Overview
- The postponed premiere aired on January 15 on ITV2 and ITVX from the Franschhoek villa in South Africa, with Maya Jama hosting.
- ITV had evacuated the site and delayed filming earlier in the week after wildfires in the Western Cape raised health and safety concerns.
- A public vote determined the initial couples: Whitney Adebayo with Jack Keating, Millie Court with Ciaran Davies, Jess Harding with Tommy Bradley, Belle Hassan with Sean Stone, Helena Ford with Charlie Frederick, and Leanne Amaning with Shaq Muhammad.
- Scott van-der-Sluis entered as the first bombshell and immediately confronted Sean Stone during the launch episode.
- A closing twist identified Shaq and Sean as in the least compatible pairings, and they were told they would not stay in the villa that night pending the next episode’s reveal.