Temptation Island‘s Mark L Walberg ‘Can't Help But Coach' Couples During Bonfires—But Is He a Real Therapist?
Netflix keeps upping the ante with its reality TV dating show offerings. Temptation Island is the newest one, and it feels like as wild as shows like Love is Blind and The Ultimatum were, those are nothing compared to what the streamer discovered in this one. The premise in itself is as absurd as it sounds. Four couples come to an island to 'test their love' and see if they can resist temptation by placing the men and women in separate villas filled with eligible singles.
Then they go on dates with said singles and see if they can resist temptation or if they discover a new connection on the island. But Temptation Island isn't actually a new idea, even though this version is being treated as the first season of the show. Instead, this new iteration, hosted by Mark L. Walberg, originally aired on Fox and later on USA Network. If we want to get technical, this would be the ninth season.
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The four couples on this new version are Ashley and Grant, who have been dating for 1.5 years, Alexa and Lino, who have been dating for 3.5 years, Brion and Shante, who have been dating for 1 year and Tayler and Tyler, who have been dating for 2.5 years. They're still getting advice from the same man who has been giving advice on this show for going on nine seasons, Mark L. Walberg. And Walberg remains a fan favorite for his very good advice, to the point that people have started wondering if he has any actual training for it. So, is Temptation Island's Mark L Walberg a real therapist?
Temptation Island's Mark L Walberg isn't a real therapist, though he's been doing this job for nine seasons, so forgive him if at this point, he kind of sounds like one. In an interview with Variety, executive producers David Goldberg and David Friedman spoke about Walberg, explaining that he doesn't know what he's going to see in the bonfires ahead of time, so his reaction is genuine.
'Mark isn't a licensed psychotherapist, but, he's been associated with the show for so long, and he's probably qualified to be one,' Goldberg said.
'What he does is remarkable. He has no official training in psychotherapy. What he does in that moment is amazing, because he is looking at a person in their eyes having just seen a shower scene or whatever, and he asks, 'Tell me how you're feeling.' And he's got to figure out how to deal with [the answer],' Friedman added, to which Goldberg then explained. 'And sometimes their reactions aren't genuine, in which case he'll say, 'OK. Now tell me how you really feel.'
Walberg has always been clear about his lack of training. 'The only way I know how to host anything is to bring my authentic self. When I'm sitting across this bonfire with these young people grappling with all these questions and problems, I can't help but coach them through things based on what I know from my own life. I tell them the advice I give is exactly what they paid for it. I'm a game show host. I'm not a therapist. But I am a husband, a father, a son and all these things. The only thing I can bring to this is I've failed more than they've tried, so maybe I can help,' he told TV Insider.
Fans have had plenty of praise for Walberg, too, saying 'He's unbelievably good at bringing out truths and getting to the bottom of feelings,' and 'He transforms those people.' And hey, it might not be an actual therapist, but this is a TV show. And it does seem to be helping, so there is that.
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