MTV's The Challenge has always been a perfect hybrid of competition and drama, thriving off having reoccurring characters over its dozens of seasons. With its revolving door of familiar faces, the show has had storylines that keep viewers invested year after year.
In particular, the showmances that have bloomed and fizzled out on The Challenge have planted seeds for some of the most memorable storylines (or at least gave viewers some moments of entertainment). Whether the couples were adored or were...more polarizing, the drama or comedy of these couples always spiced up the competition as a whole.
Updated on January 6th, 2022 by Hilary Elizabeth: As any long-time fan of The Challenge will know, the relationships that spring up between competitors come, go, and evolve faster than social media can oftentimes keep up with. So what's the current state of the cutest and most cringe-inducing couples in Challenge history?
The Best Challenge Showmances
Cory & Cheyenne
Cory and Cheyenne expressed their mutual crushes on one another when they first met on The Challenge. But in a completely unexpected turn of events, they wound up hooking up off-screen after the show and Cheyenne got pregnant with their daughter, Ryder.
While their romance didn't last, the two have become good friends and co-parents, and Cheyenne moved on from a burgeoning career on The Challenge to a starring role in another MTV reality mainstay, Teen Mom.
Nany & Cohutta
If there was a list for the most unexpected romances of The Challenge, Nany and Cohutta would be on that too. By the time their paths crossed on Free Agents, Nany had a string of brief challenge romances under her belt with no signs of stopping. Cohutta was the Southern gentleman and seemed more serious when it came to romantic prospects.
On paper it didn't seem like they could sustain a connection but, to the surprise and delight of viewers, they formed a romance that continued off the show. Cohutta got Nany to open up and be vulnerable in a way that she hadn't been in past romances and fans were sure they would last. And while the romance ultimately came to an end, this unexpected pairing is still remembered fondly.
Frank & Jillian
The one silver lining to The Rookie team's upset win on the Gauntlet III was that Frank and Jillian both have a challenge win under their belt. Both didn't have long challenge careers overall, having competed in only 2 and 3 challenges respectively. So it seems like the stars were aligned when the two met and got together on Gauntlet III. Both were decent competitors and their romance spiced up their overall storyline.
They were still together when Jillian competed on Fresh Meat II (her third and final challenge), but appear to have broken up shortly after that. Frank now has a successful career in finance while Jillian is happily married. There's not much else out there about these former challengers, but their underdog romance is still beloved.
Paula & Mike
Showmances on The Challenge are memorable for a whole host of different reasons, but Paula and Mike's brief connection on Rivals is one of the rare relationships that is remembered for simply being adorable and innocent.
Paula was typically attracted to drama when she appeared on The Challenge, but the incredibly naive and sweet Mike inexplicably won her over. Their romance didn't last beyond the season, but they are one of the few unproblematic favorites in Challenge showmance history.
Leroy & Kam
Kam emerged from her rookie season on Vendettas with 3 elimination wins, the nickname "Killa Kam," and rumors surrounding her relationship with Challenge veteran Leroy.
During WOTW2, Kam rekindled their relationship, in part, to get Leroy on her alliance within Team USA. But while the move was a good one strategically, it was obvious that there were real feelings involved between the two of them. Fans were heartbroken when they were purged in the final challenge but Kam and Leroy's relationship is still going strong today.
CT & Diem
Hands down the most memorable love story of The Challenge, CT and Diem's romance started off like a modern-day fairytale when the pair met on The Duel. Challenge bad boy CT helped recent cancer survivor Diem regain some of her confidence, while Diem got CT to reveal his softer side. Their relationship was far from perfect though, with a tumultuous break-up period during which CT was resentful of Diem for putting her career first.
Their relationship improved when they competed on Battle of the Exes and (after a brief rough patch on Rivals 2) they quietly got back together. However, their romance was cut short when Diem's cancer returned. She passed away in 2014 and CT took a hiatus from The Challenge as a result. He's now happily married and has a son, though his romance with Diem lives on in reality TV history.
The Cringiest Challenge Showmances
Brad & Britni
At first, Brad and Britni seemed like kind of a fun couple. Sure, it was a little strange considering how drastically different Britni is from Brad's ex (and former Challenge competitor) Tori, but they were clearly into each other. However, that really became the problem.
What made this duo uncomfortable to watch was all of their really intense PDA. And frankly, given how oversharing so many Challenge couples tend to be, the fact that these two stuck out says a lot.
Laurel & Nicole
Laurel and Nicole were an odd couple from the jump, and the drama that accompanied their MTV showmance did not seem worth all of the trouble.
Laurel is known as being one of the most dominant, intimidating, and intelligent female competitors in Challenge history. Nicole proudly calls herself a player, and she seemed to jerk Laurel around quite a bit. Nicole also had a penchant for drama, which is completely unlike Laurel's straightforward, assertive personality, so it was hard to understand what made this relationship happen in the first place.
Bananas & Natalie
In the older days of the show, The Challenge was a mixture of Real World and Road Rules alumni. When The Challenge eventually needed new blood, production turned to shows like Big Brother to keep the competition fresh. One of these Big Brother imports was Natalie Negrotti, who quickly struck up a showmance with challenge mainstay Johnny Bananas on her debut season, Vendettas.
From the get-go, the showmance felt manufactured. Bananas was fresh out of a long-term relationship, a fact he made sure to bring up in his talking heads, and Natalie wanted to snag an alliance that would get her far in the competition. Their storylines overlapped conveniently, allowing them to milk any drama between them for what it was worth- no matter how transparent it was to fans.
Dee & Rogan
It's always uncomfortable to watch a relationship unfold where one person is far more invested than the other, and seeing Dee and Rogan's romance was even cringier because Rogan spent so much time insulting Dee behind her back while she was none the wiser.
Given that MTV has cut ties with Dee and Rogan hasn't been invited back in recent seasons, it seems that this drama is mercifully gone from TV screens for good, but it was hard to witness while it lasted.
Paulie & Cara Maria
As a storyline, there's no denying that Paulie and Cara Maria's romance has brought the drama and been the cornerstone of one of The Challenge's biggest modern-day alliances. Starting as a dubious "will they or won't they" on Final Reckoning (while Paulie had a girlfriend back home), the two debuted as a couple on War of the Worlds and immediately put off viewers by describing all the places in the Challenge house where they wanted to hook up.
Given Paulie's checkered romantic past and Cara's status as one of the higher-tiered veterans, there was speculation that Paulie was capitalizing on Cara's rep in order to become a Challenge mainstay. After breaking up and getting back together, the two almost won War of the Worlds 2, becoming the season's villains in the process. They're currently on a break from The Challenge, and appear to be happier off-screen.
Johanna & Kenny
The cringe element of Johanna and Kenny's brief romance on The Island was that Johanna had just gotten out of a very serious relationship with Kenny's then-friend Wes. On top of basically breaking bro-code, Kenny's alliance also blatantly disrespected all the female challengers that season with Johanna more or less turning a blind eye to it all.
The romance itself was brief, but the seeds it planted for future storylines were significant. Kenny and Wes would go on to have an iconic rivalry as a result and be paired for Rivals. When Kenny was banned from The Challenge, his ally Johnny Bananas inherited this rivalry and would continue to go head-to-head with Wes throughout the 2010s.
Jasmine & Tyrie
This brief romance on Rivals was weird and hilarious considering two things: Tyrie was a lower-tier challenger, so hooking up with him wouldn't yield ANY strategic benefits, and Jasmine had a boyfriend back home, which had her fighting temptation for approximately five minutes. It was strange from the get-go and fizzled out once Tyrie was sent home.
Unfortunately, the pair ended up reaping what they sowed when they were put together for the inaugural Battle of the Exes season. They bickered constantly and their time on Exes was only slightly longer than their relationship.
Jenna & Zach
Zach and Jenna became a couple upon meeting on Battle of the Exes 2. Initially, their romance was well received and Jenna appeared to massively upgrade from her previous ex, Jay. But when Jenna competed on Rivals 3, she discovered Zach was cheating on her during a call home.
They'd get back together a year and a half later and are currently engaged, but their subsequent Challenge appearances together have only broadcasted the worst sides of their relationship. Zach and Jenna recently welcomed their first child and their romance has been relatively drama-free, but their previous showings on the reality TV competition were toxic enough to leave a long-lasting bad impression in the eyes of fans.
Jordan & Tori
Tori and Jordan have admitted that they didn't think much of each other when they met on XXX: Dirty 30. However, the two eventually developed a friendship and then feelings for each other shortly after filming. Their relationship origins were questionable given both came on to the season with significant others back home, and there were rumors that the two had hooked up during Dirty 30.
Their relationship lasted for quite a while and they were even engaged, but they split and had a bit of a messy breakup. Jordan has even directly stated that he won't go on The Challenge again if Tori is there.