'All of us were like 'we want that money'... I didn't expect the other side of things'. Video / NZ Herald
Tropical islands, mingling with sexy singles from around the globe and battling it out for $100,000 may sound dreamy, but what is it really like for those on screen? Heartbreak Island's Milly Forbes explains the triumphs and troughs of her life on screen.
Earlier this year Milly Forbes "dropped off the face of the earth".
She hadn't been on social media in months, she wasn't living in her flat, and rumours were swirling, questioning whether the 24-year-old was in rehab.
"It was really hard being away from my best friends, and the people that genuinely care about me and not speaking to them for so long. And when you come back you're like 'I just have so much to talk to you about but also so much that I can't tell you'."
Milly Forbes, a 24-year-old criminology student and childcare teacher, is one of the 16 contestants vying for $100,000 on this season of Heartbreak Island.
The show is filmed in Fiji and this year the singles flew in from around the globe to pair-up, face challenges and stay or stray from their partners.
"People are kind of asking you questions and you're like, 'I can't say'. Until they released the cast of Heartbreak Island and everyone was like, that's where you were."
Going into it Forbes said she wasn't allowed to tell her friends or flatmates where she was going or what she was doing. Just her mum and dad knew what was going on.
"It was really hard being away from my mum, I cried on the show about it."
The show tested her, she had a few breakdowns and said the only time they didn't have a camera on them was on the toilet.
"I would go and sit in there and just be like, some me time."
Milly Forbes and her co-star Ashleigh Williams. Photo / Supplied
Even in the bedroom she said there was a camera above the bed and a recording device near their heads.
Although there were spicy situations while filming, she told the Herald she was "surprised" by how "PG" the show came out after editing.
"It was quite frisky in terms of the cast, obviously we're quite extroverted individuals so throw us all on an island together it's going to get a bit mental."
Forbes said she was happy they kept it "tame" in the editing, "quite a few of us are like, oh thank god".
But even if they hadn't, Forbes felt confident in her relationship with her parents so she wasn't worried about them seeing her hooking up with people.
"My dad was like, 'I will not be watching', but he has been.
"When I was like living at home and I'd bring boys back, I'd bring them out the next morning. I'd be like: Hi Mum and Dad, this is blah blah blah."
On finding love onscreen, Forbes said it was weird for her to be vulnerable on camera and with people she doesn't know well.
"I am renowned for having walls up and getting the ick and all those things. I'm quite an insensitive human when it comes to that."
Right now on the show her and her Heartbreak Island love interest, Bailey Neate, are still going strong, but she is unable to reveal whether they've taken their relationship off camera.
"I went in there going I want to win. I think when there's 100,000 dangled in front of you, all of us were like we want that money. I didn't expect the other side of things that unfolded on there.
"You have to trust the singular person that you're with, and that's where I think Bailey and I did really well because I never doubted him."
While she was on the island she said her mental health was really good, however it all hit her when she got home.
Re-joining the "real world" was a shock to Forbes who said coming from a place where people could "stab" you in the back at any second meant she had to learn to trust again.
"You turn into a robot on there, you're like a well-trained dog. Do this, be here, do this, smile now, you know. So you become trained, [and] getting back into your own world you're like okay I have to fend for myself again and just adjusting to real life things.
"The weird thing is getting comfortable again with just being alone, because you were never alone there."
Thankfully Forbes said she hadn't had any negative comments from the public and she wasn't concerned about how she would be portrayed on screen as she had been herself while filming.
Heartbreak Island contestant Milly Forbes. Photo / Supplied
She told the Herald she was more worried about what viewers' opinions may have been of her as she believes "not everyone is going to like you".
Going through this experience solidified for Forbes how much growth she has gone through as a person and allowed her to experience something that most people never will, but she doesn't have any plans for a round two.
