Love Island? Forget it... Eden pair are the original reality TV show lovebirds
STARVATION, blazing rows and extreme weather conditions – it hardly sounds like a recipe for true love.
Yet for two of the participants on the reality show Eden, romance blossomed amid the hardships of surviving in the Scottish wilderness.
With the Channel 4 show set to return to our screens next month, The Scottish Mail on Sunday can reveal that artist and marine conservationist Katie Tunn and vet Robert Pattinson are still in a relationship.
The participants fell for each other soon after their arrival on the remote Ardnamurchan peninsula in Inverness-shire for the radical, year-long television project. Not only did their relationship flourish while the cameras were rolling, they remain together months after returning to a ‘normal life’.
Their sweet screen courtship is a far cry from the antics of ITV’s bawdy Love Island, in which young singles are housed in a Spanish villa to see if any fall in love.
This year’s show – won by lovedup duo Kem Cetinay and Amber Davies – featured couples having sex, nudity and swearing.
Eden was billed as a ‘unique social experiment’ when it was first broadcast last summer. But the utopian dream quickly descended into a nightmare and it was taken off air after only four episodes.
The participants continued to live on site, unaware their story was not being shared with a television audience. Power struggles and lack of food led to desertions and rule-breaking, and only ten of the original group of 23 managed to last for the full 12 months.
The producers have been forced to rebrand the programme Eden: Paradise Lost to reflect the fact that it turned out to be more Lord Of The Flies than Swallows And Amazons. But Miss Tunn has admitted her relationship with the camp’s vet was strengthened by the struggles they faced.
The 31-year-old, who now lives on Skye with her 29-year-old boyfriend, told The Scottish Mail on Sunday: ‘Eden was a pressure cooker but we hope if we can get through that, we can get through anything. We definitely saw each other’s worst sides much earlier on than in your average relationship.’
She said she had not expected to find love on the programme, but was grateful for it when she felt homesick. Miss Tunn added: ‘Having always been very independent, the idea of becoming part of an on-screen couple wasn’t something I’d ever have predicted.
‘Being away from my family and friends was the hardest thing about being on Eden.
‘Having lived in a similar environment on Skye before I took part, the weather and winter wasn’t a problem, but I really missed everything about home.’
A source close to the programme said: ‘There were a few relationships in the camp over the year but the only one to last on the outside was Katie and Rob.
‘Everyone else went their separate ways but Katie and Rob bonded over a very unique experience that few others could ever understand and have a strong relationship.
‘Katie stayed the full year while Rob left a few months before the end, but he respected that she wanted to wait it out and he was there waiting when she finished.
‘Their story is such a positive one and shows that love conquers all.’
The source added: ‘The producers have completely rebranded the programme. It didn’t work out as planned but they don’t want it to look like a failure, so they are now trying to make good out of bad.
‘Everything they are going to focus on is dark and quite negative and some of the participants are upset that their year in Eden will be pretty much ignored to make way for those who fought.
‘Everyone who was on the show has really struggled to live a normal life since they got out.’
‘We definitely saw each other’s worst sides’