Former Mavs Dancer Takes Her Chance at Finding Love in the Wild
By Kelly Stroda
Dallas News
For Jenna Gillund, it’s a jungle out there.
Literally.
Gillund, 23, of Dallas made her debut on NBC’s “Love in the Wild” last night. Gillund was one of six girls who were introduced on the show last night to spice things up.
“Love in the Wild” is a reality TV show that puts men and women together on teams to compete in adventure competitions. It sounds fun and it looks fun, but the goal isn’t fun – it’s to find love.
This is the show’s second season, which is airing this summer at 8 p.m. on Tuesdays, is hosted by Jenny McCarthy.
According to her bio on “Love in the Wild’s” website, Gillund went on the show partially because she’s tired of the Dallas dating scene.
“Dallas is a beautiful place and there are beautiful people,” she said.
But it might be too beautiful.
“Everybody is a Cowboys cheerleader or a Mavs cheerleader or this beautiful girl who goes to SMU,” she said. “Everybody feels like they’re somebody here.”
And she would know – Gillund was a dancer for the Dallas Mavericks for several years. She left the team to pursue other goals after the Mavs beat the Miami Heat in the NBA Championship.
“I figured I’d go out on top, you know?” she said.
Gillund grew up in Chicago and has lived in nine states over the years. The tropical jungles and sandy beaches of the Dominican Republic were quite the change from the bright lights of Dallas.
“Down there, the stars are your lights at night,” she said.
Gillund said her family and friends have been supportive of her fledging reality TV career, but at first, they didn’t believe her that she’d be on the show.
“I’ve done a lot of random things,” she said. “But once I actually got my ticket and was like, ‘Hey, can you come get my dog for two months?’ I think that’s when it set in.”
