‘The Challenge’: Wes & Nany Reveal Why It Was The Right Time For Them To Return After 3 Years Away

Courtesy of MTV

Both Wes and Nany haven’t competed on a regular season of ‘The Challenge’ since 2016 — but they’re both back for ‘War of the Worlds,’ and dished to HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVE about why they decided to return!

Wes Bergmann and Nany Gonzalez have taken quite a hiatus from The Challenge, but they’re both back and more ready to compete than ever on The Challenge: War of the Worlds! The last time either of these veteran players competed on a regular season of The Challenge was back on Rivals III, which aired in 2016, and we caught up with them both about why they’re coming back now. “It’s not like I haven’t wanted to do the big ones,” Wes, who competed on the spin-off Champs vs. Stars in 2018, told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY. “It’s just that it needed to fit with my schedule. This one was the one that gave me the longest heads up. Before, they were really not calling with much notice, which isn’t their fault, it’s just how it worked out. This one had a much longer warning period and gave me time to prep my company before I left.”

For Nany, the last several years have been spent focused on school and starting a career, so being on The Challenge had to be put on the back burner. “I did six seasons of The Challenge in a row and my life was very focused on reality TV and all of that,” she explained. “I was kind of almost…exhausted, in a sense. I really wanted to take some time off to focus on myself and my home life. I went back to school and graduated. I worked really hard the last three years to establish my career, and I got to a point where I felt really comfortable. So, when I got the call for The Challenge, it was just perfect timing for me. My job was okay with allowing me to leave so I thought…why not give it another go!?”

During her time off, Nany also cleansed herself from The Challenge, and admittedly hasn’t watched an episode since her last season. “I wasn’t trying to avoid MTV or anything like that,” she said. “But I was just so busy and I didn’t have cable. I was very nonstop with school and work and everything going on in my life.”

Being out of the loop with all the new players had Nany feeling a bit nervous when she first came back to the show, but once things started rolling, she realized she was actually in a pretty sweet position. “I remember looking around [when I got there] and being like…this is actually great!” she revealed. “I don’t have any bad blood or any history with any of these people, and they are all hating each other and have so much history with one another. So I was actually probably in the best position.” As for Wes, he said he felt at “no disadvantage” coming in. “I did what I always did and played strategically,” he explained. “I felt I walked in as the king, and I did my job.”

Despite their lengthy hiatuses, Nany and Wes don’t plan on leaving The Challenge family any time soon, so if you’re a fan of them, you’ll likely see them on more shows down the road. “I really enjoyed my time on War of the Worlds,” Wes admitted. “It wasn’t the best thing for me to do, professionally speaking, but it’s the coolest hobby in the world. I think I would feel remiss if I’m sitting on a rocking chair one day and look back and think…wow, I didn’t do this because I couldn’t find a way to make it work with my job. I want to do it all and maybe I can!” Nany added, “I feel like I had such a good experience this past season. I really enjoy the competition. So I feel like if it does work out with my work schedule and I am able to take time off, I will absolutely do it again if I’m asked!”

The Challenge: War of the Worlds airs on Feb 6 at 9:00 p.m. on MTV. It’s going to be a WILD season!