After several seasons away, Johnny Bananas made his big return to MTV’s The Challenge for Season 38, known as Ride or Dies, where he joined forces with longtime castmate and friend Nany Gonzalez.
As of this writing, the duo is one of three teams competing in the Ride or Dies final, with a million dollars in prize money on the line.
Many fans are waiting to see if Bananas will win his eighth season on the show, which would see him extend his record for most seasons won by any Challenge star.
Whether he wins or not, he’s become a fixture of MTV’s competition series and generally brings plenty of entertainment to any season he appears in.
However, there’s always some concern that stars of the flagship series will decide to stop returning to MTV and begin pursuing wins on The Challenge: All Stars, which offers a shorter filming period.
While Bananas hasn’t given any indication that he plans to stop appearing on MTV’s version of The Challenge, he did talk about one particular themed season he’ll not do.
Johnny Bananas reveals why he wouldn’t return for The Challenge 39
Bananas has appeared in numerous seasons of MTV’s The Challenge, with themes focused on friends, allies, rivals, and exes.
In an episode of his Death, Taxes and Bananas podcast, he and his guest, former Love Island star Olivia Kaiser, agreed they wouldn’t want to appear on the show if it had an exes theme again.
“I just hope the next season’s not ‘exes’ because I have two exes that I do not want to do a show with, and I don’t even know if I would do it,” Olivia told Bananas.
“Trust me, if that’s the theme, I will not be within 100 square miles of that place,” Bananas said.
There have been two Battle of the Exes seasons in the 38 seasons of The Challenge, both of which Bananas appeared in. The first featured Bananas teaming up with his ex Camila Nakagawa and the duo won, besting Chris “CT” Tamburello and the late Diem Brown.
Bananas returned on Battle of the Exes II alongside Nany Gonzalez, but they were eliminated ahead of the final.
If MTV were to unveil a Battle of the Exes III season, there would be plenty of exes to choose from for Bananas. Among them are Morgan Willett, Melissa Reeves, Kayleigh Morris, Angela Babicz, and Natalie Negrotti. He also enjoyed a showmance with Ride or Dies rookie Moriah Jadea.
Bananas spoke about his motivation to return for Ride or Dies
While Bananas and Nany didn’t win Exes II, they remained friends over the years and returned for the Ride or Dies season. The theme is about partners that share a special bond, whether friends, relatives, or lovers.
Bananas and Nany showed up as a surprise team several episodes into the season. The seven-time champ told Hollywood Life that he had great reason to return for The Challenge, so he could help Nany finally win.
“[Winning] has eluded her for so long and I felt like her best shot at finally winning would be with me,” he said. “I couldn’t pick a better person to want to compete next to and support and help cross the finish line than her. She deserves it so much. That girl has put in so much time and effort over the years. It gave me a reason to want to compete and win other than my own selfish reasons.”
Bananas said he needed to take a few seasons off before he could return to the MTV competition series.
“I wanted to appreciate the show again and look forward to doing it, rather than just looking at it like a monotonous job,” he said, adding, “I wanted to step away and take some time to reestablish my love for the franchise.”
While Bananas might not return for Season 39, it appears he’s not hurting for other reality TV work, as there are rumors he’ll appear in an upcoming show’s cast.
The Challenge: Ride or Dies airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.
Episodes of The Challenge are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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I will not watch season 39 if bananas won’t be on it! It’s boring without him, CT or Wes.