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The past year featured many high points for Emanuel Neagu, who claimed his first-ever win in his second season of The Challenge and discovered his soulmate.

After showing dominance throughout most of his debut on Ride or Dies, the Survivor Romania star avoided eliminations throughout Battle For a New Champion and then defeated his opponents in the final.

While that was a significant victory for Emanuel, fans of The Challenge backed runner-up Nurys Mateo due to her enduring multiple eliminations to reach the final.

The backlash against Emanuel spilled from online to podcasts, including Zach Nichols calling out the Season 39 winner for “cheating.”

The Battle For a New Champion winner didn’t return as part of Era 4 in Season 40 but discovered love in his life away from the show, which he considered among his blessings.

In a recent social media post, Emanuel shared that something occurred at the end of...

Former The Challenge winner Zach Nichols knows that MTV’s competition series isn’t just a game that’s won physically but also mentally.

He previously won with several of his The Real World castmates on Battle of the Seasons in 2012 and returned to the final several more times after.

While he’s not in the epic Battle of the Eras season, many of his former castmates are, including Cory Wharton and Derek Chavez.

Cory and Derek faced off in the Episode 16 elimination after previous elimination winner Jenny West selected them among her three targets.

The event wasn’t a head-to-head physical competition, so fortune was on Derek’s side. Instead, the objective was to be the first to carry cinder blocks to a platform in the sand and correctly assemble the puzzle pictured on the blocks.

Using a smart strategy for the event, Derek managed to oust the multi-time finalist Cory from the game,...

Former The Challenge winner Dee Nguyen revealed she’s engaged after a multi-year relationship.

The 31-year-old former MTV cast member shared a carousel post with friends and followers on social media, revealing her fiance, Ollie Diggins, and the sparkly ring.

Dee beamed a smile with her hand facing the camera to display the engagement ring. Her fiance stood behind her in each of the first two photos.

The final slide in the Instagram post features a brief video clip that shows a close-up of Dee’s hand as she flashes the ring at the camera.

“2 years ago I referred to you as ‘pool boy’, you then became ‘boyfriend’ and now I get to call you ‘fiancé’...

With The Challenge: Battle of the Eras currently airing on MTV, former cast member Theresa Jones claims several individuals from the show owe her an apology.

She mentioned show winners Johnny Bananas and Laurel Stucky, who appear in MTV’s current season.

Theresa, 39, hasn’t appeared on the competition show since 2020’s Double Agents, where she teamed up with Jay Starrett.

Following her elimination in Episode 9 by Kaycee Clark, she seemingly announced her official retirement from the show in an emotional speech.

She reiterated her decision to remain retired due to having surgery and wanting to spend more time with her family away from reality TV.

However, she posted a cryptic message on social media earlier this week, seeming to call out her former castmates and a producer for an unspecified incident.

Theresa posted a cryptic message about The Challenge

Taking to X and Instagram, Theresa posted a message that...

The Challenge: Battle of the Eras features 40 cast members, some of whom have storied rivalries and feuds with one another.

In Episode 5, several feuds will be under the spotlight, with teammates Cara Maria Sorbello and Laurel Stucky involved in a heated confrontation.

However, the altercation initially involved Laurel and another castmate, Michele Fitzgerald, who previously appeared as castmates in MTV’s Ride or Dies season.

In a clip uploaded by The Challenge on social media, Michele is trying to chip away at the “wall” she suggests Laurel has towards being friends again.

However, Laurel seems uninterested in friendship because Michele and teammate Jay Starrett threw Laurel and her teammate, Jakk Maddox, into elimination during their Ride or Dies season.

Cara stands nearby during the conversation and offers Michele a big hug and friendship outside the show, which seems to irritate Laurel.

Laurel calls out Cara Maria after a fiery exchange...

The Challenge star Zach Nichols explained why he felt bad for Horacio Gutierrez after watching how things went on Battle of the Eras.

Viewers saw host Tj Lavin announce the Eras Invitational, where competitors who finished last in the opening challenge, automatically went to elimination.

Unfortunately, Nurys Mateo had a subpar performance, sending her from the Era 4 team to The Arena.

During deliberation, she called out her rival, Olivia Kaiser, and the Era 4 daily challenge winners, Horacio and Michele Fitzgerald, granted Nurys’ request.

Unfortunately, Nurys didn’t get an elimination that benefited her, as she went into Hall Brawl against Olivia.

While Nurys gave it a decent effort, she was outsized and outmatched by Olivia, who ousted her from Season 40 early as Horacio watched.

Zach says he felt bad for Horacio and Nurys during Battle of the Eras

In an Instagram clip from his Zach Nichols Podcast, the former Challenge...

KellyAnne Judd is known for being an outspoken cast member from MTV’s The Challenge, and that theme continued with her return for Battle of the Eras.

KellyAnne was featured on the 40th season among 40 cast members selected from the 39 seasons of the competition series.

She participated as a member of the Era 2 team, which included champions Johnny Bananas, Cara Maria Sorbello, Laurel Stucky, Aviv Melmed, and Emily Schromm.

The team featured several competitors who had yet to reach a final on the show, let alone win a season, including Brandon Nelson and Ryan Kehoe.

In Episode 2, viewers saw the conclusion of host Tj Lavin’s twist, the Eras Invitational, in which one man and one woman were eliminated from each team.

KellyAnne and Cara Maria were up for elimination, while Brandon and Ryan became the men’s candidates.

KellyAnne competed in a stressful elimination against Cara

During the elimination,...

Emanuel Neagu stirred up some fans of The Challenge with a recent photo and message.

The Survivor Romania star last appeared in MTV’s Battle For a New Champion, where the cast consisted of individuals who never won the show.

Many of them were newcomers or had limited experience on the show, including Emanuel, who previously competed in the Spies, Lies & Allies season.

In his return for The Challenge Season 39, Emanuel became the new first-time champion but won in a way that some fans felt wasn’t as deserving of the win.

On Sunday, he shared an Instagram post with fans and followers that featured an intriguing message.

“Anyone remember this moment? A hint, it’s the moment everyone wished for on the show...

The Challenge continues to introduce castmates who become romantic, whether dating one another during the filming or away from the show.

Among the couples that fans saw form are Leroy Garrett with Kam Williams, Zach Nichols with Jenna Compono, and Cara Maria Sorbello with Paulie Calafiore.

More recently, viewers saw castmates Horacio Gutierrez and Nurys Mateo explore a showmance on the show that led to a romantic relationship away from reality TV.

Former Survivor winner Michele Fitzgerald hasn’t had the best of luck on the show regarding men.

That included her discovering after MTV’s Season 39 that castmate Callum Izzard was exploring a showmance with her during filming, all while he had a girlfriend away from the show.

She also expressed interest in castmates Faysal “Fessy” Shafaat and Emanuel Neagu, neither of which worked out in her favor.

However, Michele may have finally found happiness with another castmate from The Challenge.

While many fans have celebrated Cara Maria Sorbello’s return to The Challenge, she’s found herself at odds with multiple castmates in All Stars 4.

In a recent episode of the spinoff show, many cast members worked together to ensure that she couldn’t win the daily challenge and that Kam Williams could take her Star.

While Kam masterminded the plan, others involved were Leroy Garrett, Averey Tressler, Nicole Zanatta, Laurel Stucky, and Adam Larson.

Throughout the episodes, several of Cara’s castmates made remarks about Cara being “selfish” or “shady” in the game.

In addition, Cara became stuck in the middle of Laurel and Nicole’s emotional relationship as they began rekindling their romance following previous issues.

Following the recent episode on Paramount+, Cara shared her thoughts on how viewers should see things from her perspective.

Cara addresses her situation with All Stars 4 castmates

Taking to her Instagram Story recently,...

The Challenge: All Stars 5 begins soon, as cast members are ready to depart for the filming location.

The popular spinoff debuted on Paramount+ several years ago. The first season featured familiar faces from MTV’s past competing on a new version of the competition show. The show has reached Season 4, which is currently airing on Paramount+.

There will be a Season 5. However, spoilers revealed some news that fans weren’t pleased about, as production changed the cast format to include stars from networks besides MTV.

With that, viewers will see some stars from CBS’ Big Brother and Survivor on All Stars 5, as well as a few other newer cast members.

However, a recent update revealed that a major star will join the cast and is among fan-favorite MTV OGs.

This report features potential spoilers for The Challenge: All Stars 5, which will air on Paramount+ at a later date.

Spoilers reveal...

While The Challenge: All Stars 4 has yet to finish airing its episodes, there’s already pre-departure speculation for Season 5.

That includes who will appear in the cast of a revamped version of the spin-off that initially featured MTV OGs from Real World, Road Rules, and Fresh Meat.

Things changed slightly with Season 4, as Kam Williams became the first former Are You The One? cast member to appear on All-Stars.

However, All Stars 5 could feature cast members from other networks besides MTV, including CBS shows like Big Brother and Survivor.

Based on early spoilers for the potential cast, viewers could see two individuals return to the spin-off version of The Challenge after skipping the recent season of MTV’s show.

One of them is still vying for that first-ever win on the competition show, despite multiple attempts at the final, while the other captured a win as a rookie.

MTV Og...

The everyone-against-Cara Maria Sorbello feud that’s been brewing for the last few episodes of The Challenge: All Stars finally boiled over on Wednesday’s new episode, titled, “The Queen’s Gambit.” While Kam Williams has accused Cara Maria of convincing everyone to play Cara’s game against their own best interests, this time, Kam managed to do just that. With the help of beau Leroy Garrett, Kam convinced everyone to help get her into the elimination so she could take Cara’s star — even including the person she’d later beat to do it, Tina Barta. That’s right. In the “Balls Up” challenge, Kam convinced almost everyone — with Cara, Derek Chavez, Jay Starrett, and Ace Amerson as holdouts — to ensure she’d lose the game and be voted in by knocking her balls off a net with a giant plunger device. Then, she got Laurel Stucky and Nicole Zanatta,...

The Challenge Season 40 is ready to crown its champions, as eight finalists remained from an original cast of 40 competitors.

MTV’s upcoming season features an “Eras” theme with four distinct groups of 10 competitors from different eras of the competitor series.

That includes an Og era with all-time greats like Chris “Ct” Tamburello, Derrick Kosinski, Darrell Taylor, and Rachel Robinson.

The newest era of competitors features 10 players who have yet to win The Challenge but have made their presence known in recent seasons.

Just recently, spoilers revealed the final four men’s competitors, and now, after a surprising women’s elimination, it’s down to four women for the final.

This report will contain spoilers from The Challenge 40, filmed in Vietnam.

Major star eliminated from The Challenge Season 40

Spoilers show that a legendary women’s competitor got eliminated before the final, losing her opportunity to win another season during her career.

The Challenge Season 40 is still filming, and spoilers have yet to reveal who competed in or won the latest final.

However, spoilers revealed surprising eliminations, including former finalists and champions ousted from the game. That’s likely due to alliances, backstabbing, and betrayals.

In recent seasons, many viewers have expressed frustration over a group known as the Vacation Alliance.

That particular group of castmates tends to take off-season vacations together and then typically works together during the next season of The Challenge they’re on.

Based on recent rumors online, another alliance may have formed following several cast members’ eliminations from Season 40.

This report contains spoilers from The Challenge Season 40, filmed in Vietnam.

Insider reveals the ‘Baecation Alliance 2.0’ from The Challenge 40

According to a recent tweet from Challenge insider @GamerVev, four eliminated cast members from Season 40 are vacationing together in Bali.

They include Ride or Dies finalist Olivia Kaiser, War of the Worlds...

Based on The Challenge Season 40 spoilers, at least one more significant elimination or purge has arrived, and many fans are all for it.

However, another popular competitor has created speculation about their elimination from Season 40.

The season is filming in Vietnam, and with each new batch of spoilers, we are getting closer to the final.

Monsters and Critics reported about the final 12 competitors, but now it could be down to 10 or less.

With that in mind, the final may be approaching or already underway to crown the latest champion of MTV’s competition series.

This report will contain spoilers from The Challenge Season 40, which could be released later this year on MTV.

Fans celebrate Season 40 competitor’s elimination

With The Challenge, there are cast members who fans either love or hate, and former Big Brother star Josh Martinez is among those popularizing players.

Based on a recent update from the...

The Challenge Season 40 is filming in Vietnam, with the cast of 40 reduced heavily over the past several months.

MTV’s upcoming season features some of the biggest stars to have competed in The Challenge, as the cast includes individuals spanning the show’s 39 seasons.

With that, former champions battle to add to their win total, and others strive to achieve their first-ever Challenge championship.

Spoilers continue to arrive online, showing which competitors have gone home, whether by purge, Dq, or eliminations.

Based on recent spoilers, several cast members have racked up multiple wins in eliminations as they fight to stay in the game.

This report will contain spoilers for The Challenge Season 40, which is yet to receive an official premiere date for MTV.

Several Season 40 stars endured multiple eliminations

Viewers have seen in many seasons of The Challenge that once a competitor becomes a target for an alliance, they tend...

The Challenge winner, Zach Nichols, delivered his latest take on the competition series, which many viewers may agree with.

He last competed on MTV’s War of the Worlds 2 season, where he stayed under the radar and worked with Team USA under the guidance of Paulie Calafiore, Cara Maria Sorbello, and others.

During that season, they ran a large alliance in the game, eliminating former show winners Johnny Bananas and Laurel Stucky.

Ultimately, Cara, Paulie, Zach, and others from Team USA reached the final, which was most of the plan. Unfortunately, they lost it to a Team UK squad featuring Ct Tamburello and Jordan Wiseley.

In his latest podcast episode, Zach discussed how alliances hurt the show and make it less entertaining.

He mentioned how he felt the show’s landscape could change with more people working together under different circumstances.

Zach comments about Vacation Alliance ruining The Challenge

During a podcast rant,...

An insider has shared the names of several former cast members from The Challenge with no current interest in returning to the franchise.

The competition series is currently filming MTV’s Season 40, which features a star-studded cast of 40 individuals from various eras.

As that season films, The Challenge: All Stars 4 episodes arrive weekly on Paramount+, and that tends to be a shorter season.

Meanwhile, rumors about All Stars 5 recently dropped, suggesting a significant change in the cast.

With those rumors came an insider posting the names of four people from past seasons of The Challenge.

A few have also appeared on MTV’s competition series quite recently, but they have no desire to participate right now.

Insider says these four Challenge stars aren’t interested in appearing on the show

A recent tweet from the insider account @Challengeteamtv suggests several cast members declined to participate in the upcoming All Stars season,...

The Challenge finalist Jay Starrett debuted a new look, which some fans seem to love and others criticized.

When he appeared on Season 39 of MTV’s competition series Battle For a New Champion, the former Survivor star received plenty of backlash.

That was due to his connection to an alliance orchestrated mostly by his friend Michele Fitzgerald that included many cast members as part of the arrangement.

However, Jay didn’t protect his friend Nurys Mateo late in the game, leading to multiple elimination appearances for Nurys before she could advance to the final.

That led to a falling out between Nurys and Jay, as well as tea spilled during the Season 39 reunion about Jay and their castmate Olivia Kaiser.

Castmates claimed the Season 39 stars had a makeout session on a bus ride despite Jay having a girlfriend off the show.

All of the above left many fans unhappy about...

The Challenge stars Wes Bergmann and Theresa Jones are two MTV OGs many fans would love to see return for another installment of the competition series.

Based on recent remarks, they are doubling down on their retirement talk and turning down opportunities to appear on MTV’s show.

Viewers last saw Theresa in the Double Agents season as she teamed up with Jay Starrett.

Wes last appeared on The Challenge: USA 2 as one of the six MTV stars competing against CBS reality TV icons.

With Wes set to appear in the House of Villains 2 cast soon, some fans may have wondered if that had anything to do with his retirement from The Challenge.

With Season 40 filming underway, he set the record straight, suggesting that he has no further intention of appearing on MTV’s version of the show. However, he left the door open for something related to The Challenge.

According to Moriah Jadea, Johnny Bananas, her ex-showmance from The Challenge, continues talking about her months after their off-show situation ended.

The two were castmates on Ride or Dies, where they struck up a showmance and enjoyed time together that season.

They continued to hang out after that season ended, and Bananas even appeared in a promo video spotlighting Moriah’s call to tell her she was on Season 39. However, they never officially became boyfriend and girlfriend.

When Moriah showed up for Season 39, aka Battle For a New Champion, she found a new love interest, The Challenge: UK’s James Lock.

That led to some interesting comments from Moriah about not wanting to hurt or embarrass Bananas. While he wasn’t physically part of the show, he was still in a storyline and mentioned through other castmates’ remarks.

This report will contain minor spoilers for MTV’s The Challenge Season...

With The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion season and reunion done, fans are now turning their attention toward MTV’s Season 40.

Many viewers were hoping for an upgrade from Season 39, as it featured only 10 returning champions who appeared just briefly for eliminations against the main cast.

Good news arrived, as spoilers recently revealed an epic 40-person cast for Season 40 featuring many former champions and fan favorites from The Challenge history.

The group is still being finalized, as spoiler accounts provide updates if someone drops out of the cast, becomes an alternate, or is omitted.

While the cast spoilers indicated a specific theme, a spoiler account known for reliable information recently revealed a different one.

This report will contain potential spoilers for the upcoming season of MTV’s The Challenge.

The Challenge Season 40 theme and potential title

The Instagram account @mtvchallengeinsider has generally released reliable details about each season...

Fans may get an exciting installment of The Challenge as Season 40 spoilers have arrived, showing the rumored cast members departing to film.

With Season 39, viewers saw a cast of mostly newer Challengers looking to become first-time champions.

That meant only a few former finalists and brief appearances from 10 of The Challenge winners, including Tori Deal, Cara Maria Sorbello, and Chris “Ct” Tamburello.

Throughout the MTV season, fans expressed disappointment at not seeing more of their favorites competing on the show.

Based on spoilers that arrived online, Season 40 will feature many more familiar and favorite faces returning to the show.

Remember that this report contains early spoilers for the potential cast of The Challenge Season 40.

The Challenge Season 40’s rumored cast revealed

An extensive cast list has started to arrive through known spoiler accounts online, including GamerVev on Twitter or @mtvchallengeinsider on Instagram.

Since it’s Season 40, it only makes sense...

The second part of The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion reunion featured cast members claiming Jay Starrett was unfaithful to his girlfriend during a moment not captured on film.

During the special, there was a segment about various cast members’ showmances and hookups, including the ones fans saw.

Those included Horacio Gutierrez and Nurys Mateo, Kyland Young and Melissa Reeves, and James Lock with Moriah Jadea.

However, a few other potential hookups or makeout scenes didn’t make Season 39’s final footage and got attention at the reunion.

One clip featured Emanuel Neagu heading to the shower to join castmate Berna Canbeldek.

While some cast members were surprised, another big revelation arrived. Several cast members claimed Jay was kissing a castmate despite having a girlfriend back home.

Jay denied claims he kissed Season 39 castmate

According to cast members, including Nurys, Tula “Big T” Fazakerley, and Moriah, their castmates Jay...

Michele Fitzgerald faced backlash after a recent scene from The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion’s reunion special surfaced.

In the clip, reunion host Maria Menounos asked Nurys Mateo about the situation with former friend Jay Starrett, where she ended up on the outskirts of his and Michele’s alliance.

Nurys said she felt things went awry between her and Jay when she started to date Horacio Gutierrez during the show’s filming.

However, Jay quickly argued that wasn’t the case and tried to shut her down, with Michele also jumping in to offer her two cents.

Nurys had a few choice words for Michele during the reunion moment, as she said the conversation involved her and Jay.

Meanwhile, fans of The Challenge expressed their thoughts about Michele getting involved in other people’s drama, leading to the Survivor star firing back.

Michele gets involved in Season 39 reunion...

Regarding drama at The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion reunion, viewers saw second-place contestant Nurys Mateo involved in several segments.

None of those instances involved the former champions who appeared as part of the special.

Instead, Nurys aimed at her Season 39 castmates, including Jay Starrett and Olivia Kaiser, whom she felt did her wrong during the season despite being friends ahead of filming.

Meanwhile, several Challenge champions were in the building, who Nurys expected to have more drama during the event but didn’t.

She recently shared that she thought she’d see more interaction between Laurel Stucky and Cara Maria Sorbello based on their Challenge history.

Nurys said she was “shocked” that there was actually more drama with Tori Deal going after Cara, though.

Nurys ‘shocked’ by Season 39 castmates’ drama

“Taking a step back and as a fan, I wanted more drama between Laurel and Cara,” Nurys admitted while on Challenge Mania Podcast.

When Chris “Ct” Tamburello isn’t getting bruised and bloodied for MTV’s The Challenge, he’s doing so while filming movies.

The five-time Challenge winner has been involved in acting for quite a while away from the show and landed a role in a prominent upcoming movie.

Taking to his Instagram, Ct shared a photo with other people involved in filming a big scene for the 2024 movie Road House.

The film, starring Jake Gyllenhaal, is a remake of the 1989 movie which starred Patrick Swayze.

Ct is part of a bar fight scene featuring mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor and others. Based on Ct’s caption, McGregor jumped in the photo with everyone. His face is visible in the very middle of the group.

“Last night of the bar fight scene. This is the whole fight crew. Lots of bruises and blood shed here. Thanks to @thenotoriousmma for jumping...

During The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion reunion, Tori Deal and Cara Maria Sorbello were among the five former champions who participated in the special, with several back-and-forth quips.

There’s no love lost between the two castmates and champions, based on their history during The Challenge.

They appeared together in Cara Maria’s last Challenge season, War of the Worlds 2, before her hiatus of several years.

Unsurprisingly, a remark arrived during part of the reunion involving that season, as Tori brought up that season’s gameplay to Cara Maria.

That season featured Tori and her boyfriend, Jordan Wiseley, who were initially part of Team USA but then decided to defect to Team UK after Cara’s alliance started working to eliminate them.

Cara’s boyfriend, Paulie Calafiore, has now weighed in on the topic, as he was also part of the Wotw 2 alliance with his girlfriend.

Tori brought...

The first part of The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion reunion featured a Horacio Gutierrez appearance despite him being away to film another competition show.

It was an emotional moment for his girlfriend, Nurys Mateo. She shared it’d been a rough time for her without him at the reunion to support her as she relived and rehashed all the drama from Season 39.

That included calling out Olivia Kaiser and Jay Starrett, as Nurys went into the season believing they were close friends who had her back.

The issue with Olivia was presented as her backstabbing or betraying Nurys during the season by choosing castmate Moriah Jadea to save from potential elimination rather than her friend Nurys.

At the Season 39 reunion, Nurys and Olivia argued more over what went down, with Olivia getting emotional and crying over their ruined friendship.

There was also mention of Nurys’ brother being on...

The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion reunion brings an entirely fresh battle as cast members will recall the season, hash out feuds, and battle it out with verbal jabs.

Not only will main cast members appear at the Season 39 reunion, but several returning champions who showed up for elimination will also be there.

Cara Maria Sorbello, Laurel Stucky, Devin Walker, Tori Deal, and Darrell Taylor are among them.

Maria Menounos returns as The Challenge reunion host to ask difficult questions and mediate the event as best possible.

Based on a teaser video of highlights for the event, viewers will see Michele Fitzgerald leave the reunion at one point.

In addition, things may get to a point where security is required based on some of the heated altercations on the reunion set.

Michele gets blasted during Season 39 reunion

In a preview video for MTV’s The Challenge Season 39 reunion, viewers...

MTV’s The Challenge Season 39 reunion is here, and fans get to hear about all of the drama they briefly saw glimpses of during the season. From Nurys Mateo and Olivia Kaiser’s falling out to Moriah Jadea’s internal turmoil over cheating on Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio, viewers saw a lot of conflict. Here’s what to expect during the two-part reunion that begins on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024.

[Spoiler alert: The Challenge Season 39 reunion spoilers ahead.]

‘The Challenge’ Season 39 reunion includes cast member fights

MTV’s The Challenge Season 39 included plenty of drama between cast members. While the finale is over and the winners have been crowned, the conflict isn’t over yet. The cast members from the season will regroup on stage to hash out their differences and discuss what fans didn’t see.

According to spoiler guru GamerVev, the reunion will include conflict between Colleen Schneider and Moriah Jadea, Nurys Mateo and Jay Starrett,...

Zach Nichols doesn’t hold back from sharing his opinion about The Challenge, including the recent Battle For a New Champion season.

The former Battle of the Seasons winner co-hosts the Zach Nichols Podcast, which first covered the USA 2 season on CBS, followed by Season 39 on MTV.

Throughout earlier episodes, Zach called out or criticized cast members, including Moriah Jadea, Berna Canbeldek, Jay Starrett, and Asaf Goren.

He hasn’t hesitated to offer his thoughts about how the format could’ve been better or how specific competitors could’ve played the game differently.

In a recent clip, he spoke about the latest season’s winner, Emanuel Neagu, bringing attention to his alleged cheating on his girlfriend while filming.

That led to a bit of back-and-forth comments from the two Challenge winners.

@gohtmedia

Episode 30 of the @zachnicholspodcast is out Now...

The Challenge officially crowned Emanuel Neagu as its newest champion during a season appropriately called Battle For a New Champion.

It was Emanuel’s second season of the MTV competition series after his debut as a rookie on Spies, Lies & Allies, where he was eliminated just before the final.

However, many of The Challenge fans were displeased with the final result since Emanuel had been part of Michele Fitzgerald and Jay Starrett’s large alliance throughout the season, allowing him to avoid eliminations.

There was also only one Season 39 winner, instead of a man and a woman crowned as champions for the first time.

If the latter had been the case, Nurys Mateo would’ve also won her first Challenge, completing a thrilling season full of backstabbing, betrayal, and elimination wins.

Following the season finale, many fans criticized the winner for how he got to the final, indicating he wasn’t the real champion.

There will inevitably be feuds and rivalries among cast members on MTV’s The Challenge, and many times, Amanda Garcia is on the other side of the feud.

The former Are You the One? star has been known to get into it with her castmates during the show’s filming and off the show via social media.

Among Amanda’s recent targets were her castmates on CBS’ The Challenge: USA 2 spin-off, Tori Deal and Michele Fitzgerald.

Those televised feuds only lasted briefly, as Amanda was eliminated before Michele or Tori were on the season.

And while Tori and Michele seem to stay away from the online drama mostly, Michele recently fired shots at Amanda as one of her top villains.

The former Survivor winner appeared in a new video with her throwing shade at Amanda, and unsurprisingly, Amanda has since responded.

Michele calls Amanda one of her all-time ‘top villains...

The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion final officially got underway in Episode 18, as seven finalists began competing for the right to call themselves a champion.

Qualifying competitors included fan-favorite Nurys Mateo, Jay Starrett, Colleen Schneider, Corey Lay, Emanuel Neagu, Moriah Jadea, and Berna Canbeldek.

Host Tj Lavin revealed there would be monetary prizes for first, second, and third place, along with three phases of the final, similar to the season’s Control, Chaos, and Conquest phases.

An early elimination reduced the finalists by one after Corey eliminated Jay following the Control phase, which left four women and two men.

In the Chaos phase, competitors were paired up randomly for each checkpoint, but at least one competitor claimed a disadvantage due to an injury.

However, former show winner Zach Nichols said he didn’t believe it was a real injury based on what was presented during the season.

Zach called...

Jay Starrett reached his first final in Season 39 of The Challenge thanks to a well-orchestrated alliance run chiefly by him and his ride-or-die Michele Fitzgerald.

However, his appearance in that first-ever final was short-lived, as he met his fate after the first phase of the event.

The Control phase featured the seven finalists working as a team to complete a task. Unfortunately, it wasn’t completed in time, and they lost another $16,000 of their final prize money.

Host Tj Lavin also revealed the first elimination of the final, with the majority of finalists voting Corey Lay into it due to his mistake in the Control task.

Corey then called out Jay for the elimination, indicating he saw him as a threat and someone who made sneaky, shady, or snaky moves to get there.

He then defeated the former Survivor competitor in an event involving racing to dig up small bags...

MTV’s competition series, The Challenge, is known for sneaky moves, backstabbing, and other betrayals associated with the game, leading to fractured friendships and ruined relationships.

During The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion, several friendships became fractured or no more because of the game.

In particular, Nurys Mateo seems to have ended friendships with two castmates due to their decisions and gameplay during the season.

It’s already no secret that Nurys had a falling out with former friend Olivia Kaiser, which came to light in Episode 16. It’s unclear if they’re working toward resolving that friendship.

More recently, Nurys said her “friendship is over” with Jay Starrett after being friends for five years.

This report will contain spoilers – including elimination results from the Season 39 final.

Nurys reveals her and Jay Starrett’s ‘friendship is over’

Many fans were unhappy with Jay’s appearance on The Challenge...

The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion final officially started in Episode 18, with host Tj Lavin welcoming seven competitors to the season’s main event.

Competitors included Moriah Jadea, Jay Starrett, Corey Lay, Colleen Schneider, Berna Canbeldek, and Emanuel Neagu.

“You’re the only contender who faced any elimination and took out four beasts in the game,” Tj said when he praised the seventh finalist, Nurys Mateo.

At the final, Tj hyped up the other six, talking about what they did strategy-wise and how they navigated alliances, friendships, or showmances in the house.

From there, they began the grueling final, consisting of three phases and at least one early surprise.

This report will contain spoilers for the first part of The Challenge Season 39 final.

Only One will walk away a Challenge Champion...

MTV’s The Challenge Season 39 Episode 18 is here with part one of Tj Lavin’s finale, and fans can’t wait to see what’s ahead. Lavin promised the final seven contestants that they should prepare to endure the most difficult finale yet. So, who wins? Here are The Challenge Season 39 spoilers regarding the winner.

[Spoiler alert: The Challenge Season 39 spoilers ahead for the finale.]

‘The Challenge’ Season 39 spoilers: Who wins?

MTV’s The Challenge Season 39 spoilers regarding the winner following the two-part finale are here. The finale begins with part one on Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2024. At the start of Tj Lavin’s final, the top seven contestants will begin the grueling 26-mile journey until the end.

Moriah Jadea, Emanuel Neagu, Nurys Mateo, Corey Lay, Berna Canbeldek, Jay Starrett, and Colleen Schneider made it to part one of the finale. Nurys earned Mvp status thanks to her previous two wins. Nurys won two three-way eliminations,...

MTV’s The Challenge Season 39 Episode 18 is here, and fans finally get to see the first part of the two-part finale. In episode 17, Nurys Mateo once again proved she’s a force to be reckoned with, as she took out two more players in the house during her second three-way elimination. So, who goes home next? Here are The Challenge Season 39 Episode 18 spoilers.

[Spoiler alert: The Challenge Season 39 spoilers ahead for episodes 18 and 19.]

MTV’s ‘The Challenge’ Season 39 spoilers: Who goes home in episode 18? Related

‘The Challenge’: Moriah Jadea Explains Where She Stands With Johnny ‘Bananas’ Now: ‘He Hates Me’

MTV’s The Challenge Season 39 final will put the competitors to the ultimate test, and the two-part finale begins with episode 18. Moriah Jadea, Emanuel Neagu, Nurys Mateo, Corey Lay, Berna Canbeldek, Jay Starrett, and Colleen Schneider made it to the final after a grueling three-phase season that involved defeating mercenary champions.

The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion has introduced fans to a favorite new showmance with castmates Nurys Mateo and Horacio Gutierrez.

They both appeared on Ride or Dies, but each had different interests in the house, as Nurys explored showmances with Johnny Middlebrooks and Jordan Wiseley.

Horacio had a brief showmance with Laurel Stucky. He later turned his focus to the game, as he and his rookie teammate, Olivia Kaiser, survived multiple eliminations and reached the final.

It wasn’t until Season 39 that Nurys turned her attention to Horacio, and the two had sparks.

Viewers witnessed an emotional Episode 16 for Nurys as she got a bittersweet elimination victory by defeating her man Horacio and friend Kyland Young.

Like many couples, Nurys recently explained that Horacio doesn’t listen to her, but regarding an important aspect of relationships and the game.

Nurys dishes on Horacio after Season 39: ‘He stresses...

The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion star Jay Starrett indicated that he doesn’t mind all the criticism and “hate” he’s getting from viewers.

Jay returned for the 39th season of MTV’s competition show after teaming up with Michele Fitzgerald on the previous season, Ride or Dies.

With Michele and Jay among the few veteran cast members on Battle For a New Champion, they had friendships with many individuals in the house.

That allowed them to orchestrate a significant alliance and get the many people working with them to follow their plan.

It also made for a dramatic move in Episode 16, when Jay’s friend of five years, Nurys Mateo, was left in the bottom three and went into elimination.

While Nurys’ friend, Olivia Kaiser, could’ve saved her instead of choosing Moriah Jadea, Jay seemed the most upset over Nurys’ fate, resulting in host Tj Lavin...

The Challenge star Nurys Mateo said she was ready to go home from Battle For a New Champion due to frustrations about the game.

Nurys was among the returning stars from Ride or Dies participating in Season 39, which featured a theme to determine a first-time champion.

However, viewers saw her sent into elimination in a shocking moment, which included Olivia Kaiser– someone she felt was a friend, saving another cast member before her at the voting.

In a surprising turn of events, Olivia chose to save Moriah Jadea, ultimately leaving Nurys among the three competitors going into elimination.

This happened after Nurys had decided to save Olivia the week before. To make things worse, Nurys was going into the three-person elimination against her showmance, Horacio Gutierrez, and friend, Kyland Young.

Nurys made Challenge history by defeating two of the top competitors in Season 39 in the elimination and sending them home.

Michele Fitzgerald executed an impressive season of The Challenge as she navigated the complexities of a large alliance in Battle For a New Champion.

Unfortunately, her hard work behind the scenes, playing the political game, cultivating friendships, and managing various personalities in her alliance helped many of her friends get farther than she did.

In Episode 17, viewers watched Michele get purged after being the first to fall into the water during the Drumroll daily challenge.

With that sudden drop, her chance at reaching her first-ever final on the show and possibly winning came crashing down.

She revealed after her exit that she was proud of her gameplay during the season but is now “grateful for a break.”

Note that this report may contain spoilers for upcoming The Challenge seasons on MTV.

Michele said she received ‘so much hate’ for Season 39

While her loss was disappointing, Michele bowed out gracefully as...

According to Olivia Kaiser, her situation with Nurys Mateo after filming The Challenge: Battle New Champion seems to be “ever-changing.”

They initially appeared as castmates on MTV’s Season 38, Ride or Dies, which was also their rookie season.

Nurys teamed with veteran competitor Nelson Thomas, who ended up having a showmance with Olivia that lasted throughout filming and ended shortly after.

During the season, Olivia teamed with Horacio Gutierrez, whom she revealed she hadn’t known until she was cast for the MTV competition series. The impressive newcomers reached the final as rookies, but an injury eliminated them from winning.

Heading into Season 39, Olivia and Nurys appeared to have a solid friendship. Nurys ended up in a showmance with Olivia’s ride-or-die Horacio, which seemed to strengthen their alliance.

Later in the season, Olivia made a surprising decision in the game that upset Nurys and made it seem she could no longer trust Olivia.

As The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion moved closer to the final, another purge and elimination were needed to reduce the number of competitors.

In Episode 17, Nurys Mateo returned to the house, indicating she trusted no one after she’d just been sent into elimination against her showmance Horacio Gutierrez and her friend Kyland Young.

Nurys eliminated the two guys many felt were the biggest threats to the men’s side of the field, making Jay Starrett, Michele Fitzgerald, and others happy.

However, Nurys told her castmates, “F*** y’all,” and that she wouldn’t share any details about what the Conquest elimination event included.

Karma became a prominent theme with Nurys’ return as she and Olivia Kaiser talked, as well as Jay and Nurys, following what happened.

This report contains spoilers from The Challenge Season 39, Episode 17, including the names of the purge and eliminated competitors.

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MTV’s The Challenge Season 39 shows the end of Olivia Kaiser and Nurys Mateo’s friendship. It also shows the strain between Olivia and Horacio Gutiérrez Jr. Olivia and Horacio competed together on The Challenge Season 38, Ride or Dies. But Olivia recently revealed that she didn’t know Horacio before joining the show.

[Spoiler alert: The Challenge Season 39 spoilers ahead regarding Olivia Kaiser and Nurys Mateo.]

Olivia Kaiser said she and Horacio Gutiérrez Jr. weren’t friends before ‘The Challenge’ Season 38

The Challenge Season 38, Ride or Dies, allowed competitors to team up with their best friend. Olivia Kaiser and Horacio Gutiérrez Jr. made a splash in the final and were both called back for The Challenge Season 39. Unfortunately, their bond in season 38 didn’t quite carry to season 39. And Olivia recently revealed that she and Horacio weren’t best friends before season 38 despite what was said on the show.

“Me and Horacio were ride or dies,...

MTV’s The Challenge Season 39 Episode 16 showed the end of Olivia Kaiser and Nurys Mateo’s friendship. Olivia was supposed to save Nurys from entering elimination, but she flubbed the move, resulting in Nurys competing against Horacio Gutiérrez Jr. and Kyland Young. Now, fans are wondering where Nurys and Olivia stand after the show. Here’s what Nurys said.

[Spoiler alert: The Challenge Season 39 spoilers ahead regarding Olivia Kaiser and Nurys Mateo.]

Nurys Mateo says she’s still not ‘cool’ with Olivia Kaiser after ‘The Challenge’ Season 39

The Challenge Season 39 Episode 16 showed Olivia Kaiser’s friendship-ending move against Nurys Mateo. The best friends had each other’s backs throughout the game, and Olivia was supposed to save Nurys from elimination. Unfortunately, Olivia miscalculated and left Nurys hanging, resulting in Nurys heading into elimination against her showmance and her other alliance member.

Olivia and Nurys have publicly feuded on Twitter post-show, and fans finally understand what happened.

Following a dramatic episode of The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion, Olivia Kaiser told her side of the story involving Horacio Gutierrez, Nurys Mateo, and the surprising decision she made.

According to the former Love Island contestant, she received much backlash and hate after The Challenge episode aired, so she felt she deserved an opportunity to talk about what happened.

The Ride or Dies finalist said plenty was not shown during the recent MTV season, including footage of her stronger friendships in The Challenge house.

Speaking of friendships, Olivia also revealed a bombshell that she and Horacio Gutierrez were not friends before they partnered on Ride or Dies. Instead, they were introduced before going on the competition show.

However, she indicated that they bonded during the season. Still, she explained that she had many conflicts during Season 39 because Horacio hadn’t told her he’d be returning for the season.