Per a report from The Heavy, TJ responded by writing, "100% NEVER been scripted. I can promise you that because from season 11 on I've been there to see it." The Challenge's co-creator Jonathan Murray did tell Rolling Stone that The Challenge was, "the longest running soap opera on TV."
Tonya was later kicked off The Ruins because she slapped another contestant in the face when an argument got heated. Before Tonya got caught up in the drama of The Challenge: The Ruins season, she was part of a controversial episode in The Inferno 2 season back in 2005.
At the start of CBS's reality TV show, each person was given $1,000 in their banks. There are two ways to earn additional funds: win a daily challenge (which nabs them $5,000) or survive the elimination arena (which lets them steal the losers' banks).
After winning every checkpoint in the final except for one, the two competitors finally became Challenge champions at the end of the grueling 100 hours, beating Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio and Nany Gonzalez in the last checkpoint and taking home the $1 million prize (minus the $38,000 they gifted each finalist team).
As of 2022, he has won the most seasons of The Challenge with seven seasons and has earned the second highest amount of prize money of all contestants on the competition show accumulating $1,184,720. He also holds the record for the most seasons participated in with twenty seasons.
A source previously confirmed to Us Weekly that newbies on the show make a $1,000 stipend a week. The insider also revealed that returning players, who previously weren't the top winner, can take home between $3,000 and $5,000.
Contestants are paid per episode.
Whether they take home the prize money or not, the competitors are paid per episode for appearing on the reality show. If you're lucky enough to stick it out all season, you'll end up taking home more cash.
Devin and Tori went on to win Ride or Dies as teammates and continued the tradition by giving 38,000 to all the other finalists: Olivia Kaiser and Horacio Gutiérrez, Aneesa Ferreira and Jordan Wiseley, and Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and Nany González.
According to EW, Kaycee stated, "Apparently me and my brother had it. It was traveling, going to Argentina [to film this season], we ended up getting COVID and getting sick." Luckily, she felt no symptoms, but she did find the news shocking.
Food is free, but alcohol is not.
Since filming for the show often takes place in extremely remote locations, and the contestants can't leave the house on their own, producers typically have food catered in from local restaurants. But any alcohol the cast wants to buy out at the bar they have to pay for themselves.
The Challenge has permanently banned cast members
Nakagawa was a staple on "The Challenge" as a vet and champ. However, her cast member Jemmye Carroll stated that Nakagawa was banned due to a physical attack on a PA. Afterward, she claims that Nakagawa stole and damaged MTV property (via Jemmye Carroll).
Q: Do the cast members have to cook and clean for themselves? A: “We have…maids that come in whenever we do a challenge which is about twice a week, and they do a really really good clean over,” Cara Maria Sorbello said in a recent interview. “They do all of the dishes and the bathrooms and stuff.”
She is no longer able to continue in this game for the rest of the season.” Ashley addressed the outrage from her fans over her departure with a cryptic response on Twitter, indicating that she understood she broke the rules, and planned to change her behavior before coming back for another season.
Turbo was disqualified from the game prior to the "Incoming" challenge due to multiple altercations with Jordan.
Stephen Bear wasn't invited onto Season 36, likely due to the allegations that he had a relationship with an underaged girl.
However, following Derrick's early exit after an embarrassing elimination, Tori cheated on him with Challenge champ Jordan. Derrick was left both heartbroken and angry, leaving them both on bad terms.
So aside from looking at what it could ever evolve into in the future, I'm just so thankful that right now we are as good of friends as we are.” While Tori played coy about what could evolve with Devin, 33, she would hardly be the first Challenge player to get involved with a teammate.
The Challenge's Tori Deal Confirms She Hooked Up With Fessy Shafaat 2 Months After Jordan Wiseley Split: It Was the 'Worst Decision'
TJ Lavin's exact salary for hosting The Challenge remains a bit of a mystery. While some have claimed that he makes upwards of $300,000, that number hasn't ever been confirmed by him or anyone at MTV.
However, in November 2020, the couple officially announced that they were broken up, citing the stresses of being in the public eye as one of the driving factors behind the end of their relationship.
At the end of the season, Bananas and Sarah were the winning team. However, a twist allowed Bananas the option to take the entirety of the $275,000 prize to himself. Without hesitation, Bananas took the money, leaving Sarah with nothing.
The Challenge (originally known as Road Rules: All Stars, followed by Real World/Road Rules Challenge) is a reality competition show on MTV that is spun off from two of the network's reality shows, The Real World and Road Rules.
"The Challenge" usually airs once or twice a year, with a normal season lasting around three to four months. Like other MTV reality shows, contestants agree to live in a house together and be filmed 24/7 in between the physical challenges.
Even though Johnny Bananas holds the record for the most wins in The Challenge's history, the reality star told E! News he still feels pressure heading into every season.