The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion brought back a cast of competitors who have yet to win the show.
Only three of those cast members ever reached a final, with Total Madness finalist Melissa Reeves and Ride or Dies’ Horacio Gutierrez and Olivia Kaiser.
In Ride or Dies, viewers saw Horacio and Olivia emerge as two of the best newcomers on The Challenge, as they displayed a solid social game and survived multiple eliminations.
While the final featured an unfortunate mishap that took them out of the game, the duo showed they could be serious contenders in future seasons.
That seemingly made it a no-brainer to bring them back for Battle For a New Champion, where one individual will become a first-time Challenge champ.
However, Olivia recently indicated several of her Season 39 castmates felt she didn’t deserve to be part of the new MTV season’s cast.
Olivia says some Season 39 castmates felt she didn’t deserve to be there
Olivia was the latest guest on the Zach Nichols Podcast with Pierre and Zach. During the episode, she brought up how she’d heard people were talking about her behind her back about her being on Season 39.
“I do try my best to stay humble. So, I was obviously a finalist. I never really talked about it much with anyone. I kind of could sense when some people were jealous or some people didn’t think I deserved it,” she said.
“People talked their s**t, I will guarantee it. Almost everyone on my season, whether they know it or not, I know who talked their s**t and said I didn’t deserve to be there,” Olivia said.
When Zach asked why some castmates felt she didn’t deserve to be on The Challenge, Olivia indicated that others told her that some people felt Horacio carried her “all through [Season] 38.”
Zach brought up that there’s an element of luck in making a final, something he admitted he had in reaching finals during some of his Challenge seasons.
He also said some called the season he won an “easy season,” and while that may be true, he still won.
Zach then mentioned that if Olivia gets to another final or close to the final in Season 39, it will silence the naysayers. At that point, he said the doubters couldn’t talk trash about her anymore.
There’s been some trash-talking going on since the episodes began airing. However, that’s due to scenes in Season 39 where Olivia discussed Moriah Jadea’s relationship with Johnny Bananas with some of her castmates.
Viewers saw Moriah become interested in Season 39 castmate James Lock, leading to her feeling she might “embarrass” or hurt Bananas. Following the aired episode, Moriah and Olivia had a back-and-forth on social media regarding things said in the footage.
In a previous episode of his podcast, Zach commented about the Moriah situation with Bananas and said, “Fessy was right about her.” After Zach’s remarks surfaced in a clip online, Moriah called out Bananas for seemingly getting his friends involved in spinning a narrative.
Olivia says Season 38 prepared her after Love Island
Before going onto The Challenge, Olivia was a cast member of the romantic competition Love Island. She said she realized that coming from that reality TV show doesn’t exactly show that she’s a threat.
“I mean, come on, you guys, like, I’m not an idiot, it’s Love Island. Like, what do you have to do there other than make out and like striptease on guys? I still won,” she said, adding, “I think people definitely underestimated me.”
When Zach asked if Olivia had any idea that her second season of The Challenge wouldn’t have veteran cast members in the main cast, she said she knew ahead of filming.
He asked if she was nervous or excited about the season without vets. Olivia explained that she felt extra prepared after her experience in her rookie season.
“I feel like my rookie season was so hard, and there was no chance other than just fighting. So I feel like that actually was a blessing in disguise because it prepared me for any other season,” Olivia shared.
During her chat with Zach and Pierre, Olivia also said she felt like the safest one in the Battle For a New Champ cast thanks to her social game. However, she teased that things may get more interesting as the season progresses.
Viewers will find out if Olivia suffers a sophomore slump in Season 39 or if she’ll officially silence all those haters, doubters, and naysayers who believe she doesn’t deserve to be there.
The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.
Episodes of The Challenge are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
The link above is an affiliate link. This means that for any qualifying purchase you make, we may earn a small commission, at no additional cost to you.