All Your Burning Questions About MTV’s ‘The Challenge’ Answered

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All Your Burning Questions About MTV's ‘The Challenge’ Answered

MTV's The Challenge vets Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio, Cara Maria Sorbello and Derrick Kosinki answer Us Weekly’s need-to-know queries! The Challenge: Vendettas airs on MTV Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET.

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Are the Rivalries Real?

The short answer is: yes. There are crazy histories with repeat cast members,” says Sorbello. The ones that “grind her gears,” she explains: “sneaky, desperate, two-faced” competitors. Devenanzio has a long-running beef with Chris “CT” Tamburello and Kosinski would consider his relationship with Devenanzio a rivalry that "goes way back from the time I pounced on him from the top bunk when he tried to maple syrup and feather me."

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How Hard Are the Final Challenges?

Devenanzio insists the championships “are nowhere near as difficult as they used to be.” (His vote for most taxing: 2011’s Rivals.) But Sorbello says the circumstances are what make the days-long trials tricky. Eight weeks on location means they’ve deviated from their usual diet and exercise routine. “We do not have the endurance and strength we came in with,” she says. “We are in the worst shape we could ever be in!”

Kosinski adds that athletes know what they're preparing for heading to the Super Bowl or World Series, but not on The Challenge. "You know it's going to be long and grueling, but you don't know what it's going to be and you have minuites to try and figure it out," he says.

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Is the Alcohol Free Flowing?

The bar isn’t really open. Players get beer, wine and “the occasional” fifth of vodka (dyed blue so they can’t hide it in water bottles), says Sorbello. And in an effort to curb overconsumption and arguments, says Devenanzio, “it’s distributed conservatively.” (Security is also at the ready.) As for those raucous nights out, the cast is limited to beer, wine and vodka — and required to pick up their own tab! However, Kosinski points out those who do drink the night before a competition, "you don't typically see" at the finals.

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How Cutthroat Is the Competition?

Depends who you ask. There are two camps, explains Los Angeles–based Devenanzio. The first “are those who show up to com- pete and have an actual shot at reaching a final.” The others fall under what he calls the “I’m just happy to be here” group. Those competitors, he says, “are there strictly for camera time.” That group may be growing. With Vendettas showcasing stars from Big Brother and U.K. shows Geordie Shore and Ex on the Beach, “the floodgates have opened,” says Devenanzio. “At this point, the only criterion for being cast is, ‘Have you ever had a drunken hookup on national television?’”

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Do They Have Real Jobs?

For some, it’s unnecessary. “Elite” players, says an insider, rake in “upwards of $80,000” just for showing up, while other vets get anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 per week. (Newbies get $1,000 for each week they last.) “The ones who don’t often get cast can hold down a normal job,” says Sorbello, while others cash in on part-time work such as bartending. As for Sorbello, she teaches kickboxing when she’s back in Montana: “Even if I don’t need to work, I prefer to.” In his freetime, Kosinski started the Challenge Mania podcast, where he and his cohost bring on Challenge vets to discuss the game.

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What's Banned from Set?

There's a long list including TVs, radios and books. Kosinski notes that contestants can be fined up to $25,000 for sneaking on a cellphone. Devenanzio adds that since people have been caught “hiding contraband in protein containers, all workout supplements must be factory-sealed.” Contestants get two 10-minute phone calls a week, says Devenanzio, “which are strictly monitored to prevent leaks.” Kosinski also notes that during one Challenge, the group was allowed to watch the Super Bowl and "it definitely felt like a treat."

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Are Skimpy Clothes Required/Encouraged?

Sorbello tells Us she’s “sure” producers on the MTV fixture would hand over longsleeved replacements for the standard-issue sports bras and shorts if competitors requested. But she’s never known her costars (who were dared to run nude in 2016’s The Challenge: Rivals III) to be bashful. “If you are cast for reality TV — especially our show — odds are you aren’t modest,” she notes. “We are naked half of the time.”