MTV Ed Eason (left) and Nam Vo (right)
There have been a few competitors who have left this season of “The Challenge” outside of elimination, including Tommy Sheehan in the most recent episode, and some of them were not explained to viewers. Nam Vo, who left the show for the second season in a row without seeing an elimination, just opened up to his followers about his departure from “Spies, Lies and Allies.”
Many fans were happy to see the German reality star return for the 37th season as his early exit last season due to a back injury prevented him from showcasing his strength and smarts in elimination. Nam chose Michele Fitzgerald as his partner during the first episode but was largely absent from the rest of the episode, including when Michele was called into the elimination lair.
After Michele’s win, TJ Lavin announced that Nam had to leave the show and was “deactivated” but did not provide a reason why. “The Circle” star Ed Eason came into the game to take Nam’s place. Two weeks after that episode aired, Nam took to social media to speak on his departure.
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Nam Posted That He Didn’t Want to Reveal the Exact Reasons Why But Shared His Thoughts About Leaving
On August 25, Nam wrote on Instagram, “I received tons of messages about my leaving of the last season of @challengemtv. I prefer not to speak on what happened but I really appreciate all the support and love messages I received from you guys!”
He wrote that he did not want to get into the details but told his followers, “trust me when I tell you that it was one of the hardest time I had to go through in my life. I was absolutely devastated and heartbroken. I wish absolutely nobody that kind of experience I had to go [through].” He wrote that, “I survived, I recovered” but did not go into more details about his future on the show.
Several of Nam’s co-stars, including Josh Martinez and Kelz Dyke commented on his post to support the reality star. The official “Challenge” Instagram page and Devyn Simone also commented heart emojis so it seems as though whatever caused Nam’s departure has not resulted in bad blood between the reality star and the network.
Some of Nam’s Co-Stars Spoke About His Departure & Hinted That It May Have Been Due to COVID-19
Although Nam didn’t provide many details about his departure, some of his co-stars have addressed what happened and hinted that it was due to a COVID-19 outbreak that began after filming. Michele Fitzgerald, Amanda Garcia and Ashley Mitchell went on Instagram Live after the season premiere aired and said there was a COVID-19 outbreak among the cast and crew.
They said Tula “Big T” Fazakerley was the first star of the show to be removed from the house and then others became sick also, causing production to shut down for a second quarantine between the first challenge and the first elimination. Amanda said, “3 or 4 people got it,” then asked, “Did they ever say why Nam… did he ever announce why he was gone or no?” Her co-stars replied no.
Later in the Live, Amanda said it was such a shame that the outbreak happened “because one person literally had to leave the game for it.” Michele added, “Poor Nam… It’s so sad what happened to him last season and this season. When I found out he had COVID, he told me the day before we were going back in the house.” Neither Nam nor MTV confirmed that the virus was the reason for his departure.
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