Paramount Johnny Bananas Devenanzio
After Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio’s seventh win on “Total Madness,” the veteran decided to step away from “The Challenge” for a couple of years and fans weren’t sure if he would ever return to the small screen.
However, his casting in the 38th season was met with some major excitement from fans who couldn’t wait to see his comeback. Ahead of the “Ride or Dies” premiere on October 12, Bananas opened up about why he decided to come back after a couple of seasons off, telling E! News that “It feels good to be home.”
“I know how much the fans missed me, I know how much I missed all of you and I just felt like it was what better time than now?” the seven-time champ shared. He explained that after the difficult “Total Madness” season, where the cast lived in a cold, underground bunker for several weeks, he needed to take a “mental and physical hiatus.”
Bananas, 40, added that he wanted to take some time to himself to let his big win sink in, his first finals appearance and win since “Rivals III” back in 2015. Prior to his hiatus, Bananas had appeared on 12 back-to-back seasons of the show, with his last season off coming in 2012 when he wasn’t cast on “Battle of the Seasons.”
Johnny also shared that his “Challenge” podcast, which launched during his absence from the show, was helpful in paving the way for his return as he was able to “smooth over issues and rivalries and disagreements” that he had with other cast members.
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Johnny ‘Bananas’ Devenanzio Spoke About His Partnership With Nany Gonzalez & His Goal of Getting Nany Her First Win
Bananas also shared with E! News his thoughts on having Nany Gonzalez as a partner once again and revealed that his main objective will be to help her “finally make her way past the finish line.”
The “Real World” alum added hat Nany is the cast member he’s closest with and has known the longest in the house. Despite their “tumultuous relationship,” Bananas said that Nany is one of his closest friends on “The Challenge” and in his personal life.
“And I know for a fact based on the way we’ve both played the game and what we’ve been through in the past that she would absolutely ride or die for me,” he added. “There’s nobody else that fits the definition more so than her.”
Johnny Bananas Had Some Reservations Going Into the Season & Didn’t Know If He Still Had What It Takes
Even though Bananas said it felt like great timing to return to the show and that he was happy to have Nany as a partner, he did point out some concerns that he had with being back on the show after his hiatus.
He said that the “landscape” of the competitors has changed a lot in his absence, with certain people getting a lot more power and strong alliances in the house. Added to that, Bananas said the season had a strong rookie presence and a “very limited” veteran corps. He told E! News that he was worried he’d feel like “a fish out of water.”
Another concern Bananas had was the impact the show would have on him and whether he still had what it takes to go through “potentially 10 weeks of challenges and then a really difficult final and all of the mental and emotional rigors that go into it.”
And then there’s the Devin Walker factor. The two cast members haven’t been on a season together since “Final Reckoning,” when their feud came to a head and Devin was removed from the season. While Bananas shared that he wasn’t worried about Devin in the house as a physical threat, he conceded that his co-star is “smart.” He added that he was more concerned about their “dynamic.”
“Devin loves to and he’s good at getting under my skin,” Bananas told the publication. “Of all the seasons I’ve done, there’s nobody that I’ve literally come that close to just having a physical altercation with.”
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