erica Washington, a 24-year-old personal assistant, and Kendal Kirkland, a 26-year-old business owner. They were dating for two years when they signed up for the show.
Kendal called Erica "bubbly and charismatic" and said he was already thinking about his future and the family he's going to have.
Erica said Kendal strived for excellence in everything he does and pushes her to the same, which can sometimes leave her feeling like she's not enough or good enough for him.
Kendal shared how he doesn't believe in divorce or separation and so he needed to figure out if Erica was truly the woman for him who could be his future wife. Erica wished her man good luck with finding a girl who's willing to wake up at 4AM with him and cook fresh food.
Viewers were then introduced to New Jersey-based couple Kristen Ramos, a 26-year-old physical therapist and Julian Allen, a 26-year-old personal trainer.
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Kristen and Julian were together for a whopping 11 years prior to Temptation Island.
Kristen and Julian met freshman year of high school, but Julian admitted their relationship wasn't perfect because he had been unfaithful to her.
Kristen said she wasn't going to deal with infidelity moving forward and so this dating-singles experience was very serious to the both of them.
"He always says, 'If it were up to me, I would propose to you tomorrow,' and I always tell him, 'Please don't do that because I'm not ready.' If he betrays me again, I will have to let him go for myself," Kristen revealed.
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And the final couple is San Diego-based Erin Smith, a 24-year-old behavioral therapist and Corey Sobczyk, a 25-year-old concierge manager. Erin and Corey had been involved for one-and-a-half years before their Temptation Island stint.
Erin and Corey met at work when Corey served as her boss. She thought he was the most attractive guy she had ever seen, and Corey confessed he was drawn to her "crazy."
Erin played Division I soccer at Rutgers and was drafted to play professionally, so she was used to dating pro athletes and living the fast life. Corey, on the other hand, is pretty shy, reserved and not outspoken, so Erin wasn't convinced they're a perfect match.
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"This opportunity is something I really need, and I feel terrible saying it," Erin told the cameras, adding that she needed to find out whether Corey was truly The One for her.
Temptation Island will follow these four dating couples at a pivotal time in their relationship in which they must decide whether to stay committed to each other for the rest of their lives, go their separate ways as singles, or leave the island with a new partner.
Once the four couples touched down in Maui, they met host Mark L. Walberg on the beach and then enjoyed a champagne toast.
The cast was then joined by the 24 eligible men and women -- 12 men and 12 women -- who introduced themselves one at a time to show the couples a glimpse of their good looks and personalities. About half of the singles were spotlighted.
Lauren "Tula" Poindexter, a 28-year-old digital content creator from Waldorf, MD, revealed she had been crowned "Miss Louisiana" and was ready to secure her king.
Dr. Blake Eyres, a 34-year-old dentist from St. Louis, MO, called himself "Dr. Blake" and said he's ready to brighten a girl's smile. Blake actually pointed at Chelsea out of the group and she winked at him.
Amanda Spain-Butts, a 24-year-old operations coordinator from Austin, TX, shared how she's a microbiology lab tech. She said it's been "scientifically proven" that she's "irresistible to men."
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David Silvia, a 27-year-old sales representative from Barrington, RI, bragged about how he was ready to make a steal and close a deal -- and then he smacked himself on the butt.
Sophia Perez, a 22-year-old makeup artist from Miami, FL, said she's ready to spice up the men's love lives, and Erica had to tell Kendal -- who said Sophia was "doing her thing" -- that he wasn't there to support the single women.
Lex Lindquist, a 28-year-old event planner from Miami, FL, said he was looking for the woman of his dreams, and he winked at Kristen. Julian joked with his girlfriend that Lex looked short.
Katrina Koomen, a 22-year-old model from Novi, MI, revealed her long legs have helped her modeling career and playing collegiate soccer.
"Just imagine how great they'll be wrapped around you," Katrina said, before Kristen pictured "a spider."
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Nickole Ciszak, a 22-year-old marketing manager from Oak Ridge, NJ, revealed that she was born on April Fool's Day but it was "no joke" that she was about to steal somebody's man.
Griffin Libhart, a 25-year-old business owner from Baltimore, MD, is a retired pro soccer player who said he wanted to take a shot at the goal to find true love.
Alexcys Homan, a 23-year-old personal assistant from Van Nuys, CA, told Erica that she'd be seeing her in some clips at the bonfire with her man.
"She's not talking to me," Eric said, before looking at Kendal and saying, "Don't drop a dime for a nickel. Okay?"
Alexcys apparently gave Kendal "some serious eye contact" on her way out, according to Kendal.
And Tom Triola, a 27-year-old masonry co. owner from Woodbridge, NJ, said he's a good Italian boy who wanted to show them what he could do with his hands -- "in the kitchen."
Julian and Tom went tit for tat a little bit over their shared New Jersey roots, but Tom said he wasn't concerned with Julian and was only concerned with his girl.
Mark told the four couples that the singles selected have many of the qualities they were looking for in a partner.
Erin said she didn't have any regrets but after seeing the singles come out, she was beginning to question whether she had made the right choice in appearing on the show.
The girls and guys in established relationships then moved into their separate villas in which the guys would be living with the 12 single girls and the four women would be living with the 12 single guys.
The next day, the girls talked about Tom's first impression. They could tell he was aggressive and confident.
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Meanwhile, Kendal revealed to the ladies he and Erica had set no rules for Temptation Island.
Dr. Blake was quickly drawn to Chelsea, who complained about Thomas checking out other women when they're together and having a wandering eye. Blake suggested Chelsea shouldn't live the rest of her life with somebody like that.
Chelsea couldn't help but think about how Tom was behaving at the guys' villa because she didn't trust him.
Jesse Stephanos, a 25-year-old business owner from Palm Beach Gardens, FL, then struck up a conversation with Kristen while Julian chatted with Amanda, who said she had just gotten out of a nine-year relationship.
Tom was convinced he could make a woman fall in love with him in less than a week, but Erica wasn't impressed and questioned what his real intentions were. Erica said it seemed like Tom just wanted to wake up in bed next to her, and she thought his game was weak and gross.
Alexcys said tends to go for bad boys, and so she went after Kendal. Alexcys told Kendal that she really wanted to get to know him because her personality is even better than her looks.
That night, the established couples reunited for a final dinner before going their separate ways for the rest of the season.
Kristen and Julian said they didn't set rules for themselves, but Chelsea admitted she needed rules because Tom had once asked if it's okay to have a woman sitting on his bed.
Thomas insisted he was just asking a question and it was ridiculous for Chelsea to be calling him out on that in front of the group. Thomas said he just wanted to hear such behavior would be inappropriate or fine, that there should be nothing wrong with just asking.
Kristen admitted she was nervous about being vulnerable in front of strangers she didn't trust and on-camera, but Julian told her that she's the strongest person he's ever met and the goal was to leave Temptation Island as better individuals so they could be a stronger couple at the end of the process.
Thomas and Chelsea then bickered before the journey began, but Thomas noted that he loved his girlfriend and would miss her.
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Corey said he was going to work on loving and being proud of himself, and Erin acknowledged that she pushed Corey away at times due to her insecurities. Erin said she just wanted Corey to be happy, even if it meant being with someone else.
"You're the best thing that's ever happened to me," Corey told Erin before they were required to part ways. "I am scared sh-tless, babe. I don't want to lose you."
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
