The first season of the show was filmed on
Ambergris Caye in
Belize. Season 1 premiered on January 10, 2001, and aired its finale on February 28, 2001. The debut episode drew 16 million viewers. The show attracted controversy from the outset, which Fox hoped would drive ratings. Four male contestants lived in one section with a dozen female models, and the four female contestants lived in another section with a dozen attractive men. The initial couples were
Kaya Wittenburg and Valerie Penso,
Mandy Lauderdale and Billy Cleary, Ytossie Patterson and Taheed Watson, and Andy Lukei and Shannon Roghair. Producers removed Patterson and Watson from the show when they learned that the pair had children together. The remaining three couples continued. Season 2 premiered on October 31, 2001, and delivered poor ratings. After a nearly two-year layoff, a third edition of the series premiered on August 28, 2003. Like Season 2, Season 3 also delivered poor ratings.
Mark L. Walberg hosted all three editions. Reruns once aired on
Hulu, but are no longer available there. A revamped version of the show, once again hosted by Walberg, premiered on the
USA Network on January 15, 2019. USA Network announced the show was renewed for a fifth season on February 26, 2019. On August 22, 2019, it was announced that the fifth season would premiere on October 10, 2019. On January 28, 2021, it was announced that the sixth season would premiere on February 16, 2021. On January 26, 2024, it was reported that the series would be moving from USA Network to
Netflix. On April 17, 2025, Netflix renewed the series for a tenth season. ==Episodes==