The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II is the 26th season of MTV's reality game show, The Challenge, and the sequel to the show's 22nd season, Battle of the Exes. Filming occurred in Pedasí, Panama and Ørsta, Norway in August and September 2014, with former cast members from MTV's The Real World, The Challenge, and Are You the One? competing. With Are You the One?, this season marks the first to feature cast members from a show not produced by Bunim-Murray Productions.
The season was dedicated to cast members Diem Brown and Ryan Knight, both of whom died in November 2014, two months after filming ended. Brown was featured in an MTV special titled "We Heart Diem" that aired on December 9, 2014.
A launch special, "EX-tra Baggage", hosted by T. J. Lavin and Battle of the Exes champion Camila Nakagawa, aired on December 30, 2014. The season premiered with a special 90 minutes episode on January 6, 2015, and concluded its run on March 24, 2015, with the Reunion and "The S... They Should've Shown" specials.
Format Battle of the Exes II follows the same format as the original Battle of the Exes challenge, with the following differences:
After the first eight "Dome" games, a losing team will have a chance to re-join the competition in "Battle of the EX-iled," which will pit a newly eliminated couple against the winner of the previous week's "Ex-iled" winner. Ex-ile matches and mini episodes were shown on MTV.com and MTV aired a Battle of the EX-iled Recap special after episode 6 showing progress in ex-iles up to that point. At the end of the season, three teams will compete in the final challenge — for a share of a $350,000 prize (up $50,000 from the original Exes challenge). The first-place team wins $250,000, second-place wins $70,000 and third-place wins $30,000.
Contestants Male contestants Original season Finish The Real World: PortlandWinner The Real World: Las Vegas (2011)Runner-up Real World: Ex-PlosionThird place The Real World: Key WestEpisode 11 The Real World: Austin Episode 10 The Real World: San Diego (2011)Episode 8 The Real World: PortlandEpisode 7 Are You the One? 1Episode 7 The Real World: New Orleans (2010)Episode 4 Are You the One? 1 Episode 3 The Real World: ParisEpisode 3 Real World: Ex-PlosionEpisode 2 The Real World: Las Vegas (2011)Episode 1 Female contestants Original season Finish The Real World: BrooklynWinner The Challenge: Fresh Meat IIRunner-up Real World: Ex-PlosionThird place The Real World: Las Vegas (2011)Episode 11 The Real World: PortlandEpisode 11 The Real World: CancunEpisode 8 The Real World: PortlandEpisode 7 Are You the One? 1Episode 7 The Real World: New Orleans (2010)Episode 4 Are You the One? 1 Episode 3Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh MeatEpisode 3 Real World: Ex-PlosionEpisode 2 The Real World: PortlandEpisode 1
Teams Team Male partner Female partner Adam & BrittanyAdam KuhnBrittany Baldassari Bananas & Nany Johnny "Bananas" DevenanzioNany González CT & DiemChris "CT" TamburelloDiem Brown Dustin & Jessica Dustin ZitoJessica McCain Jay & JennaJay MitchellJenna Compono John & Simone John JacobsSimone Kelly Johnny & Averey Johnny ReillyAverey Tressler Jordan & SarahJordan WiseleySarah Rice Knight & Jemmye Ryan KnightJemmye Carroll Leroy & NiaLeroy GarrettNia Moore Thomas & HaileyThomas BuellHailey Chivers Wes & TheresaWes BergmannTheresa González Zach & Jonna Zach NicholsJonna Mannion
Pre-season romantic backgrounds Adam & Brittany: On the first season of Are You the One?, Brittany immediately fell in love with Adam. Adam wasn't interested but Brittany was convinced they were a perfect match and spent the duration of the season cooing over Adam. Bananas & Nany: The two had a brief dalliance outside of The Challenge. Towards the end of Free Agents, the two started to develop a closer friendship, and realized that they worked well together. Nany has stated that she can still feel the spark between them on some occasions. CT & Diem: The two were paired together in the original Battle of the Exes season, and placed second in the final challenge. The two next competed on Rivals II, however, Diem felt that CT's political game interfered with their trust. CT ended up winning the competition, while Diem was eliminated right before the final challenge. Dustin & Jessica: The two developed a brief relationship during Free Agents, after a newly single Dustin was reluctant to hook up with anyone, following his breakup with his Real World: Las Vegas housemate Heather Marter. Jessica hoped to re-connect with Dustin after the season, however, she stated during the Free Agents reunion that she discovered that Dustin hooked up with another girl. Jay & Jenna: Jenna entered the Real World: Ex-Plosion house as Jay's ex. Jay tried to put his "player" ways in the past, however, Jenna never felt she was getting the respect she deserved when dating Jay. It was revealed during the Real World: Ex-Plosion reunion show that the two had broken up, as Jenna had grown tired of Jay's cheating ways. John & Simone: At the beginning of the first season of Are You The One?, the two spent a good amount of time hanging out, but they discovered that they were not a perfect match early into the season. Once they began pursuing other people, jealousy erupted and bitter words were exchanged. Johnny & Averey: The two started dating on The Real World: Portland. After the season, Averey left her Hooters job in Arizona and moved in with Johnny in Boston. However, the two broke up following accusations of cheating on Averey's part. Johnny later hooked up with Nany González during Free Agents, to the disgust of Averey. Jordan & Sarah: The two had a short-lived flirt during Rivals II, before Sarah was removed from the competition for being left without a partner. Knight & Jemmye: The two stated dating on The Real World: New Orleans and continued to date after the show. However, once Jemmye found out that Knight had cheated on her with an ex-girlfriend, she broke up with him. On Battle of the Seasons, the two worked well together, despite the fact that Jemmye said she would get back with Knight "over her dead body." On Rivals II, their relationship soured, as Knight's main role in the house was bothering Jemmye, even going as far as to pour ketchup on her during an argument (Jemmye suffers from "mortuusequusphobia"). Leroy & Nia: Leroy & Nia were rumored to have hooked up on Free Agents, after the two were spotted exiting a bathroom together. Leroy & Theresa: Leroy and Theresa had a brief romantic tryst during Rivals II, which quickly turned ugly afterwards. Thomas & Hailey: The two were high-school sweethearts. Hailey is the girl Thomas lost his virginity to, but Thomas was distraught when he found out Hailey was not as innocent. During the Real World: Ex-Plosion, negative feelings resurfaced when Hailey entered the house. Thomas accused Hailey of ruining his experience and his relationship with housemate Jamie Larson. The two got into a fight which ended with Hailey leaving the show earlier to save their friendship. Wes & Theresa: On Fresh Meat II, Theresa had crushes on Wes, as well as Kenny Santucci, but wasn't sure of who she wanted more. Initially, she was attracted to Kenny, but once he denied her advances, she turned her attention towards Wes. Wes' attraction towards Theresa faded once Kenny (and Wes' best friend Danny) confirmed that Theresa was indeed interested in Kenny first. On Rivals II, Theresa found a new attraction, Leroy, and the two hooked up in the top bunk of Wes' bunk bed. Wes proceeded to call Theresa "the trashiest girl in the house" during the "Frenemies" challenge. Zach & Jonna: The two met on Battle of the Seasons and Jonna was instantly attracted to Zach, despite the fact that she had a boyfriend back home. Before she pursued any sort of relationship with Zach, Jonna called her boyfriend to break it off so she would not be a cheater. The two were almost inseparable on the show, with Zach doing anything in his power to keep Jonna's Team Cancun safe until they came in last place on that season's final mission and were eliminated. Zach moved to Los Angeles to continue dating Jonna, but he realized they were too different and left her.
Gameplay
Challenge games I Got You Babe: Teams have to advance from one tall building to another, on a tightrope that is suspended above ground. The female partners advance on the tightrope, while their male partners are suspended on an overhead tightrope in a "Superman" position, and have to drop a rope toward their partners in order to advance on the tightrope. Teams are disqualified if the female partner falls off the tightrope. The team that advances from one building to another in the fastest time wins the Power Couple, while the team whose female partner falls off the rope in the fastest time is automatically sent to the Dome. Winners: Wes & Theresa Rounding the Bases: This challenge consists of a series of four tasks on a baseball diamond. First base: Each team has to race across a bamboo lane, place a card between each other's lips, and either "suck" or "blow" in order to advance the card around bamboo poles. If a team drops the card, they have to start from the beginning. The three last-place teams (out of twelve) are eliminated from the challenge, while the last-place team at the first base is automatically sent to the Dome. Second base: Each team has to unscrew a contraption — in a "sexually suggestive" manner; the male partner is positioned in front of and has to unscrew a pair of baseballs, while the female partner is positioned in front of and has to unscrew a baseball bat, and place the parts in a box at the finish line. The three last-place teams (out of nine) are out. Third base: Each team has to lick off peanut butter at their designated stations in order to reveal numbers needed for a combination to unlock a pair of poles. The three last-place teams (out of six) are out. Home plate: Three teams remain at the final phase of the challenge. Each partner has to grab a 30-foot pole, 60 feet apart, insert the tip of one pole into another, and push until one pole pops out at the other end. The first team to advance their poles wins the entire challenge. Winners: Bananas & Nany On Again, Off Again: Teams have to spin on a wheel that is attached by ropes to a zip line above a pond, swim around a buoy at the opposite side of the pond, then return to the shore and ring a bell. Two teams (four players) compete at a time on the spinning zip line. The team with the fastest time wins the Power Couple, while the team with the slowest time is automatically sent to the Dome. Winners: Jordan & Sarah The Brush Off: First, the girls have to run and jump into a large square pool of red paint, and cover themselves with as much paint as possible, then race up a cargo net, where their male partners will be positioned on a platform, next to a series of hanging canvasses that have 12 white squares. The girls will then transfer the paint with their bodies to their male partners, who will jump onto their designated canvas, and try to cover 12 white squares within a three-minute time limit. The challenge is played in two separate heats — of five and four teams — and the team whose male partner covers the most squares within a three-minute time limit wins, while the team whose male partner covers the fewest squares is automatically sent to the Dome. Winners: Zach & Jonna