Ready to have fun! Tori Deal headed into The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies with a whole new mindset — and was determined to enjoy herself.
“It was a good season to show up single,” Tori, 28, said on the Thursday, August 4, episode of the “Watch With Us” podcast. “I was going through a lot before I got there. So I just honestly wanted to look at this season and have an amazing time. So for there to be such a hot cast and then also such amazing competitors, it’s really nice to get that balance.”
Last season on The Challenge: Double Agents, the New York native became close friends with Fessy Shafaat but she was in a relationship with Jordan Wiseley at the time. After being sent home, she and Jordan, 30, split in November 2020. She later was photographed vacationing in Turks and Caicos with Fessy, 29. While she confirmed during the reunion in April that “s–t did get weird” between the two, the Big Brother alum added that they decided they are better off as friends.
“Fessy is Fessy, and let me just say he’s a great dude, but that came with so much baggage and drama that I wanted to say so far away from that story line [this season],” Tori told Us. “I was like, not again, like, I can’t do that. So he definitely does his thing. He’s got some awesome hookups. I’ve got some hookups. We’re good — separate hookups!”
The Are You the One? vet noted that before season 37, she didn’t plan on any showmances … until seeing the new cast, including the 17 international players.
“I went into the season being like, ‘I’m 100 percent not going to talk to any guys!’ And then I got there and I was like, this is just so not me, like, this just feels like it’s not on brand,” she said with a laugh. “I love people. Let me just make some connections, have a good time. So that’s what I did — made some connections, had a good time. I mean, I definitely opened up more this season, just like letting the world kind of watch me have that connection.”
The Search for Syrup author added that while she and Jordan met in 2017 on The Challenge: Dirty 30, they developed their romance off screen. “Every other relationship I’ve had has been off screen,” she said. “This is the kind of the first time where you see me build some stuff on screen.”
For more from Tori, including which rookies fans should keep their eyes on and where she stands with Jordan now, listen to the “Watch With Us” podcast above, and subscribe for more exclusive TV news and interviews.
The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies premieres on MTV Wednesday, August 11, at 8 p.m. ET.