Love in the Wild eliminated one couple and two other individuals during Wednesday night's fifth episode of the second season of the NBC reality dating series, which features singles attempting to find love in the Dominican Republic.

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Ryan Smith and his partner Jenna Gillund were ousted from the competition after they landed in the "unmatched area" when Jenna revealed she only saw a friendship in their future, while Jesse Wilson and Ali Leitza were eliminated after their prior partners picked new matches at the Couples Choice Ceremony and they decided they weren't interested in attempting to form new pairings with another contestant.  

"I definitely deserved a conversation with Jenna before the ceremony. Her kind of coming out and embarrassing me, I felt a little betrayed. I don't really care what Jenna's looking for. It's not me, apparently," said Ryan, a 27-year-old from Boise, ID who currently resides in San Francisco, CA, following his ouster.

"If I could tell Ryan anything, it would be that I'm sorry that it didn't work out. I hope I didn't lead him on. I know I was sending him mixed signals, and having to reject him in front of everyone, it makes you feel awful," explained Jenna, a 23-year-old from Chicago, IL who currently resides in Dallas, TX.

"I came here being 100% percent me. I wish everybody did the same thing. My biggest regret is not getting to know Ali sooner and finding out that we weren't a match," said Jesse, a 33-year-old from Oakdale, CA who currently resides in Manhattan Beach, CA.

"I think I kind of semi-snapped a little bit today. You get broken down. You kind of just get like where your emotions are all on your sleeves. I think I just learned that if I'm not matched with the right guy, I can just turn psycho b-tch," noted Ali, a 33-year-old from Little Rock, AR who currently resides in North Little Rock, AR.

After the remaining couples spent the night together following the eliminations of Jason Ewell and Vanessa Ramirez at the previous Couples Choice Ceremony, feelings were growing between many of the pairs but tension was rising between Jesse and Kenneth Barrington, a 33-year-old from Peoria, IL who currently resides in Miami Beach, FL.

After an unresolved heated argument between Jesse and Ken at the prior ceremony, Ken wanted to talk things out since they had to co-exist together, but Jesse had absolutely no intention to bury the hatchet and therefore refused to give Ken the time of day. Ken kept pushing to chat, but Jesse threatened him to stay away from him.

Ken then admitted to cameras he called Jesse out not only for his behavior with previously-eliminated contestant Tara Locke -- whom Jesse allegedly slept with but then dumped shortly afterwards -- but because he saw him as a threat and wanted him out of the game to ensure he wouldn't try to get in the middle of his relationship with Yanina Beccaria, a 33-year-old from Rosario, Argentina who currently resides in Chicago, IL.

Meanwhile, Michelle Sacco, a 26-year-old from Rome, GA who currently resides in Atlanta, GA, and Ali were going at it over Benjamin Clark, a 27-year-old from Chesterfield, England, who currently resides in Monroe, NC. At the last Couples Choice Ceremony, Ali had the ability to choose amongst all the men first after finishing the adventure in first place, and the selected men was unable to decline her offer.

Ali picked Ben, who was paired with Michelle and getting along with her very well. Ben wanted to stay with Michelle but didn't have a choice, so Michelle made it clear to Ali the only time she'd receive time with Ben was when they were forced to sleep in the same cabin. Ali, frustrated by Michelle's aggressiveness and confidence in her relationship with Ben, wanted Michelle to respect the fact she and Ben were partners.

Ali asked Michelle to allow her some time with Ben so they could get to know each other, but Michelle was absolutely not having it. She laughed off Ali's comments and had every desire to reunite with Ben if possible at the next ceremony.

As for Ryan and Jenna, Ryan was very ill but wanted to stick through the adventure in order to avoid elimination and have more time with Jenna. Jenna suggested they could sit out, but Ryan was going to fight through regardless. "Chase" Aaron Chase, a 28-year-old from San Diego, CA who currently resides in Newport Beach, CA, and Summer Mack, a 32-year-old from Satellite Beach, FL who currently resides in Indian Harbour Beach, FL, were really starting to crush on each other.

Love in the Wild host Jenny McCarthy then met with the remaining five single men and five single women who are looking for love while undertaking a series of adventurous activities in the hopes of winning luxurious rewards.

Jenny told the couples that each man and woman who paired up during last week's episode at the season's fourth Couples Choice Ceremony would remain partners for their fifth jungle adventure and later get the option to stay paired up or change partners based on the order they completed the adventure. She then explained the rules to the adventure.

The challenge required the pairs to test their ability to deal with fear. They had to each use bamboo to turn a boat into an outrigger, row to get to land, climb down an unstable rope ladder, decipher a hidden message on paper using charcoal, and then finally grab a tarantula and carry it to the finish line.

A lot of pairs ended up encountering some issues along the course. Ben and Ali -- who became increasingly more annoyed with each other despite Ali's hopeful attempt to make it work between them -- had trouble rowing their boat and were forced into last place early on as a result. Ali was terrified to climb down the rope ladder later on because she was afraid of heights, and Yanina and Ken were on Jesse and Michelle's tails the entire time.

In the end, Chase and Summer finished the whole course in first place. They were followed by Jesse and Michelle in second place, and then Ken and Yanina in third. Ryan and Jenna finished their adventure in fourth place, while Ben and Ali crossed the finish line in fifth -- and last -- place.

For coming in first, Chase and Summer won the right to stay at the luxurious Oasis private villa, while the remaining teams received increasingly rougher overnight accommodations of cabins or tents based upon their order of finish.

All of the singles then spent time getting to know their partners and other prospective suitors better. Michelle and Ben continued to build on their connection despite having other partners, while Ken and Yanina were at the point where they could argue and bicker but get right back to a happy place together. Jesse tried to rekindle a romance with Ali, but she had no interest in the idea and rejected him.

Meanwhile, Jenna wasn't sure if she felt a spark with Ryan because she was missing the butterflies every time she was around him. Jenna sought Ben out for advice and seemed confused about what to do, but Ben told her to give Ryan a chance.

Later on, Love in the Wild's fifth Couples' Choice Ceremony commenced.

Jenny McCarthy announced the men would be given the option to stay with their own partners or switch and get to know someone else first, because the women were given that ability last week. Since Summer and Chase finished in first place, Chase had first pick of all the female contestants and the woman whose partnership he requested would be unable to decline his offer.

However, Chase asked Summer to remain his partner and Summer gladly accepted. Jesse and Michelle were up next, and while Jesse asked to stay with Michelle, Michelle jumped at the chance to become a couple with Ben again. Ben was thrilled that he and Michelle could resume competing together again. Michelle's choice left Ali and Jesse in the "unmatched" area.

It then became time for Ken and Yanina to make their decisions, and both members of the pair were happy to stay and take on their next adventure together. Afterward, Ryan asked Jenna to keep their journey going as a team, but after much hesitation, Jenna told Ryan Sh. thought they'd be better off as friends. 

Jenna then asked Ryan if he would like to continue on the show as friends or call it quits entirely, and Ryan opted to head into the "unmatched area" alongside Jesse and Ali.

Ali then had a turn to choose between Jesse or Ryan, but instead of picking one of the guys, she also decided to go home.

As a result, Ali, Jesse, Ryan, and Jenna all left the scene without having found love in the wild.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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