TV
Booth, who has been with the reality
competition for almost 25 seasons.
Of course, this is in addition to any
possible end-of-the-season prize
money, which has been as high as
$1 million in recent years. For some
of the more experienced players,
it’s that massive prize purse that
keeps them coming back.Alcohol consumption
is regulated.
Years before the 2017 booze-fueled
Bachelor in Paradise scandal, Booth
began limiting the players’ choices tobeer, white wine, or vodka and had
the liquids dyed green so production
could tell when they were imbibing.
“When I first started some 15 years
ago, the cast was allowed to drink as
much as they wanted,” he recalls.
“But after one too many fights, we did
away with tequila shots, and brown
liquor was eradicated.”
“I’m probably one of the main
reasons we can’t have whiskey
in the house,” says Chris “CT”
Tamburello, 39, who was once
famous for getting into those fights
but is calmer in his 16th season.
“The Challenge in the past was more
about a party. Now, it’s evolved
to an action movie. You can’t
screw around or someone could
get seriously hurt.”Everyone is a
little stir-crazy.
Throughout the season, several
days can go by without a challenge,
deliberation, or elimination in
order to make time for strategy
sessions around the house and to
schedule individual confessional
interviews. But with nowhere to go
and nothing to read or watch—nor
alcohol being served at all hours—
the players are left to come up with
their own entertainment. During
the day, the contestant activity can
be quiet: Johnny “Bananas” Deve-
nanzio, Zach Nichols, and Stephen
Bear often take refuge from the
heat in the pool (and Devenanzio,
back for his 19th season, is prone to
mooning the camera crew); “Ninja”
Natalie Duran curls up solo, jotting
observations into a journal she
thinks may inform her strategy
in the game; Nany González gives
Laurel Stucky a facial; Wes Berg-
mann complains to field producersabout how desperate he is for
a Coca-Cola instead of “boring ”
water. “But when the sun goes
down and the moon comes out,
people transform,” says contestant
Jordan Wiseley, 28. “Everyone
gets dressed—it doesn’t matter if
we’re going anywhere. And the Brits
bring a whole new level of crazy.”Reentry into real
life can be rough.
After weeks spent with a laser
focus on the game and away from
phone and email, the players
can struggle for a bit. “You get
thrown back into this sensory over-
load of the world and you’re still
in a state of almost-paranoia,”
explains Wiseley, who has returned
for a fifth time. “It usually takes
a good week or two to get back into
a routine, talk to normal people,
and not talk about the game.”TJ Lavin really
is the best.
The BMX rider and Challenge
host, 42, revels in making friends—
and an impact—all over the world.
“When we were in Africa for Final
Reckoning [season 32], TJ made
friends with the entire local com-
munity,” Devenanzio, 37, recalls.
“In the grocery store, he found this
woman with her two kids and said,
‘I want you to fill up your shopping
cart with everything you can.’ He
told the kids, ‘Let’s go to the toy
section and pick out whatever you
want.’ ” On set, he also inspires the
competitors. “A hug from TJ is like
400 hugs from other people,” says
Bergmann, back for his 12th sea-
son. “And a ‘You could have tried
harder’ cuts like 1,000 swords.”→ The Challenge
host TJ Lavin↑ Clockwise
from top left
Cara Maria
Sorbello and
Paulie Calafiore
stay close; the
season 34 cast
gets over the
hump; sun’s
out, buns out:
Johnny “Bananas”
Devenanzioenge