Teresa Moreau knows what it’s like to be a monkey in a zoo. Or a goldfish in a bowl.

The 27-year-old Coupeville resident spent nine days behind glass at Factoria Mall in Bellevue. Armed with only a toothbrush and toothpaste, she experienced the boredom and discomfort of life without a telephone, TV, computer or even a shower. Shoppers stared and sometimes tapped on the glass to wake her from sleep.

Moreau, a fitness director at Island Athletic Club, and six other contestants took part in the MIX 92.5 radio station’s Bridal Survival Event, roughly based on the hit reality TV show. The contestants vote each other off one by one, but they could win immunity or special privileges. Moreau, for example, was awarded with a fresh pair of underwear and socks for winning a contest.

Friends, family and strangers on Whidbey Island rooted for her as it came down to just her and one other bride-to-be last weekend. But sadly, Moreau didn’t return to the island with the $16,500 wedding-package prize.

“It’s hard to come so close and not win, but I’m not bitter,” she said. “I won the man of my dreams.”

Nick Sellgren, a local house painter, is Moreau’s lucky man of her dreams. The couple plans to have their wedding August 19 in Oak Harbor. Moreau heard about the contest while listening to the station.

“I was like, I need to do this because Nick and I are paying for our own wedding,” she said, “and weddings are really expensive.”

Also, Moreau admits to being very competitive and a fan of the Survivor TV show.

After filling out the application, radio station officials interviewed her and ultimately chose her as a contestant.

The contestants lived, ate and slept in the former Gottschalks store front at the mall. Shoppers could watch and listen to them as every word was picked up by a microphone and broadcasted. The women weren’t allowed to interact with the outside world, which Moreau found surprisingly difficult — especially when family came to visit.

She said the nine days of boredom was nearly unbearable. They eagerly awaited the next scheduled meal or bathroom break. It was really cold most of the time. And there was no shower.

“We got pretty rancid,” she said.

They didn’t get much sleep. The contestants were all wary of the others plotting against them when they were snoozing. And rightfully so. Moreau said she allied herself with two other women, Callie and Casey, and they were able to have some control over who was voted out.

Later at night, they used tiny pebbles they scrounged from the ground to represent each contestants’ cots; they decided who they would vote out the next day.

At the end, only Moreau and Kari Gruendell of Seattle were left. The other contestants returned as the jury to choose the winner.

Gruendell walked away with the dream wedding package. Moreau said the other women probably felt sympathetic toward her because she had cried and wasn’t involved in alliances.

Yet Moreau didn’t leave empty handed. As the runner-up, she received a $1,000 gift certificate from a catering company and $100 from the radio station.

And she learned something.

“It made me really appreciate my fiance´,” she said, “and the little things in life, like a shower.”