Love Off The Grid's Jen Shares The Most Surprising Thing About Wilderness Life - Exclusive
How much would you give up for true love? Would you move to an unfamiliar locale where you knew no one and would be cut off from those you did know? Would you leave your family behind, with no guarantee of a happy outcome? And would you give up all your favorite creature comforts — your home, your favorite shops and hangouts, and even the possibility of a hot shower — just to be with that special someone? Or will the idea of turning your whole lifestyle on its head end up being a deal-breaker for you?
Per People, in the new Discovery+ show "Love off the Grid," four couples — or more specifically, half of each of the four couples — must grapple with this dilemma: Embrace an isolated rustic lifestyle with their wilderness-loving sweethearts or return to civilization single? When faced with this question, Jen — a day-spa-loving mom of four — decided to go all in. Abandoning her comfortable life by the beach, she took a leap of faith and moved into a one-room cabin deep in the mountains of North Carolina built by her boyfriend Charlie. Just as she expected, the move came with some rough spots. But it also came with some unexpected happy surprises. In an exclusive interview, Jen shares the coolest thing she discovered about life in the middle of nowhere.
Jen worried about what she would find at Charlie's place
While Jen was thrilled at the prospect of spending lots of quality time with Charlie, she was less than thrilled about where she'd be spending that time. "I don't love creepy crawlies. I'm not very comfortable in that," she said. "The wild animals, a small space, and the unknown — yeah, I was pretty intimidated by the whole thing." And just as she'd expected, she had a lot to get used to when she got to Charlie's place. "The small space for sure," she said. "And also just no wifi. No real connection to the outside world. That was a challenge."
Despite the challenges, she was relieved to find that life in the mountains wasn't nearly as daunting as she'd feared. Indeed, Jen discovered that trying to imagine wilderness living and its hardships was worse than actually experiencing it. "I think anticipation of something that's unknown is always the worst," she said. "That was hard for me, the idea of it. I tend to be a thinker, so I was thinking of all the what-ifs." Luckily for her, most of those what-ifs never came to pass. "So I would say, no, it wasn't as bad as I thought," she said.
Jen also discovered life off the grid comes with a surprising perk
Dwellers of cities and suburbs can quickly rattle off the advantages to living in a busy area — lots of social opportunities and a plentiful choice of entertainment, shopping, and dining options conveniently close by. And a large and diverse population brings a certain vibrancy and energy to a community, which residents get to enjoy even if they don't interact with everyone directly. So for social butterflies, the idea of living off the grid in the middle of nowhere means something way scarier than bugs or non-existent wi-fi: it means loneliness.
Jen wasn't sure how she'd fare far from her beloved spa treatments and favorite beaches — but she was determined to keep an open mind and make the best of it. And by staying open to the wilderness experience, she found herself beginning to enjoy it. "The first thing that comes to my mind is how quiet it is. I mean, it is just like, there is no sounds other than nature," she said. "And just being able to experience nature on that level without other interruptions is pretty incredible. That I loved. I wasn't thinking about that going into it because I was thinking about all the things I was afraid of and how hard it was going to be, but just it being so quiet and very peaceful in a lot of ways when you're just sitting there and taking in all that's around you, that's pretty magnificent."
"Love Off The Grid" is now streaming on Discovery+.