Exclusive: ‘Shipwrecked’s Sean reveals what really happened between him and Chris

Words: Will Stroude

After seven long years in the wilderness, Shipwrecked made its way back to E4 last month, as another group of impossibly hot young things were transported to a Pacific paradise with very little in the way of clothing to compete for a share of £50,000.

Among them was Attitude Sales Account Manager Sean Lineker, who soon found himself at the centre of an onscreen love affair with fellow castaway Chris Jammer, adding a welcome LGBT storyline to the sun-soaked (and mainly shirtless) proceedings.

The budding romance raised eyebrows among contestants and viewers after Sean decided to follow his heart and ditch his Shark Island teammates to be with Chris on Tiger Island, but it proved to be a wise move after his adopted island went on to win the series.

Now safely back ashore in the UK, Sean has spilled the beans on exactly what went on between him and Chris, both on and off screen, as well as revealing the answer to the question on everybody’s lips: are the boys still an item?

Posing for an exclusive new shoto and interview in Attitude’s Body Issue – available to download and to order globally now – Sean reveals that the pair got far, ahem, closer during their time in the island than was shown on screen.

Sean Lineker, shot by Jose Pope exclusively for Attitude’s Body Issue

“We never had sex, but we did do stuff off camera… There were places you could go,” Sean, 27, reveals. “I know a few of the other cast members did as well. You could definitely go and do stuff without it being on camera.

“It was never spoken about but [producers] supplied condoms and lube. I don’t know if people had sex but they certainly did things!”

He goes on: “[Chris and I] had similar interests and just hit it off straightaway. It was never forced. It felt so natural, being on a deserted island without the distractions of London.”

Of course, the question we all want to know the answer to is whether the island lovers have remained a couple after the cameras stopped rolling.

Asked whether the pair are still together, Sean replies: “It’s complicated. I said on the show that as soon as we returned to London it would go to shit — and it did.”

He explains: “Chris started going out a lot, which I was unhappy with, and I saw flirty messages on his phone from other guys.

“He’s slightly younger than me and I think I’m more ready to settle down than he is. We still talk every day and he’ll always be in my life because of the experience we had together.

Photography: Jose Pope

“When I was growing up gay, I never saw anyone like Chris on [reality] TV, having a relationship. You know, Love Island is all straight people. So even if all that comes out of the show is someone younger seeing that, it’s fine.

Could the Tiger teammates ever rekindle their romance though?

“I wouldn’t rule it out but he’d have to change a lot of things to make it work,” says Sean.

Check out Sean’s full shoot and interview in the Attitude Body Issue, out now.

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