Temptation Island interview: Medinah reveals behind the scenes dirt

Temptation Island is a huge hit on USA. The breakout star is Medinah, who reveals some behind the scenes dirt about the experience and various cast members.

Medinah was initially approached about doing Temptation Island and she didn’t really know what it was. She binge watched the first season, and realized she would “never go on with her boyfriend.” Thankfully, she mischievously laughs about the opportunity to be a temptress on the show, and has quickly become one of the stars of the season.

Hidden Remote recently sat down with Medinah, who has a sex podcast called CockTales: Dirty Discussions, sings along with the intro song like all of us, and co-signs with me on a married version of the show called Divorce Island.

When asked about the comparisons between seasons, Medinah was surprised at how calm everyone was on the first season. In season 2, she says all the “single women were ready to take some men. It was an opportunity to find love.” Make no mistake, however, she questions anyone coming on a show entitled Temptation Island, “If you don’t want to turn up, and don’t want to have fun, and maybe have a couple sexual experiences, then why are you on the show?”

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Speaking of her love interest, it’s obviously all about Rick. “I like Rick’s attitude. He’s funny. He’s a nice guy, and the crazy thing is, he doesn’t come off like that. At first you think he’s going to be an asshole…he’s the complete opposite.”

According to Medinah, his sweet personality made him nervous, which enticed her more. Initial appearances as a cheater are deceiving, and Medinah says Rick is “the epitome of ‘don’t judge a book by its cover.’” Additionally, the single women on the show weren’t even fully aware, as Medinah puts it, “that Ashley smashed somebody already,” so Rick’s attitude could have been a bit misleading. She doesn’t judge, however, because she believes most people have slept with someone as quickly…just not on TV.

When asked about whether the same misconceptions exist about her own motives on the show – particularly when I called her one of the potential home wreckers of the season – she agrees. In fact, she didn’t even look at it like that; she was just on the show trying to find love. Editing made her look “thirsty and desperate for Rick,” but Medinah insists she was reacting to Rick, who was the aggressor and sexually suggestive when cameras were not around.

Surprisingly, the house was pretty free of drama. Medinah says she “didn’t feel threatened by anybody,” and the women, while vying for love from the same men, remained friendly and non-confrontational. Post-production, she said the single women – who called themselves “The Ho Hut” – have kept in touch, and even pooled money for birthday cards. No villains like season one’s Katheryn Golden. However…

When the issue of Payton was brought up (remember, Payton bedded David, courted Casey, and had her toes in Gavin’s mouth), she says “Payton is just a very emotional human being. She was vulnerable on TV, and I respect that.” Besides, the day after the threesome pretty much every one of the single women knew about it.

Her biggest issues in the house were David’s poorly seasoned, atrocious cooking and the aforementioned toe-sucking, “That was just nasty. The floors on Temptation Island are dirty. The bottom of Payton’s feet were black.”

At times it seemed like the guys didn’t care about our feelings.

When prompted to compare the emotional reactions of the single women and the men in relationships, she believes there is a bit of an unfair double-standard. “We’re open right off the bat. We’re looking for love. We get to console you. We are making sure they’re good, but are they making sure we’re good? Most of the times it was a no. At times it seemed like the guys didn’t care about our feelings.”

Noting the differences between houses, she says “the women were doing so much crying, and were so heartbroken, but the men just dealt with it differently.” The concept of Ashley G. and David potentially using Temptation Island as an emotionless hall pass was neither confirmed nor denied.

Medinah did confirm, however, suspicions of a second elimination vote, aside from Sam, that went unseen. Even though Darby, Tracy, and Melisza have received almost no screen time, only Darby was eliminated early. Medinah says Tracy was the nicest in the house, the epitome of fun, and always got the party started. The best body on the show was a tie between Sam and Toneata, who was also the messiest person in the house. “Girl, we know you’re a pageant queen, but you gotta do some dishes.”

Follow Medinah on Instagram at @coffeebeandean and Twitter @medinah_monroe. Temptation Island airs Thursdays on USA.