Ytossie and Taheed: A Temptation Island Timeline

Ytossie and Taheed came to Temptation Island after having been together for five-and-a-half years. Now you'd think that would be a long enough time to get a fairly decent idea whether or not this is the person with whom you want to spend the rest of your life. You would further think that the fact that they had a child together – though they neglected to mention this to the show's producers – would have some effect on their behavior. In both cases, you would be wrong.

Taheed has cheated on Ytossie before. So she reacts by deciding to go to a place where he would specifically be tempted? I guess, if we can presume that she actually thought it through, she might have been thinking that if he could make it there, he could make it in real life. What she doesn't appear to have considered was that he might not be able to make it either on the island or real life. Indeed, his past should have been a good indication of that.

A little before the fight, the guys and girls had to select one single to banish from the island, and then one to block for each significant other. Taheed and Ytossie took lead roles in deciding who to boot, pushing their fellows toward getting rid of Ace and Yvonne. Then Ytossie blocked Venus and Taheed blocked Maceo, leaving Sean the masseur available to her.

This brings us to another instance of wondering what the heck Ytossie was thinking. At their last dinner together, Ytossie apparently tried to make Taheed jealous by telling him he should be worried about not having blocked Sean. She might have considered perhaps acting in a somewhat more caring manner towards him before they went their separate ways on the island. But then she got upset when they started fighting about his past again, and she stormed out. From there, she told the camera that he really hurts her and that she still loves him no matter how many women he has sex with. Really? Then why were you trying to make him jealous? Why were you trying to start a fight?

And so the first night apart was spent with the rest of the girls sitting around and listening to Ytossie cry while the guys went back and partied.

First Dates

The show's producers, apparently not wanting to let up on the couple, set up Ytossie with Sean for her first date. It turns out Ytossie is a massage therapist, giving them something in common. But she was less than thrilled by him, to say the least. What was on the inside didn't match up to what was on the outside.

Taheed, on the other hand, got paired up with LaWonna, the teen crisis counselor, and said it was the "best date" he's ever had – including any of his dates with Ytossie. He also talked to her about his problems with Ytossie. Good – they could use a crisis counselor!

After the first dates, Taheed gave us a glimpse into the way he "thinks" (and I use the term loosely). He says that he can be faithful, unless, of course, a woman really throws herself at him. Oh, well, that should be okay, then. Obviously it would be the woman's fault at that point, right?

At the first Bonfire, Taheed chose to see the tape and was happy with the results -- Ytossie's had a lousy time.

Ytossie, who had to watch the tape of LaWonna talking about her date with Taheed, found out that he had discussed their problems with LaWonna and had specifically told her that it was the best date he'd ever had. LaWonna was suitably impressed. But Ytossie said she wasn't surprised. Taheed can put on an act to make people like him. I'm sure that's true – which is why she should have thought this through ahead of time and realized how ridiculous it is to possibly throw away her relationship based on just a couple of dates.

When it came to recording messages, neither of them chose to do so as they were still angry with one another. But then each was equally upset at the other when no tape arrived for them. Ytossie complained to the camera that she knew Taheed wouldn't send one because he wanted her to wonder; Taheed said he didn't expect her to send one because she's vindictive. These folks obviously didn't realize how hypocritical they both looked by refusing to send a tape and then complaining that they hadn't gotten one.

Second Dates

The second dates were chosen by each participant, but ties were broken by the single's choice. Ytossie, Shannon, and Mandy all picked Tom (the Ivy League grad), and he picked Ytossie.

Taheed got Lisa the bartender. As she walked over to him, vindictive Ytossie yelled out, "I have a better looking blonde."

Neither date was thrilling enough to recount in any detail. The only thing of interest was that Taheed said Lisa was comforting and caring, both of which were missing from his relationship with Ytossie. No? Really?

When it came time for the videotapes, it was girls' choice. Ytossie took a look at a clip from Taheed's, but it turned out to be fairly dull, as I've already noted.

This meant Taheed had to watch Ytossie's date, which was also no big deal.

Ytossie caved in and left a video message for Taheed this time, but he refused. Thus, he was rather surprised when he found a tape waiting for him. Not that it exactly oozed kisses and hugs. Instead, Ytossie said it was obvious that he was going to do what he had set out to do, and she would too. So there! Take that, Taheed. That will certainly help heal their relationship!

Amusingly, after the guys saw clips of Mandy's date with Johnny, where she went a bit overboard in her physical affection, Taheed told Andy and Kaya that he felt like he wanted to go hunt down Johnny for what he'd done. This is Taheed, mind you, who has cheated before, would cheat if a woman threw herself at him, and will almost certainly cheat again. But if somebody else cheats, he's going to go after them. Huh?

The Boot

Then, everything came crashing down. Ytossie spilled the beans to Greg (the naval flight instructor) that she and Taheed had an 18-month-old child together. Since none of the couples were supposed to have children, this caused somewhat of a problem for the show. The producer called them both in together and talked about how he could never live with himself if he knew he had broken up a family. I'm surprised Ytossie didn't point out that Taheed had started breaking up that family before they ever got on the show, but she was pretty quiet at this point.

So they were being pulled from the island. Rather than send them home to, you know, take care of their child, the show would put them up in a private suite elsewhere and let them deal with their problems, if they wanted to. Taheed, true to his nature, said he didn't care and left it up to Ytossie, who said they would take the show up on their offer and try to work things out.

While I agree with some of Taheed's parting words, that couples shouldn't stay together just because they have a child, that doesn't mean they shouldn't at least try. And trying doesn't mean coming on a show like this one and leaving the poor kid behind.

Some day, their child will grow up and see this horrible example of his parents behavior. Whether they are still together (which would be a miracle) or apart, he will get to see how they behaved and what they said.

I truly feel sorry for their child, and hope something happens – whether it's the two of them somehow making peace or breaking up and finding somebody they can get along with – such that the kid is brought up in a loving household where he will learn what it's really like to be in a committed relationship. Right now, the only thing he might learn from these two is what it's like to be committed to a lunatic asylum.

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