Esonica Veira, the fetching Virgin Islander best known for her pageantry successes, whose high point was winning the Miss Universe U.S. Virgin Islands in 2017 where she represented the territory internationally, has forayed into uncharted territory: Ms. Veira and her boyfriend, Gavin Rocker, have joined three other couples who are putting their relationships to the test in season 2 of Temptation Island, the hit series being aired on the USA Network beginning October 10.
Once on Temptation Island, the four couples will be split to two different houses. The four women will be placed in a house with 12 single men, and the four men will be placed in a house with 12 single women. The idea is to test the strength and commitment of the relationship. In season 1, some relationships were destroyed while others became stronger.
Ms. Veira, who works in real estate, has embraced the challenge even as she’s nervous about the outcome. She said regardless of what happens, support from home would help her through the process.
“It’s like testing the relationship to the ultimate level. A lot of people know me through pageantry so I’m breaking out into something different from my norm, so to have the support from home would be really appreciated,” she said. “We have to go through this journey the whole time and be able to trust the relationship that we’ve built, and sometimes we see things and it just kind of puts your relationship into a different perspective.”
According to the couple’s description on the TV series’ official website, Ms. Veira is ready to be engaged, while her athletic boyfriend, Mr. Rocker, remains dubious about a lifelong commitment.
“Gavin has admitted to infidelity in the past, and says that he truly loves Esonica, but he can’t skate on thin ice for the rest of his life based on past mistakes,” reads the description. “Family is important to both of them and they want to make things work, but Esonica needs to determine if the man she fell in love with is really her forever king. Can she ever truly get over his cheating past and start fresh? Gavin, on the other hand, needs to decide if he is ready to say yes to a lifelong commitment.”
“I’m nervous because like I said I’m putting my whole relationship on the forefront. I’ve never been in reality TV before, so anything can happen, know you? But if I get support from anybody, I hope I get support from home,” she said.
According to a bio Ms. Veira provided, she began competing internationally at the young age of 15, and in 2005 became the first delegate from St. Thomas to win the title of Miss Hal Jackson International Talented Teen, which was held in St. Maarten that year, and thereby was named the most talented teen in the world.
Her successes continued in 2011 in London where she placed as a semi-finalist, Top 11 to be exact, in the Miss World Pageant, and in 2013 taking the Top 5 spot in the Miss Supranational Pageant, (4th runner up) in Belarus. In 2014 Ms. Veira was awarded best talent and best teacher at the Miss Earth Competition in the Philippines.
Ms. Veira has been a USVI Ambassador for the past 15 years.