Shannon Raddler is giving love a second chance on Married at First Sight: Honeymoon Island after being dumped by Vanessa Nelson on Married at First Sight: Second Chances.
The 33-year-old Atlanta resident will be one of the 16 sexy singles looking for their soulmate, with the help of the Married at First Sight experts, on a stunning exotic island. Prior to the Lifetime series’ Tuesday, Oct. 23 premiere at 10 p.m. ET, Raddler opened up to PopCulture.com about his decision to give finding love on reality TV another try.
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“I had to kind of talk myself into it,” he admitted. “Do I want the world to watch me getting to know this person again?”
He also had to contend with being dumped by Nelson the last time he appeared on a Married at First Sight show. “It was kind of difficult to get dumped, but it wasn’t a bad thing, because if it didn’t work out, it didn’t work out,” he said, adding of his time on Honeymoon Island, “If I get dumped again, I get dumped again.”
The format of Honeymoon Island, which allows cast members to meet each other in person before deciding if there’s a love connection, also appealed to him.
“For me, it makes more sense, because you can’t match chemistry,” he said, adding, “It’s a chemistry thing with me. You can have someone on paper who’s perfect, but if there’s no chemistry…”
In the end, he thought about how if people were running into their soulmates at church or in their friend groups, “Why not? Why not at Honeymoon Island?”
It’s not just a show about singles on an island, however. Everyone on the show is a person who applied to be on Married at First Sight in previous seasons, but was unable to be matched at that time. The seriousness of his fellow castmates and the potential for spending a lot of serious time getting to know a romantic interest was also of interest.
“You’re secluded on this island, so it forces you to get to know this person,” he said, adding, “You don’t have the worries and stress of everyday life.”
He wouldn’t admit to any special connections he had with any other islanders during the season, but did admit he was “nervous,” to meet all of the eligible people on the island.
“I stressed a lot about it,” he admitted.
But will Raddler finally find his happily ever after?
Married at First Sight: Honeymoon Island (produced by Kinetic Content), premieres Tuesday, Oct. 23 at 10 p.m. ET. on Lifetime.
Photo credit: Rose Marie Cromwell/Lifetime
