In recent years, Turbo has become a mainstay on The Challenge. He’s a polarizing character, and we don’t know a whole lot about his life off reality TV — but we seemingly got a glimpse into his life during Ride or Dies.
Turbo returned on the 2022 season after three years away from the show, and he brought Tamara as his Ride or Die. In promo materials, viewers were told Turbo and Tamara were dating. But the two never really stated that there was anything romantic. In their intro, Tamara called Turbo her “vicious teddy bear,” and Turbo called Tamara his “Wonder Woman.”
Their intro segment also talked a lot about trust, and that was also displayed during the cast intro pre-show episode. But they never said anything romantic about each other on screen. However, there was a rumor that Tamara abandoned her boyfriend of two years (the word “cheated” was thrown around) to appear on the show with Turbo. Just a rumor, though.
After Ride or Dies, Tamara kind of faded into obscurity — which makes sense. She wasn’t a reality TV star before the season; she was a dancer and artist in Los Angeles.
Well, it appears some cast members have seen Tamara more recently. According to Derek Chavez, she works as Turbo’s assistant and was at the Vets & New Threats reunion.
We don’t know how long she’s held this role, and she may have begun working as Turbo’s assistant after Ride or Dies. But, if she was his assistant before season 38, it would make sense why they trusted each other so much.
It’s no secret that Turbo can be an intense, challenging person. Tamara seemed to be able to deal with his personality well, so if he needs an assistant (and I don’t know why he would), she seems suitable for the role.
We also know production placed some of the Ride or Dies pairs together to fill the cast. Teams like Olivia & Horacio and Raven & Johnny were assembled because they had the same talent manager, not because they really knew each other before the season. It wouldn’t be surprising if producers were lax with Turbo’s partner, especially because he had taken a break from the franchise and needed to bring a partner from outside the Challenge world.
Either way, it’s nice to see an update from Tamara because she’s unlikely to appear on the show again.
Stop Being Polite 