Instagram Morgan Willett and boyfriend Johnny Bananas
Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio is perhaps the most notorious star of “The Challenge,” having appeared on 20 seasons of the show and winning seven of them. His girlfriend Morgan Willett, however, only appeared on the competition show for a few brief episodes before her elimination and for fans wondering if we’ll see the “Big Brother” star back on with or without Bananas, it’s looking pretty unlikely.
Morgan appeared on “The Challenge: War of the Worlds,” which filmed in the fall of 2018, where she met and was partnered with Johnny Bananas. However, because of the massive target on his back, the two were eliminated in the third episode and went on a short vacation together afterward. The two began dating sometime after the show filmed but they didn’t go public with their relationship for a while, until a red carpet appearance in October 2019.
However, Bananas revealed in a “Challenge Mania” podcast appearance that he told Morgan early on that their relationship likely wouldn’t work if she appeared on more seasons of “The Challenge.” He said, “I’ve been doing this for so long that if there’s any chance for this relationship to work, it can’t be under the public eye of a reality television show.”
He continued, “Before anything got serious, I basically told her, ‘listen, you know that … this has been my life, my profession, for the foreseeable future. I just want you to know that if you plan on continuing to do shows, this isn’t gonna work.’”
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Bananas Said It Wasn’t an Ultimatum Because Morgan Felt Like Reality TV Wasn’t for Her
Bananas then said that his comments to Morgan weren’t an ultimatum because she had already moved on from reality TV. He said, “it wasn’t, like, an ultimatum. It wasn’t like, ‘listen, if you want to be with me, stop doing TV.’ Her thing was like, ‘I dipped my toe in reality television’ … and she just felt like reality television wasn’t her calling.”
Morgan also opened up about her relationship with Bananas in an interview with E! News, saying, “It’s so funny because people always say, ‘You’re dating Johnny Bananas!’ And I’m like no, I’m dating John Devenanzio!” She said his personality off the show is different from the persona he created for TV and that in reality, “he’s a sweetheart and really affectionate.”
Since she’s now off reality TV, Morgan has been hosting a podcast titled “Quarter Life Crisis” and started her own online training program and fitness app called “Move Live Morgan!” She said, “Johnny’s awesome when it comes to supporting me. Obviously, I’m his No. 1 fan when it comes to all his TV shows, but he’s always looking out for me too.”
Morgan Also Dated ‘The Challenge’ & ‘Survivor’ Star Jay Starrett Before She Met Johnny Bananas
Johnny Bananas isn’t the only reality TV star Morgan dated as she was previously in a relationship with Jay Starrett, who appeared on “Total Madness” and “Double Agents.” In fact, the situation was a bit complicated as Jay previously said he and Morgan were dating when she left to film “War of the Worlds.”
Jay and Morgan dated in the summer of 2018 but the relationship ended when Morgan ghosted him. Morgan then went on to star on “Ex on the Beach 2” later in 2018 and Jay joined the show as her ex. They reconnected and left the show as a couple, dating for a few months until Morgan left for “The Challenge.”
About the timeline of their relationship, Morgan said, “The kind of odd thing about all that is obviously when we got off The Challenge I came home. I talked to Jay. We decided to be just friends. We were on good terms. Later on, he asked me about Johnny and I owned it. I was like, ‘You know what, I’ll be real. I’ve been seeing him. This happened,’ blah, blah, blah, and he was fine with it.”
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