Why Holly MacAlpine and Jake O’Brien signed up for Ex On The Beach

It’s a ‘free couple’s holiday in Spain’ for Holly MacAlpine and Jake O’Brien, but there’s one catch: his ex-girlfriend will be there too.

AUSSIES are being called upon to save flailing international reality TV formats.

Love Island AU alums Aaron Walters and Jessie Wynter are the talk of the current season of reality TV juggernaut Love Island UK, and now Sydney model couple Holly MacAlpine and Jake O’Brien have been drafted to reinvigorate the next season of American reality format Ex On The Beach.

The influencer duo competed on The Amazing Race in 2022, but were eliminated after just a few episodes.

“The Amazing Race was OK, but it honestly wasn’t fun,” fitness coach O’Brien tells Confidential. “We spent most of the time in quarantine hotels.”

Jake O’Brien and Holly MacAlpine are one of six couples (and two Aussie couples) who will star on the upcoming season of U.S. reality show Ex On The Beach. Picture: Nigel Hallett.

When producers approached the couple of four years to enter the show, which places six couples from the U.K., U.S., and Australia in a beachfront villa together alongside their ex-partners — they were hesitant.

“When we saw the title, Jake said no straight up,” MacAlpine said.

The 6th season will see his ex-girlfriend Palatina Negara, from Byron Bay, enter to supposedly help O’Brien overcome his reservations about starting a family with MacAlpine.

“The producers told us we’re here to help you with your love stories. We want them to grow. It felt different to other reality TV shows that are inherently chaotic,” she said.

“And it was a free trip to Spain,” O’Brien added.

“My life’s been chaos, hers has been chaos. A holiday by a pool? Hell yes.”

Holly and Jake said producers for the show interviewed them each about all of their old relationships, and from those, chose O’Brien’s old partner ‘Pal’ from 10 years ago to enter with them. Picture: Nigel Hallett.

The personal trainer and remedial massage therapist has spent the last two years in and out of hospital recovering from a serious motorcycle accident from 2019, and then battling throat cancer.

“There are varying incentives for each ex. People might want to get people back, or get in between relationships,” MacAlpine said.

“Look, with reality TV, there’s always some level of ulterior move. But we’re all long-term couples, you can’t fake that.”

O’Brien: “A lot of them had serious issues, so I got to step up and be the dad of the villa. Good on Pal, she went out of her way to be involved, which is a big ask. I think her incentive was to do some growing as well.”

Ratings for the last season of Ex On The Beach were underwhelming in the U.S., so perhaps MTV showrunners are hoping for an ‘Aussie effect’ to take place.

The new season premieres on MTV Thursday, February 16.