A new TLC dating show leaves the three singles with no choice but to communicate with their potential matches through touch – with one contestant cheekily admitting that this opened the floodgates for kissing and heavy petting.
Love and Translation, which premieres on the network on Sunday, follows three American men as they move into a luxurious villa in the Dominican Republic with 12 women.
The catch? The women, from all over the world, do not speak English.
Ahead of the series’ launch, DailyMail.com spoke exclusively to the three bachelorettes, Tripp Bromley, Dylan Hodge and Kahlil Haughton, as well as host Sangita Patel, and they revealed that things got intimate as they were forced to explore other means of communication.
TLC’s Love and Translation Will Be Its Most Exciting Show Yet – As Language Barriers Force the Singles to Communicate Through Touch
One couple gets hot and heavy under the sheets, judging by the racy trailer, with the three singles confirming to DailyMail.com that ‘touch was our most useful form of communication’
The trailer alone is packed with skin-to-skin contact, including Tripp sharing a passionate kiss with one of the women while sitting in a body of water, while Dylan appears to be getting frisky with another under the sheets.
“There’s a lot going on,” Sangita teased, promising that this social experiment was “unique” and that the trio had “a lot of fun.”
“I think touch was the best substitute we had,” said 24-year-old participant Kahlil.
‘You can put someone at ease through touch, for example by dancing. And it feels natural.”
The Texas native continued, “I feel like in a way, touching was our most helpful form of communication. And I mean, sometimes it would lead to more kissing and some other extra stuff or something.
“I think it was one of the most useful things we did.”
Dylan, 21, who agreed, added: “If you can’t use language, you have to resort to other senses to communicate.
‘So we exhausted all other options. Everything else in the tool belt was pulled out.”
Kahlil (pictured) revealed: ‘Sometimes (touching) led to more kissing and some other extra things’
None of the twelve women on Love and Translation speak English, creating a roadblock
Presenter Sangita Patel told DailyMail.com: ‘There’s a lot of touching happening’, adding that the trio ‘had a lot of fun’
Overall, the bachelors described their time on Love and Translation as “truly humbling” and “grounding.”
Californian Tripp, 30, pointed out that as the show progresses, the trio “gets a little more sophisticated with our nonverbal communication.”
He continued to DailyMail.com: ‘One of the things that stood out is that I learned to communicate using just my eyes.
‘You can do much more with that, listen and communicate than the basic principles of cavemen.’
The cameras didn’t shy away from picking up the action as their romances deepened – and the singles weren’t camera shy.
Tripp said, “I registered that everything was under surveillance and I never thought about it.
“For all of us, (the cameras) were just a factor factored into the situation, so we chose to focus here on the presence of the moment.”
The three Bachelor’s students in Love and Translation, Kahlil Haughton, Dylan Hodge and Tripp Bromley (photo from left to right)
The twelve women come from countries such as Japan, Brazil, France, Morocco and South Korea
Overall, Tripp noted that the overall vibe of the show was a “real open love experience.”
He said: ‘Everyone has freedom, everyone’s heart is open or closed.
“It was a humbling and grounding experience for everyone in some way.”
While they kept the outcome of the series well-hidden, Sangita hinted, “Love is a universal language and I really think that will eventually shine through.”
Love and Translation premieres Sunday, January 21 at 10pm ET/PT on TLC.