Choice ceremony and elimination rules

To illustrate the mechanics of the choice ceremony, the following example is provided using these fictional couples:

1. Anna and Adam
2. Barbra and Bob
3. Connie and Carl
4. Daisy and Doug

Couples are ordered by their finish in the previous day's challenge. (The gender that chooses first from each couple alternates with each ceremony; i.e., if women go first in one ceremony, men will go first in the next ceremony.)

Anna may choose first whether she would like to stay with Adam or ask someone else to partner with her. Because she and Adam finished first, if either of them wishes to partner with someone else, the other contestant cannot refuse. Anna chooses to stay with Adam, and Adam chooses to stay with Anna. They move on together.

Barbra and Bob are next. Barbra asks Carl to be her partner, and Carl accepts, so Barbra and Carl move on together. Bob asks Connie to be his partner, and Connie refuses. Bob moves to the Singles Area.

Connie may now choose between asking Doug or Bob to partner with her (despite having already rejected Bob). Connie asks Doug to be her partner, and Doug accepts. Connie and Doug move on.

Daisy and Bob are the final two unmatched contestants, and are eliminated.

If Doug had refused to partner with Connie, Connie would have joined Bob in the Singles Area. Daisy and Doug would then each choose to either stay together or ask Bob or Connie to partner up. If Daisy and Doug then both chose to stay together, Daisy and Doug would move on despite finishing last in the challenge, and Bob and Connie would be eliminated.

If there are more than two contestants in the Singles Area after all couples have chosen, the single contestants (in the order of their arrival in the Singles Area) may attempt again to create a partnership with one of the other singles. If all the single contestants continue to decline any partnerships with each other, they will all be eliminated. This feature resulted in the double elimination of Season 1, Episode 6, when the four remaining Singles Area competitors were unable to form any couples.

The show format gives a strong advantage to loyal couples, as they are guaranteed to move ahead as long as they do not finish last in a challenge. (Even then, they will advance if there is anyone in the singles area.) There are few circumstances in which betrayal can be advantageous. (One case being that a member of a last-place couple may accept a switch request, and certain survival for one round, rather than count on a partner's loyalty.) Attempted switches may leave a contestant vulnerable to subsequent retaliation, as in Season 1, when Steele's switch attempt led to a retaliatory rejection by Erica which eliminated both of them. In Season 1, the last three couples had formed romantic bonds which helped protect them from elimination.

Mike and Samantha won Season 1 and earned a trip around the world together.

Contestants^[3]

Men

Women

  Finished first and immune from elimination, except in episodes 5 and 7

  Eliminated

  Winner

  Runner-up

Updates

Mike and Samantha announced their engagement in March 2013 and got married on April 19, 2014, in San Francisco, California, where they have been living together since the show ended.^[5] They have two children: daughter Audrey (born on December 29, 2015) and son Zachary (born February 1, 2018).^[6][7] Heather and Miles have also been residing in San Francisco.^[8] The two announced their engagement in March 2015 and were married on June 18, 2016.^[9][10] Their son Macklin was born in August 2018.^[11]

Contestants^[13]

Men

Women

  Finished first and immune from elimination, except in episodes 1,3 and 6

  Eliminated

  Winner

  Runner-up

Updates

Winners Ken and Yanina got married in the Dominican Republic on January 17, 2015.^[14] They have two children: daughter Andi (born January 8, 2016) and son Lennox (born August 2018).^[15][16] Ben and Michelle were married on October 26, 2013, but divorced in 2014.^[17][18] Summer and Chase announced their engagement in September 2014.^[19] They were married on March 4, 2016.^[20] Jesse Wilson was a contestant on SyFy's reality game show Opposite Worlds.^[21]