The Real World Cancun was the second time we let internet users choose a roommate for the house.  Our winner was San Diego native, Ayiiia.  At the time of the internet contest is was not revealed that we were going to Cancun, but ironically she is of Mexican descent, and speaks fluent Spanish.

The casting process for The Real World is an extensive one for those who make to the final audition.  Over the course of several months the potential roommates go through a series of probing interviews that explore everything about them -- from their personal beliefs to the intimate details of their lives.  Each individual is forced to come to terms with themselves – a self realization process that is very much like visiting a therapist.

But in the case of Ayiiia, she was picked through the internet contest and did not go through the same rigorous set of interviews.  In her final audition interview, the only interview she really did with us, she was glowing and open and simply wonderful.  We all believed she would have been cast for the show anyway if she had made to the finals.  Still, as producers, we don’t know her as well as the other roommates; there could be behaviors or elements of her past that will surprise us.  

Our first internet winner was Greg, the self titled “Chosen One” from The Real World Hollywood.  Greg was an outsider from the first moment he walked into the house; and eventually he left the show early when he missed a performance of the improv group the cast was required to participate in.  I don’t think the experience was not a good one for Greg as he refused to participate in the taping of the reunion special.

So the question is did Greg have two strikes against him because he was the internet winner?  Was there a feeling of being different than the others that made him an outcast?  And will Ayiiia have this same feeling in the Cancun house?  Can she overcome the label of “Internet Winner”?