Aviv Melmed returned for just her second season of The Challenge on MTV’s Battle of the Eras.
She quickly became part of a powerful alliance, likely due to her association with Johnny Bananas and a stacked Era 2 team.
However, her connection to Bananas also meant she got caught up in various feuds, rivalries, spats, and betrayals.
One of those involved castmate Laurel Stucky, initially part of their alliance, referred to as Bananas’ Angels.
Viewers saw Laurel betray Bananas and the alliance upon her exit from Season 40 as a confessional interview featured her giving out her Karma Points to castmates.
Surprisingly, she gave Bananas just one point, and her No. 1 in the game, Jordan Wiselely, got more points to increase his chances of winning the final.
Aviv reveals she talked to Laurel about the Bananas situation
While on the Zach Nichols Podcast, Aviv spoke about what happened involving Laurel with Bananas. Aviv indicated she and Laurel conversed at the Season 40 reunion in Amsterdam.
“This is like a tough one, and I actually did talk to her about it,” she told Zach and his co-host Pierre Caball, adding that it “really hurt” Bananas.
“Listen, Laurel sees it. She gets it. I know people say she doesn’t have feelings. She’s not great socially at expressing them,” Aviv explained.
She said Bananas has often defended Laurel, even putting “his name and his brand out there for her.”
She explained that if Laurel had just said, “Jordan’s my number one,” then it would have been different. However, she described it as a “low blow” to award Bananas one point in the game after their alliance.
“I think after speaking with her that she does feel bad, but it is what it is sometimes. Sometimes you do s*** on this shows, and then you gotta just deal with it,” Aviv said on the podcast.
It’s worth noting that a photo of the Bananas Angels arrived from the Season 40 reunion, featuring Rachel Robinson, Jenny West, and Aviv, with no sign of Laurel.
Zach criticized Laurel for her Season 40 moves
Zach and Laurel seemed to become good friends from their seasons of The Challenge. Several years ago, Laurel attended Zach and Jenna’s wedding. Months ago, Laurel appeared on Zach’s podcast to discuss All Stars 4, and they were on amicable terms.
However, Season 40 has featured a lot of drama involving her castmates, including Darrell Taylor, Cara Maria Sorbello, Michele Fitzgerald, and now Bananas.
She’s also been involved in drama off the show with castmate Nurys Mateo, including social media posts aimed at Nurys’s relationship with Horacio Gutierrez.
In previous installments of Zach’s podcast, he called out Laurel for her intense altercation with Cara Maria, with some of Laurel’s remarks rumored to have crossed a line.
He also criticized Laurel for acting “like a punk” when she said she would no longer compete in the mini-final daily challenge. When she did that, she was already close to last place and unable to complete a memory puzzle to advance to the finish line.
According to Zach, Laurel decided to go out that way because she “couldn’t cut it” and wasn’t prepared physically to compete with the other women there. He suggested she should have gracefully or humbly accepted defeat and admitted she wasn’t ready for the season.
Zach also mentioned that he attempted to contact Laurel to appear on his podcast again and give her side of the Cara Maria altercation. Zach indicated things fell apart when negotiating potential payment for her appearance, and the messages stopped.
The Challenge: Battle of the Eras airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.
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