The Challenge alum Zach Nichols has been away from MTV’s competition series and its spinoff versions for several years.
That’s because the former champion got engaged, then married to castmate Jenna Compono, and the two welcomed their first child together within the past few years. A second child arrived for Zach and Jenna last year.
Parenting has kept them busy and away from The Challenge, a show which Zach won in 2012 with Battle of the Seasons. He’d reach three more finals after that.
Surprisingly, that was his only win on MTV’s show, but Zach said it wasn’t for lack of trying in his most recent attempts, including War of the Worlds 2.
His absence from the show has prompted many fans to wonder if he might ever return to compete.
Zach recently shed light on whether he and Jenna plan to get back into the game or would rather retire from The Challenge and enjoy parenthood.
Zach comments on his and Jenna’s potential returns to The Challenge
During an appearance on the GOHT Media podcast, Zach talked about his arrival to reality television on MTV’s The Real World: San Diego, followed by his time on the competition series, The Challenge.
He spoke about how he initially only won one championship, Battle of the Season,s alongside three RW castmates, mentioning he typically went on The Challenge to have fun and never really took the competition seriously.
However, Zach said all changed in his last few seasons, including War of the Worlds 2. He said on their off days that he’d wake up daily around 3:30 a.m. to work out for about an hour before making himself breakfast and sleeping until the afternoon.
He reached the final in that season alongside castmates, including Paulie Calafiore, Cara Maria Sorbello, Ashley Mitchell, “Ninija” Natalie Duran, and Kam Williams.
However, they ultimately lost to a team featuring two Challenge greats- CT Tamburello and Jordan Wisely, along with the UK’s Rogan O’Connor and Dee Nguyen.
When asked if he had the “itch” to return, Zach said he’d “love to” and that Jenna wants him to return to the show more than he does.
“I’d love to go back and compete, but I also love being a day,” he said, mentioning trying to become a Challenge champion isn’t one of his goals as he already is one.
Zach also revealed that “Jenna’s coming back someday” but didn’t give much beyond that. She’s previously told fans that she wants to go back on The Challenge, so it seems like only a matter of time before she appears in the cast again.
Zach comments about becoming a Challenge GOAT
When it comes to The Challenge’s 38 seasons, there are several individuals who fans will label among the greatest of all time for the men, including Jordan, Darrell Taylor, Derrick Kosinski, and Mark Long.
Most will argue it’s between five-time winner CT and Johnny Bananas, who has won seven seasons.
During the GOHT Media interview, Zach was asked if he could become the GOAT of The Challenge, but he said it’d be tough to do now.
“The people who I would consider on Mount Rushmore, they’ve done 20-plus seasons. For me to do 20 seasons, I would be 40 by then,” Zach said.
He added that the competition isn’t just “hard” now but that there are also “more people coming at it” wanting to make a name and win.
He said if he returned, he’d want it to be a “very unique cast for him to fit in socially and competitively.” Zach mentioned that would help him “re-earn the stripes” as far as being a feared competitor on the show.
“Now that I have kids…I’d miss them too much. I’d wonder what I’m missing, and I’d wonder what they’re doing,” he also shared, adding, “So I don’t think I could go back and- give it 100 percent.”
More than a few of Zach’s former castmates have indicated spending time away from their kids and families for the lengthy filming of MTV’s show is difficult to continue doing.
The good news for Zach, Jenna, and other Challenge parents is that the show now films shorter spinoff seasons, including The Challenge: All Stars and The Challenge: USA, both of which they could potentially appear on.
That said, if the show continues going on MTV, plenty of fans would love to see Zach and Jenna back in the competition.
The Challenge: World Championship episodes arrive on Wednesdays on Paramount Plus.
Episodes of The Challenge are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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