After The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies season, viewers may not see one of the veteran cast members for several seasons due to his need for a break.
With Season 37, fans saw favorites return to compete again, including Nany Gonzalez, Tori Deal, Chris “CT” Tamburello, and Cory Wharton. However, at least one of them won’t appear on Season 38.
Cory revealed he needs to take some time off from the show, sharing the main reasons he’s taking a much-needed break from The Challenge.
The Challenge star was frustrated by castmates, lost Episode 13 elimination
In Spies, Lies & Allies Episode 13, Cory Wharton found himself targetted by his veteran castmates and allies due to their stronger bonds with other people eligible for elimination.
He was voted in and felt frustrated by his castmates’ decision, vowing to win his elimination and infiltrate the Emerald team so he could then get rid of the veteran guys on their team.
Unfortunately, it didn’t work out in his favor, as his elimination opponent, rookie Logan Sampedro, was able to win their event, sending Cory home for the season.
The elimination loss made for the first time in three seasons that Cory Wharton didn’t make it to The Challenge final. That was a tough spot for the vet after finishing in second place in his previous season, Double Agents.
While he told Josh Martinez on Aftermath he holds no grudges towards him, Cory also shared his intention to return to the show better than ever, with a renewed fire in him. It appears that return won’t be for at least a season, though.
Cory says he’s taking a break from The Challenge
During The Challenge: Aftermath show released on November 3, Cory spoke about losing the elimination. He also revealed his decision to take a break from the show after Spies, Lies & Allies.
“I think after the first round I lost, it was like 20-30 minutes. I kind of checked out. I’m not gonna lie. At that point, I started to think about my daughters and things like that,” Cory shared.
“Like I’m getting phone calls from Cheyenne [Floyd] telling me like, ‘Hey, I need you home.’ Taylor’s [Selfridge] missing me, so like all this pressure, I’m like ‘Damn.’ And I’m mad because I gave up on myself a little bit. So I think that’s why I’m going to take a break a little while,” Cory shared on Aftermath.
He went on to say he needs to get that passion back for the competition before he returns to The Challenge.
“I just want to have that fight. I want to have fun. I want to want to be in The Challenge house…I think this season for me, my head was somewhere else, and so it showed in my gameplay,” he said.
Cory’s reveal about taking a break from The Challenge comes not long after appearing in a video clip saying he turned down a call to appear on the All Stars spinoff. While Cory didn’t reveal which season of the spinoff it was, it’s possible it was the third season currently filming in Panama.
Viewers won’t see Cory at the Spies, Lies & Allies reunion, at least in person, as he previously revealed he wasn’t able to attend due to his vaccination status. It’s possible he appeared during the event via video chat, but that has yet to be revealed.
As far as when he might return to The Challenge, Cory didn’t specify how long his break would be. However, he needs to get that much-needed time with his loved ones and to recharge his passion for the competition.
He’s proven himself to be a top-notch competitor capable of winning and will probably miss his time away from The Challenge. Once he finds renewed motivation, it seems likely he’ll return to the MTV show he has been a part of for nine regular seasons.
The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.
Episodes of The Challenge are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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