Reality TV may have a new golden definition of three words: 'Montoya, please!' (Montoya, please).
If you've been following social media for the past two weeks, you've probably missed the drama that's set the internet on fire.
And no, the love drama didn't come from Hollywood, but from the Spanish reality TV show Temptation Island.
Contestant Jose Carlos Montoya's breakdown as he watched his girlfriend Anita cheat on him with another man is like an uncensored Love Island on steroids.
In the reality show Temptation Island, couples are on a tropical island, where they are separated and sent to separate villas full of handsome single men ready to test their loyalty.
The catch is that everything is recorded so that the other half can see what is happening in one of the villas.
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Montoya had a nervous breakdown while watching his girlfriend cheat on him with someone else in real time.
His emotions run high, until at one point he completely snapped, breaking all the rules of the show.
Deaf to the cries of presenter Sandra Barneda ("Montoya, please!"), he pulls down his shorts in desperation and runs across the beach to confront his unfaithful girlfriend and the man she's cheating on him with, while lightning cracks the sky.
The second clip shows the conflict: Anita changes her story, tries to pull away - begs Montoya to forgive her, and then she too breaks down in tears.
"This is like being in a movie theater," wrote social media user X, posting a video that has been viewed an incredible 4 million times since February 224.
"Montoya. The tension... you don't have to speak Spanish to understand, this is madness."
However, the creators of the Spanish reality show believe that its success is greater than these shocking and dramatic events.
Executive producer Juanra Gonzalo tells me they're thrilled by the "completely unexpected" global response, and believes the show's appeal lies in its connection to everyone's real lives.
"On Love Island (a British reality TV show), all the contestants are single, not in a relationship. On Temptation Island, couples participate and they put their love to the test," he says.
"I think [the audience] knows that too. These emotions and reactions can't be faked."
"Everyone wants to know what their boyfriend or girlfriend is doing when they're not with them."
"We can imagine, but we don't know. Temptation Island leaves the audience wondering: 'what would I do in that situation?'"
The magic ingredient for creating this program is the careful selection of participants.
"Montoya and Anita were perfect candidates - they are very emotional and expressive," he says.
He calls Gonzalo Montoya, a 31-year-old singer by profession with previous TV experience, "a special man."
During the audition, he told the producers that he had "never experienced love like this before," having spent "every day of the year" with Anita.
"She's a strong woman, with character," Montoya said.
Loti Halmi, senior showbiz reporter for the newspaper San (The Sun) says that this program differs from similar shows in that it shows "real emotions."
Among their competitors are the shows "Love Island", "Love at First Sight", "Married at First Sight" and "Golo Zabavljanje".
Uninhibited, raw emotions are rarely seen in shows like this on British and American small channels, where viewers are accustomed to competitive reality shows.
"It's a breath of fresh air, but it's also shocking, you don't see anything like that on British TV shows these days," says Halmi.
In commercial reality shows, the storyline is planned in advance, so these shows have become "predictable," he adds.
This is also reflected in the number of viewers.
Love Island is currently airing an all-stars edition on ITV2, which began last year.
The 2024 final was watched by 1,3 million people, a big drop compared to the record six million in 2019.
Although viewership remains solid, and can compete with BBC 2, the show is mostly shown on satellite channels.
'This could never be broadcast in Britain'
An interesting thing about the Montoya phenomenon is that the Spanish version cannot be watched in the UK, which has only led to its popularity growing on social media.
Previous versions in the UK and US failed to attract large numbers of viewers, and production company Baniyai says they have no plans to broadcast the Spanish version on British television.
"This would never be allowed on British television, for a number of reasons, but it's the best thing I've ever seen," said Maja Jami, host of "Love Island."
Due to heated arguments, "Love Island" and "Big Brother" have found themselves under attack complaints the British media regulator Ofcom (Ofcom).
As many as 25.000 people complained about the program's content.
Despite the shock that Gonzalo's show has caused, he says he adheres to strict rules, which are in line with prime time broadcasting.
"Not everything we record is broadcast," he says.
"We're very careful - we only show a few seconds of sexual content."
So, is content that British audiences find shocking viewed differently in Spain?
Zara Holland from "Love Island" She lost the title of Miss Great Britain. after a sex scene in the show in 2016.
Gonzalo says that Spanish Internet users react much more mildly to Anita's sex scenes.
"As in other countries, it is a step forward and has a positive impact on the perception of women and sexuality," he says.
Double standards should not apply to either gender, he adds.
'The right kind of help' for Montoya
Later on the deaths of several former competitors, in the UK, increased oversight has been introduced over the content of reality shows and the mental health of participants.
When I remind Gonzalo of this, he says that a team of psychologists monitors the contestants before, during, and after filming.
Montoya received additional support after his breakdown on the beach.
"We didn't leave him stranded, he's in a safe place to 'digest' everything. It was important to us to give him the right kind of help," he says.
Next month, Netflix will stream the American version again.
Gonzalo is ready for the competition, and says that his team should win "both an Oscar and a Bafta!" for the beach scene.
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