“It was an absolute emotional rollercoaster.”
Are You The One? UK is only a day away from hitting our screens, and if you’re a fan of the US series, you’re definitely going to be hooked on this one.
Heading into the villa in Malta is one Irish girl, Thérèse Mullaghan from Co. Antrim. The healthcare worker spoke to Her.ie ahead of the show’s premiere, and from what she could tell us about it, we’re in for a real treat.
After only a week off our screens, we’ve been missing Love Island, and AYTO’s hectic nature is set to soothe our craving for reality TV drama.
While she couldn’t tell us a whole lot of what went down in the series without giving major spoilers, she could describe just how she felt coming out of it, and boy, does it sound insane (in the best way).
Thérèse said: “I had watched bits and pieces on Netflix and I remember going ‘oh my god this is absolute chaos’ but I also can’t imagine how difficult it would be in that situation, I already thought it was going to be difficult for them to work it out but when you’re actually in it, as well, it’s even more difficult again.
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“It was an absolute emotional rollercoaster. There were laughs, there were tears, there was drama, it had everything and you really didn’t know what was around the corner. You could be sitting having a chat with someone and the next thing something’s kicking off in a different part of the villa. You just couldn’t rest easy. It was absolutely insane.”
Like the rest of the general public, the only people who have seen the final cut are the producers. While Thérèse and the rest of the cast will get an earlier viewing, it’ll only be hours before we do tomorrow, so even she isn’t 100% what will be shown.
“I don’t know how they’ll edit it, with adverts each episode will only get around 45 minutes of air time and we spend 24 hours filming for one episode. It really intrigues me to see how it’s going to be edited, what storylines are going to be kept, what crazy things that happened might get cut, we just don’t know,” she added.
“That’s also what makes it exciting for Monday as well, me seeing it for the first time too.”
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As it was filmed a while ago and we won’t know for sure what goes on until we see it, there was one thing Thérèse could say she did in the show, and she seemed sure it would make the show.
“I did cry a lot, which is actually really unlike me because I’m not a crier. I think it’s the level of emotions, the hormones, living in a house with 19 other people, everything just gets to you. Anything you see on the outside, it feels like times 100 in the villa, it’s just an emotional rollercoaster. I’m preparing myself for my ugly ass crying face.
“No matter how much you emotionally prepare yourself, and I’m very emotionally aware, but even being so sure of who you are, everything just goes up into the air. It’s a weird environment, but incredible all the same.”
Thérèse was approached for the show by MTV only a week before heading to the villa, giving her no time to process the news, let alone time for her friends and family to react. Thankfully, her family saw it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and said if she had more time to think about it, the story could have gone a lot differently.
When it comes to the reason she took part in the show, there were a few different things Thérèse wanted to come from it. And unlike other reality TV stars, her reasons were a lot different than you’d expect.
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“Irish women in reality TV are so underrepresented, it’s a privilege to be that representation, especially in the North of Ireland, there’s no female representation in reality TV. It’s a privilege.”
While this was one reason, her other was completely different. Thérèse works in psychotherapy, and to get into her master’s course, she needed more experience in mental health. After working on a psychiatric ward, she still has a year to go on her degree and is determined to finish that.
Balancing her masters as well as the fallout from the show, giving up working in her field is not an option for Thérèse.
“I do drama psychotherapy which is a more artistic form of psychotherapy and it’s so underdeveloped. So many people could benefit from it and it’s just something I’m so passionate about, something I’d never give up on. The thing that I’m hoping for the most is that the show puts me on a platform where I can reach a wider audience and let more people know that drama therapy is a thing, and it’s a really therapeutic form of psychotherapy that can help all kinds of people.
“That was my main hope, a platform that can help me with my career to help more people. That was the whole thing of why I went into the show, it really was that this could be a platform where I could reach a wider audience and help a wider audience.”
Are You The One? UK airs on MTV at 10pm on Monday, August 8th.
