Josh Martinez says he's ready for a break from “The Challenge:” 'It's something I have to do'

Warning: This article contains spoilers for The Challenge: USA episode 13, "The Treason For the Season."

After the way Josh Martinez's game ended on The Challenge: USA season 2, he's ready to step away from the franchise for a much-needed mental break.

Throughout the second season of CBS' spinoff of MTV's long-running reality competition series, the Big Brother alum found himself doing whatever it took to finally make his first final after six seasons of attempts. First, he betrayed his friend/ally Wes Bergmann by voting for him to go into an elimination that he ultimately lost. Then, he betrayed another friend/ally, Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio, in Thursday's episode by voting for him to go into the last elimination of the season against Faysal "Fessy" Shafaat. Unfortunately for Martinez, karma came quick and the hopper randomly selected him to go into the elimination instead. Martinez ultimately lost the Hall Brawl/puzzle battle and was the last player sent home before the final began.

Below, Martinez tells EW why he's ready to take a break from The Challenge after his exit, why he would have preferred a regular Hall Brawl instead of the puzzle addition, and more.

Jonne Roriz/Paramount Josh Martinez on 'The Challenge: USA'

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: How are you feeling about your exit now that you've had some time to process it and watch it on TV?

JOSH MARTINEZ: This one is definitely tough. I came into this season with one goal, which was to make my first final and, God willingly, win, but really just get to the final and then see how it all played out. To leave right before, it's really, really hard. But I played the best game that I possibly could. Along the way, I made some mistakes, but I can only grow and learn from my mistakes, and hopefully, if I do get another shot, do better next time. But this one stings.

Tell me more about those mistakes — what were they and what did you learn from them?

It was a few things. To have worked so closely with Tori and Johnny — people don't realize that at that point in the game, I was literally against all my friends. We had worked so hard in protecting each other, we all had the conversations that we had to have to get to that point, and that it was basically me against them. No matter what, if I would've chosen Cory, I was going to piss off Fessy, so I was in the toughest spot I had ever been in the game between choosing between my two friends, Johnny and Fessy.

But while I love Cory and I love Fessy, I should have put myself first and voted with Tori and Johnny in going against Cory. But in the same sense, I probably wouldn't be friends with Fessy right now, so it's really hard. The reality is I play with my heart and when I try to play this cutthroat game, it goes against who I am and my morals. But yeah, if I would've made that move against Cory, I would've been in my first final and probably would've done really well. I can't regret it because ... I don't know. There's a lot to unpack there. And still even reliving it sucks. It was really hard to re-watch the episode.

Johnny was betrayed because you voted for him, whereas you wouldn't have voted for Fessy, just for Fessy's opponent to be Cory, so it's not really a direct shot against him. How did you end up making that decision to vote for Johnny despite your promise to him that you wouldn't?

Yeah. What people don't know is that in Spies, Lies & Allies, I crossed Cory. I didn't vote in Logan, and he went into elimination against Logan and went home. So I told Cory, whenever we played again, "I'm going to do right by you." I felt like I had to stick to that. That's something that they didn't show, and that meant a lot to Cory that I was going to have his back. But then I had to choose between Fess and Johnny, and that's what it felt like. If I would've voted Cory, I was basically choosing Johnny's side; if I would've voted for Johnny, I had Fessy. I was being pulled in every direction.

Where I'm extremely disappointed in myself was I wish I would've just owned it from the start and told Johnny. I wish I wouldn't have sworn on my family. My family's everything, so for me to do that and to go to that extent and go against my morals and who I am as a person, that's the hardest pill to swallow. I lost myself, because at that point, I was just willing to do whatever — we knew the final was hours away. How I've always played the past five seasons that I've done, I've never done that. To lose myself at the end game, that's what's really hard to sit with.

Are you worried about the backlash you'll get in future seasons for betraying two of the biggest vets, who were your own allies, in the same season?

[Laughs] I know that it'll come my way. When you make big moves like that, you've got to be ready for the repercussions, either in the same season or down the line. The move with Wes, I thought it was a good move. What people don't know is that a lot of people were in on that and backed out last minute. I had conversations with a lot of the vets and everybody was game to target Wes. Cory was in on it literally before we went in to vote, and then he told me, "We just don't have the votes and I think it's too early." I was like, "If we're going to do it, it's the perfect time."

I have nothing against Wes. He does get a lot of s--- but I think he's such a good dude. Does he have a big ego? Yeah, but we all do. It's just that the guy is really good. He would go on the treadmill and run for hours, and he's always going to perform in a final, so I didn't see any of us having the chance to beat him in the end. Will I have to deal with him in the future? He's saying that he's retired, but I don't know if I believe that entirely.

The Johnny thing, I know it's going to come my way. We've talked, we're in a good place, but I know when it comes down to the game, I know that that trust is broken, and I'm just going to have to deal with it when it comes. I'm ready, let's just say that.

Cory Wharton, Tori Deal, Chanelle Howell, Cassidy Clark, Michaela Bradshaw, Chris Underwood, Desi Williams, Faysal Shafaat, Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio, and Josh Martinez

Do you regret betraying either of them?

It was the talk around the house, but everybody was so scared to make that move. I just did what everybody else wanted but didn't. I just made the move that people didn't commit to. So in reality, am I going to get heat from those two? Yeah. But from everybody else, no. I mean, they're the two champs. How can you be mad at me making a move like that? With the Johnny situation, I had given him my word, so I felt really bad about that. So if anything, I would love to just show him that I have his back in future seasons, but I know that that's not going to fly with him. So if I have any regret from this season, it's turning on Johnny — it's probably one of my biggest regrets from all my seasons.

What was your reaction when your name came out of the hopper and you realized you had to do a Hall Brawl against Fessy?

I was in a state of shock. Obviously that's not what I wanted to happen at all. This is going to sound so crazy but I'm kind of glad it was me and not Johnny, just because I had crossed him, and then if he would've been eliminated ... while I would've been in my first final, I would've felt even worse. I'm a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. It was really scary to go up against my best friend, let alone in a Hall Brawl, but either you give it all you've got or go home. If I had to lose to anybody, I'm glad it was him. If I would've lost to somebody else, I probably would've been pissed off. But it was just really unfortunate.

What was it like competing in the Hall Brawl with a puzzle?

To be honest with you, I would've preferred just a normal Hall Brawl, I still think Fessy would've won but I probably would prefer that. But I remember when I lost, during my exit interview, I told them, "I'm taking a break." I'm not walking away from the show but it was such a big loss for me, and I also felt like I had lost myself with crossing Johnny that I was like, "I really feel like I just need to take another season or two seasons off and take it all into perspective and keep working on me."

Now that you've seen your whole season play out, do you still feel that way?

Yeah. What's wild is the season prior, I was supposed to do [Ride or Dies] — I was an alternate because they wanted my sister but I didn't want my sister to be on, so I was kind of forced into a break. And that was the best thing that could have happened for me. Disconnecting from the competition and just taking a mental break, it was so good for me. I just got in such a good space physically and mentally, and I came into this season really excited to film and compete and just so happy to be back.

But then to walk away the way that I did, it was just hard, so I think I'm going to force myself into taking a break. Definitely taking seasons in between is good for me. I don't know when the next one's going to be, but it's definitely something to think about. If it's a year in between, then no, I'll be fine, but if it's like five months how it usually is, if I'm not feeling mentally all there, then yeah, I would take a break. It's going to be hard to say no because the money always gets better, if I'm being honest, but I think it's something I have to do just for me.

I don't know what's going on with 40, but that's a tough one because you know it's going to be big. You want to be part of something like that because it's just going to be epic. But to be honest, I love MTV, but I like the CBS version better. It's shorter, it's the people, it's different, it feels way more lighter. It's just a whole different energy. They spoiled me with the CBS doing USA. We were all saying that. We were like, "We're never going back!" [Laughs] But I don't know. I don't know if I can say no to 40. I guess we'll see. I'll probably take a break after that one.

This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.

The Challenge: USA season 2 finale airs Thursday at 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.

Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free daily newsletter to get breaking TV news, exclusive first looks, recaps, reviews, interviews with your favorite stars, and more.

Related content:

• Johnny Bananas unpacks that shocking betrayal on The Challenge: USA

• Wes Bergmann explains why he's retiring from The Challenge

• The Challenge showrunner addresses concerns over season 39's cast of no champions