Times are 'Tough'

By Madeleine Marr9/30/2011

Jane Castro learned a few life lessons being on Tough Love: Miami, premiering 8 p.m. Sunday on VH1. One big one: She doesn’t like roommates. “Imagine sleeping in a twin bed with four other women around,’’ says Castro, who lives alone in Miami Beach. “It was too much estrogen! It’s like, I really don’t care if your nail broke.’’ Being spied on a la Big Brother for 10 weeks was another issue.

“You want your own time and it was crazy,’’ the 29-year-old Little Havana native says of the Fort Lauderdale mansion where the eight participants holed up. “Cameras were everywhere. And even when the real cameras were gone, microphones were hidden. Insane!’’ Host Steve Ward posed another challenge. Known for his no-holding-back approach, the matchmaker struck a nerve with many of the woman. But that’s the point. Ward’s philosophy is that in order for a single woman to land a man you have to know your weaknesses, then confront them. Various problems have been tackled on the show: overly sexy clothing, poor manners, overtexting a man out of desperation, or simply aiming for men out of their league. To film a show in a town like Miami, Ward had his work cut out from him. “It has one of the most intimidating scenes in the country,’’ he says in the show’s trailer for season 3. “[There are] perfect 10s in every nightclub.’’ “With Steve, it’s tough love for real,’’ says Castro, a singer who goes by the stage name of Jei. “That was the whole point, making us break down. What hurt a lot is that he’s very sarcastic.’’

Something obviously good came from the experience. “It woke me up,’’ she acknowledges. “The biggest lesson I learned is recognizing yourself and knowing who your true self is and appreciating it.’’ Would she do reality TV again? “Of course! I love whoring myself. Where do I sign up?’’ 

See the show at a viewing party 6 p.m. Sunday at Lords South Beach, where Castro will sing her debut single, Show Me the Money.