The Most Uncomfortable Dating Naked Moments

Ah, dating! Everyone has at least one story of an incredibly uncomfortable moment they couldn't wait to escape. But we're guessing none of them compete with VH1's Dating Naked, which aired for three seasons from 2014 to 2016. The premise was a relatively simple play on similar reality dating shows: One male and one female contestant remove literally all of their inhibitions before going on a few dates with each other and two other suitors — while completely nude. Of course, there was also a "selection ceremony" in which each contestant either chose each other or their respective dates. Think The Bachelor but in the buff. Just how weird did things get? "Multiply any 'first' you've ever had by about 1,000 to get anywhere close," Entertainment Weekly wrote.

The series burned out quickly because it made more of a splash through hype and controversy than actual viewers. But despite the show's seemingly shallow premise, it actually attempted to explore loftier concepts. In an increasingly digital world, there was something raw and real about baring it all and wearing one's heart on one's sleeve — well, if actual sleeves had been allowed. As a former contestant Mike put it (via Us Weekly): "As long as you're comfortable with yourself and in your own skin, the rest is just clothes." That's deep, Mike.

Do you recall your most uncomfortable moment on a date? At least it wasn't televised, right? Get ready to cringe because here are the most uncomfortable Dating Naked moments.

A Dating Naked deja vu

In Season 1, Episode 9 — the audience met Juliet, a British dance instructor, and her mystery date, Cole. Well, not so fast. As soon as he walked up — totally naked, of course — she greeted him with a mixture of laughter and underlying dread. Awkward — the two had met before. Us Weekly recapped the moment. "I've actually worked with Cole before on a job," she admitted, adding, "Obviously, I don't know him this well."

After the awkward reunion of sorts, the couple went on a canoe ride with only one major splinter incident. When Juliet and Cole made it to dry land, the two bounced on a trampoline together with no support in sight. The couple didn't hate each other, which is as much as one can hope for in this scenario. So, Juliet invited Cole back to the villa. He decided to drink too much but delivered the sweet line, "Seeing you ignited my heart." How cute! However, he followed it with, "You've got great t**s." As Us Weekly summarized, when Cole "finally tries to pop a pimple on her cheek, Juliet officially calls it a (disappointing) night.

A not-so-magical first date

By the time he reached Season 2, Episode 3, main man Chris was basically a professional naked dater, which is probably not a title you'd leave on a resume. Anyway, on the beach, fully exposed, he saw his date walk up sporting an article of clothing, which doesn't seem fair. Well, to make things as weird as possible, she was completely naked except for a rubber unicorn mask. This was how he met Mariah from Las Vegas — who also owns a ferret. Chris wasn't that interested, partially because his heart was still with previous women he naked-dated, but the date carried on, and the two went on a terrifying water adventure. Mariah and Chris cozied up next to each other on a coach — an inflatable raft version pulled through the water at lightning speed.

Back at the villa, Chris returns to his favorite ladies but Mariah — a true party girl — decides to have some fun. First, she shows off her musical side by playing a pair of bongos with her boobs, The Cut recapped. At this point, she had no shot but continued to let loose. The others ignored her, and eventually, Chris finally put the wacky Mariah to bed.

An intense naked date ends with a black eye

There's a lot of swinging in Dating Naked, between different people and different body parts. In Season 1, Episode 3 — macho man Keegan meets his date Katie. Their adventure for the day? Ziplining. It didn't take long for Keegan to be turned off by Katie, and for him, strapping in together sounded like a terrible idea. "I didn't want to have any physical contact with her because she kind of repulsed me," he said, according to International Business Time's recap. Despite the feeling, Keegan and Katie rode in tandem. It was a picturesque glide through the treetops, which seemed to help. That is, until one of them forgot "to pull the handbrake and Katie's face slams into the stopping block," per The Cut.

Then back at the villa, Katie was out for blood against Keegan. She placed all the blame for her black eye on Keegan for allegedly causing her accident. Her revenge consisted of getting drunk and then making out with another guy at the house, Scott. As VH1 recounted, he "quickly came to his senses and bailed on her." And his reason was simple but justified. "She's just crazy," Scott said. He eventually ditched Katie, leaving her alone at the pool. She then proceeded to ask the production crew to take a naked dip with her. There was no audible response, but when the camera started rapidly panning back and forth from left to right, that seemed like a definitive "NO." Yikes.

Dating Naked stirred this contestant's vibrations — no, not those kind

In Season 1, Episode 8 — the young and beautiful Moenay pushed aside her fear and decided to give naked dating a shot. Sure, personality is important, but she probably would have appreciated some eye candy close to her own age, too. Well, she got Dan — a 42-year-old life coach. According to Us Weekly's episode recap, Dan had "the looks of an aged Abercrombie model," but he and Moenay were not on the same frequency — literally, thanks to his "odd habit of discussing vibrations and shifts in energy" on the planet. Their paddleboarding excursion couldn't end quickly enough. "He's giving me these weird stares like he's trying to steal my soul," Moenay confessed to the camera, adding, "My date's weird."

Naturally, "old man Dan," as he has perhaps cruelly come to be known, made it back to the villa amongst the other much younger contestants. Talking to anyone who would listen — so, nobody — he explained "how to harness the planet's frequency from within." Totally fed up with the scenario, Moenay admitted it in a confessional segment that made more sense to rest up for her third date than "waste any more time with Dan." With that, she took a final gulp of wine and went to bed.

Left standing with absolutely nothing, not even clothes

Moenay got more than she could bargain for with "old man Dan" — her second date on Season 1, Episode 8. He spent most of the date giving creepy eyes and talking about the planet's frequencies. Interesting for some, frightening for Moenay. After the frustrating date, at least she could move on with a new man for her third date. Sadly, the bad luck continued. The mystery man got a case of stage fright and bailed seconds before undressing. "My mother said, 'If you do this you'll embarrass us all,' and I just can't," he confessed to a producer, via Us Weekly.

Once Moenay learned her date totally ditched, she began to cry. Clearly frustrated for working up all the courage to even participate in such an experimental show, she said, "I just feel robbed. It's heartbreaking. I feel like it was another failure," she added. It was a tough moment but perhaps worst of all, her reward was to return to life coach Dan.

Was it possible to have too much fun on Dating Naked?

Most people try to bring out their best attributes on a first date, whether it's a joke, magic trick, or just a genuine smile. Dating Naked gave the world a whole range of first date flexes, from the delightful to the truly uncomfortable. Contestant Vinny lies on the latter part of the scale. In the first episode of Season 3, he paired up with Natalie for a game of soccer. Nothing spectacular happened until the pair made their way to the villa.

Poolside, it was Vinny's time to shine in front of the other nude daters. For his best move, "he tucked his ... package between his legs for all to see," Us