To win The Challenge, you need to have a strong game. This includes managing the interpersonal, emotional, and political aspects of the competion, and sometimes, a person who isn’t on the cast interferes with these elements.
On Battle for a New Champion, we see Bananas’ name getting brought up a lot, even though (spoiler) he never actually sets foot on the season. It’s impacting Moriah’s game and creating drama, but he was really in a house being a villain elsewhere.
To be included on this list, a person cannot appear on a season in any way sanctioned by production. I’m also avoiding people who intentionally want to ruin the show, so spoiler accounts won’t be mentioned (even though they’ve created some funny messes). Also, children aren’t going to be mentioned here.
10. Zach Nicholes (Rivals 3)
Going into Rivals 3, Jenna was in a good spot in her relationship with Zach. Then, she called home and Zach thought he was getting a call from “Brooke.” Naturally, this upset Jenna — to the point that she contemplated leaving. She didn’t and she was the runner-up that season, but it did impact her relationship status going into Invasion.
9. Wes Bergmann (Ride or Dies)
After starting an alliance on Total Madness, Wes and Bananas had some level of trust. Then, Bananas took a few seasons off, but when he returned on Ride or Dies, he started an alliance with Devin. This was due to Wes’s suggestion because Wes and Devin are friends outside of the show. When Bananas grew weary of Devin, he gave Wes a call, giving the ginger screentime on the season.
8. Kellyanne Judd (Fresh Meat 2)
This season was heavily centered around the Kenny and Wes drama that stemmed from his relationship with Johanna — a plotline that unfolded on The Ruins, but by that point, Wes was dating Kellyanne. By the time the cast was filming Fresh Meat 2, Wes and Kellyanne had recently broken up. Wes was pursuing other relationships, but Evelyn (Kellyanne’s BFF) wouldn’t let him. We know people like Theresa were polidicking this season, so who knows what relationships Wes would have formed without Kellyanne’s influence.
7. Hannah Teter (Battle of the Bloodlines)
For years, we’d hear Bananas talk about a “girlfriend” at home, and that woman was Olympic snowboarder Hannah Teter. If you’ve watched seasons filmed from 2013 to 2017, Bananas did some things that weren’t really conducive to a healthy relationship (allegedly, he just left for Free Agents without telling her), and it caused an understandable strain on the relationship. This story gets involved with the show’s plot when Bananas votes Nany into elimination and justifies the move by bringing up Hannah. Apparently, she wasn’t super happy with Bananas and Nany’s dynamic after Exes 2, so Bananas worried that supporting Nany would further strain his relationship with Hannah.
6. Mikey P (Total Madness)
Going into Total Madness, Kailah was in a relationship with From G’s to Gents star Mikey P. Then, Bear got into the mix and Kailah cheated on Mikey. While this decision didn’t necessarily have to impact the game, Bananas and his friends organized a “date” for Kailah and Bear, mocking Mikey. Perhaps Kailah entered her fling to get her head out of the game, but by the time all was said and done, she lost in Purgatory and was really out of the game.
5. Alyssa Giacone (Dirty Thirty)
It’s no secret that Tony hasn’t always been faithful on the show, but he was turning things around. He was on the “straight and narrow” during Invasion, but he kind of strayed away from it during this season. Specifically, he was seen making out with Camila, and Alyssa expressed her disappointment at the reunion. After Dirty Thirty, Tony became a family man. This helped him mostly focus on the game, and he even won Champs vs. Stars 2.
4. Kiki McCray (The Challenge: USA + The Challenge: World Championship)
If Danny was playing The Challenge: USA for himself, who knows if he would have won. Everything he did that season was because Kiki (his wife and mother to his daughter Zoë) told him to do it. It’s hard to deny her logic on that season, but he picked Tori as a partner on the World Championship due to Kiki’s suggestion. That decision resulted in a rocky season for the newly minted Challenge champ.
3. Johnny Bananas (Battle for a New Champion)
According to the rumors, Bananas was supposed to be a mercenary this season, but he heard that Moriah and James were hooking up. According to Tori, Bananas’ heart was broken, but it’s given Moriah a reputation. It’s clear that some of her castmates don’t support her actions, and now, the mercenaries coming into the game are commenting on it — just like Darrell did on episode 10.
Mark Long (The Inferno 2)
Coming off of Battle of the Sexes 2, Mark and Robin had started a relationship. By the time The Inferno 2 came around, things were mostly over — and Tonya made sure of that. She brought photos (actual print photos) of herself spending time with Mark. Beth relayed this information to Robin, and then Robin got into a screaming match with Tonya. While that was enough to appease Robin, Tonya was furious with Beth (even though she willingly showed Beth the photos) and wound up throwing Beth’s clothes in the pool.
1. Zach Nichols (Total Madness)
Zach and Jenna haven’t had the best luck on The Challenge together. That’s why they often do seasons individually, but Zach was still able to get in Jenna’s head on Total Madness. Allegedly, he saw some not-so-nice Instagram messages she received (while she was single) and it upset him. He even implied that Jenna couldn’t live with him anymore, and that really got into her head. Throughout the season, people debated whether or not she was mentally checked out of the game, and the jury’s still out for debate on that one, but Jenna did get eliminated shortly after earning a red skull.
Stop Being Polite 