One of the therapists on Channel 4 series Virgin Island has lifted the lid on what really went on behind the scenes of the hit show.
Joy Rigel – who’s told Entertainment Daily she’s considering not returning for the second series – joined the Channel 4 show as an emotional intimacy coach. Trained as a surrogate partner, Joy decided against appearing on the show in that capacity because she felt it would be “too much”.
Now, speaking exclusively to ED!, Joy has revealed what really happened when Virgin Island star Jason climaxed during one of their sessions; how she defied producers’ orders by staying in touch with two of the participants; and why she’s upset at producers for only focusing on the physical aspect of her work…
Joy Rigel was one of the intimacy coaches on Channel 4 series Virgin Island (Credit: Supplied)
Virgin Island therapist ‘nervous’ about signing up for Channel 4 show
Joy said Virgin Island producers got in touch with her and asked her to be one of the surrogate partners on the show. Surrogate partners do everything an actual partner would do in terms of intimacy, including full penetrative sex. On the show, only one of the participants lost their virginity with a surrogate partner – scenes which were blasted by many viewers.
And it’s something Joy was really wary of when it came to signing up. “I was nervous about it because being a surrogate is very misunderstood. And a lot of people just can’t do it,” she said. “I ended up not going on as a surrogate because I just felt like it would be too much.”
Joy added that she’s actually stopped working as a sex surrogate now because she found that “when people feel sex is possibly on the table, it closes the potential for an emotional connection”.
“As soon as the idea that sex is on table, it changes the energy,” she said. “But if we just take sex off the table, something really beautiful opens up. And that is what I did with Virgin Island and the participants.”
Joy worked with Jason on the show and he even reached climax in scenes shown during Virgin Island (Credit: Channel 4)
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