The Challenge Champ Tori Deal Details the Vets’ ‘Uphill Battle’ on USA Season 2: ‘The Tables Have Truly Turned’

Nick Caruso
·11 min read
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CBS reality favorites are coming for a piece of that sweet Challenge coin.

Another $500,000 is up for grabs when CBS premieres Season 2 of The Challenge: USA (Thursday, Aug. 10 at 10/9c), and this time, veterans from the MTV flagship are joining the fight. Wes Bergmann, Johnny Bananas, Jonna Mannion Stephens, Tori Deal and more will take on strategic masterminds and brawny new competitors from Big Brother, Survivor and The Amazing Race, in hope of cementing their status as some of the greatest challengers to ever play the game. (View the full cast list here.)

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According to Deal, who’s back for her ninth season (spinoffs not included), the CBS competitors’ political savvy and gameplay bring this season to a whole new level.

“I would say the era of vets running the game… thrown out the window,” Deal tells TVLine. “This show was truly one of the most entertaining ones that I’ve been on in a really long time.”

Below, she details the many differences between USA and the MTV staple, how she handles online hate and who impressed her the most this season. But there’s also one particular subject she pleads the fifth on.

TVLINE | First off, congratulations on pulling off your first win on Ride or Dies! How does it feel to officially be a Challenge champion?
TORI DEAL | Thank you! I think it was my seventh season and that’s not including spinoffs, so to win is surreal. But I think when you focus on something for a really long time, you kind of will it into existence. I felt like I knew it was going to happen, it was just a matter of when, so I’m very grateful.

TVLINE | You’ve done a Paramount+ season and now you’re taking on the CBS variety. How did the Challenge: USA differ, if at all, from the flagship MTV series?
It was one of the harder shows to navigate, for sure, because, as said in the trailer, there’s 18 CBS reality titans and then there’s six Challenge legends. Just looking at the numbers alone, you can see that the game could probably swing one way or the other. But I can say that it was interesting to play with so many people that were so well-educated on how to move through a political game. I was really impressed by the competition. And I say that from a viewer’s perspective. People are gonna enjoy it, but to compete against these people, it was an uphill battle.

TVLINE | Who impressed you the most this time around?
I was really impressed by Michaela [Bradshaw]. I had no idea how strong of a competitor she was. We didn’t really get to see that her first season because she went home first, which was just how the game goes sometimes. I was really impressed by a lot of people. Even Josh Martinez comes back into the game looking as fit as ever and obviously, he’s from Big Brother. He knows how to speak that language.

TVLINE | When entering a brand-new game with a totally new dynamic of players, is there built-in loyalty among the MTV returnees? Are you naturally drawn to stick together?
I think you aim for that. You hope for that. But I would be lying if I said that the MTV cast members don’t come in with their own baggage, which is always the issue. You play with each other for years, but you play against each other also. So as much as you’d like to look around and be like, “This is my family,” there is no family among thieves. It was difficult to navigate.

TVLINE | Speaking of the MTV crew, there’s been a lot of back and forth on social media between you and Amanda [Garcia]. What went south between you guys and when did it all begin?
You know, I don’t want to speak too much on that just because it’s obviously a touchy subject. But I will say… how do I even say this without making it a big deal? [Pauses] It’s gonna play out the way it plays out. You’ll see.

TVLINE | How would you describe playing with so many newbies that were born and bred on shows like Survivor and Big Brother? Are there differences in how they think or approach the game?
They’re so strategic! More strategic than myself. I came from a dating show when I went on The Challenge! These people are coming from a show where you have to be super political (Big Brother) or you are reliant on votes (Survivor). The Challenge is the first show that now you have the opportunity to compete to get back into the games. So that’s what makes The Challenge different from these other two shows. But these people — I mean, listen, no shade — it’s just how they play. I felt like I was playing a season of Big Brother or a season of Survivor because of how political it was.

TVLINE | Would you ever want to play Survivor or Big Brother?
Not Big Brother. I think I’d go crazy, but Survivor for sure.

TVLINE | Yeah, Big Brother seems like a lot.
I don’t know how they do it. I hear horror stories, not that people didn’t really enjoy playing, but 90 days in a box? I’m good. I’d rather be outside in the sand eating a bug.

TVLINE | How much did you know about all of the new CBS cast going into this season?
Because I’ve been on reality shows for so long, I try to not watch them, but I think this is the first time that I regretted that because I didn’t understand how people moved. I wasn’t gullible, but I definitely wish I would have seen people’s history a little bit more because I went into it ready to meet everybody at face value. But everybody already had their opinions about me considering they’re coming onto The Challenge and I’ve been on it for so long. So basically all of them did their homework and I showed up to the test with literally no preparation.

TVLINE | I can only imagine that doing back-to-back seasons must take some sort of toll, so how do you prepare for that and also wind down from it, both physically and mentally?
As extreme as it is to go, my self-care regimen is as extreme when I go home. I really do detox from the world. I don’t really go out and party. I’m constantly reading self-help books. I went to the Amazon to go do ayahuasca and sit with plant medicine. I’m constantly working with mindfulness groups and life coaches. It is truly like one or the other. I’m either fully in work mode and I’m competing on camera for 24 hours a day for however many weeks I last on the show, or I’m home and I’m like, “I don’t want to talk to anybody [Laughs]… unless it’s in a positive constructive way.” It really is a balance. It’s been an interesting life to live. Listen, I’m 30, and you see those guys out here doing it in their forties, so until I hit a point where I feel like I’m not athletically good enough anymore, I don’t see myself stopping in the future. Maybe taking a break but not stopping.

TVLINE | The internet is a toxic place and I know you take a lot of heat around social media. Does that ever get under your skin? How do you deal with all of that negativity?
I think about this a lot because, of course, how could it not bother you? But the truth is when I look at my life from a grand perspective, I feel so blessed. So the hate and people’s opinions about me, I’ll look at them and I’ll analyze them and I’ll decide, “OK, wait a minute. Is this right? Do I feel like I could grow from this comment?” If so, then I will. If not, then it’s unnecessary. And that’s the only obstacle I have to deal with life because the rest of my life is great. I have a family, I have my cat, I have my happiness. I’m good being alone. I have my friends. There are so many positives. If I sit here and just let the negative bother me, then I’m not even doing my life justice. It’s just something I have to deal with sometimes. I just coach myself through the hard times where I access my group of people that I talk to, whether it be family, life coach or therapy, and I just work through it as it comes up and that’s just it. I just try to remain grateful.

TVLINE | A topic that’s been talked about a lot in The Challenge world is how differently the show and its fans treats women versus men. People like CT and Bananas have done some truly abominable things on this show, yet they always seem to get a pass. Do you feel like you get more hate than others in the cast and what’s your take on this whole thing?
You know what? I also try to wrap my brain around this one because I don’t want to be somebody who’s a victim for women. I don’t want to walk out into the world and be like, “You hate me because I’m a woman.” I don’t like that attitude or that approach. But when I analyze it and look, like you said, for moment-to-moment things, I do feel like I get an absurd amount of hate for no reason. I haven’t even done anything awful. You look at somebody like Bananas who steals money, and look at somebody like me who’s giving away money — and I love Johnny, I’m not saying anything about him. I think he’s great. It’s a game, but there’s still been so many times when there have been beautiful things that I’ve done, but people will still hate me regardless.

I do think that the world has a feeling about women, especially. Like with me hooking up with somebody on the show, there will be so many like, “Oh my God, I can’t believe Tori is hooking up with another guy!” Do you know how many guys hook up with girls every season? I get a lot of hate, but I also have the most followers to ever come from the show in terms of being just a straight up challenger, and there’s a lot of power in what I do as well. So I see the balance. Of course I get a lot of negativity, but at the same time, I do get a lot of opportunity and a lot of eyes on me. I guess I’m just still analyzing it as my career progresses and I think I’ll have a better answer in about 10 years. [Laughs]

TVLINE | Your World Championship partner Danny [McCray] gave the Challenge Mania podcast a lengthy interview. I don’t want to put words in his mouth, but he seemed to imply that you were maybe playing for Jordan to win or that you didn’t try as hard in the final. How do you respond to that?
I just think that’s ridiculous. And I don’t want to sit here and talk crap on Danny, but to say that I don’t want to win when I was like a mile in front of Danny on every single run and he couldn’t keep up — and just because the editors didn’t necessarily show that — that’s just ridiculous to say. Of course, I want to win, but I’m not going to ruin relationships and friendships that I’ve built over the years, because Jordan and I will probably play together in the future. Knowing that you can have a valuable friend and somebody who’s such an incredible athlete, that’s just not something I’m willing to throw in the trash. I’d rather try to beat him myself, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to let him win. Like, come on! I went against him in Ride or Dies too, him and Aneesa, and Aneesa’s one of my best friends! I’m not gonna let them win. Let’s be real! That’s not in my nature. I believe I can go to the end and beat anybody. I think that I wasn’t aware that Danny’s endurance wasn’t up to the level of Jordan’s. How was I supposed to know that?

TVLINE | I know you can’t spill too much about Season 2 of The Challenge: USA, but can you give me your best tease as to what fans can expect this season?
I would say the era of vets running the game… thrown out the window. Everything that the Challenge fandom has wanted to see for a long time, which is rookies coming in with a good plan, is pretty much gonna happen. The tables have truly turned and I think it makes for a really interesting season.

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