Cory Wharton has gone from hateable to a fan favorite after some tough earlier years on MTV and The Challenge.
The former Real World star is part of an Era 3 team in Season 40, aka Battle of the Eras, that includes show winners Devin Walker, Tori Deal, Jonna Mannion, and Jordan Wiseley.
A multi-time finalist, Cory has yet to conquer the reality TV competition despite coming close a few times.
That included his previous appearances on CBS’ The Challenge: USA 2 and Double Agents, where he finished in second place.
During a recent interview, he spoke about being among the “best to have never won” the show and named several other castmates in that group.
He also shared why fans now support him more than they root against him on the competition series.
Cory shares why he went from hateable to likable on MTV
While talking to Power 106 FM’s Letty Peniche for Brown Bag Mornings, Cory spoke about starting on MTV’s Real World: Ex-Plosion and The Challenge when he was young.
At that time, he was a polarizing reality TV star who tended to hook up with various women on the show and acted cocky towards veteran cast members.
Among notable events were his hooking up with castmates Kailah Casillas, Aneesa Ferreira, and other women on The Challenge or his physical altercation with Tony Raines.
The latter saw Cory slam Tony onto a paved surface, resulting in Cory and his teammate, Devin Walker, being kicked off the season.
“I just think some of that is naturally maturing, right? I was 23 years old when I got on TV. I was single, I was young, I thought everything I did was cool,” he said.
“To grow up on TV, it’s got its positives and negatives, I heard a lot. But it’s almost like self-therapy. I kind of got to see the parts of my life that I wanted to improve on, and then I got to do it,” Cory shared.
Cory also mentioned that having daughters also changed him a lot. The Challenge star is currently with fellow MTV star Taylor Selfridge, and they share two daughters. Cory has a third daughter he shares with his ex and Teen Mom co-star, Cheyenne Floyd.
During the Battle of the Eras premiere episode, Cory revealed his intention to finally marry Taylor if he won some of the show’s $1 million prize money, which would go towards their wedding.
Cory says he’s ‘the best to have never won’ The Challenge
While he might be winning in his personal life, he’s yet to win on MTV’s The Challenge.
He’s competed in 10 regular seasons of the show and appeared in four finals. Along with his 20 wins in daily challenges, he also has an 8-4 elimination record for MTV’s The Challenge.
Viewers saw Cory and Kam Williams finish as runner-ups in the Double Agents season, and they split $50,000 of prize money. In his return for Spies, Lies & Allies, hungry rookie competitor Logan Sampedro eliminated him before the final.
During his Power 106 FM interview, Cory called himself “the best to have never won” on The Challenge. He mentioned his castmates, Leroy Garrett and Faysal “Fessy” Shafaat, as the other two he’d place in the top three men on the show without a win.
Leroy is one of Cory’s castmates on Season 40, but production didn’t include Fessy on the Era 4 team.
When Letty mentioned to Cory that Fessy seems to have inherited the role of the unlikable new reality TV star on The Challenge, he joked that he told him he needs to have some kids to help with his image for the fans.
The Challenge: Battle of the Eras airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.
Episodes of The Challenge are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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