THE CHALLENGE star Averey Tressler opened up about the brutal conditions she endured while filming the MTV show’s 40th season in an exclusive interview with The US Sun.
Averey, 33, is one of 40 contestants competing on the landmark new season of The Challenge: Battle of the Eras, which premieres Wednesday.
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Although Averey is a veteran of the long-running competition series, having starred in Battle of the Exes II, Rivals III and All Stars 4, she admitted that nothing could have prepared her enough for the latest round of filming.
“This year we went to Vietnam and it was probably one of the toughest conditions I’ve ever competed in,” the TV star told The US Sun.
“Very, very, very humid, very hot, unreal, unforgiving,” Averey said of the experience. “It was probably the hardest, especially because I was competing against 39 other people – the biggest cast we’ve ever had to compete with.”
Fans of the Real World/Road Rules spinoff are familiar with the unique changes to its themes and format each season, and Season 40 was no different.
Read more about the challenge
The season features 40 contestants divided into four groups, or “Eras”, ranging from seasoned veterans to newer challengers from various reality shows.
RETURN TO THE GAME
Averey – an Era 3 contestant – confessed that she had a hard time competing against other people who regularly appeared on the show, given that she had recently returned from a nearly decade-long hiatus from reality TV.
“I think this one for me, the reason this season was more challenging for me is there was a huge amount of people and I’ve been out of the reality TV scene for about eight years,” Averey explained.
“There are a lot of people who have been doing this for 10 seasons.”
She also recognized that physicality wasn’t the only component needed for contestants, as forming relationships and alliances is half the battle.
“[My veteran castmates are] very close, even if they don’t like each other, they have, like, that unspoken bond [and shared experiences that I don’t have with them],” Averey acknowledged, noting that it was difficult for her to form the same type of bond.
“So it was really difficult for me to try to find alliances, or people who really trusted me, to work with me.”
However, the Arizona native revealed that she devised a strategy that helped her in that department.
“They’re like, ‘At least you know what you get from me. You don’t know her.’ And I say, ‘That’s correct, but I also use it to my advantage, to like, you don’t know me, let me show you,’” Averey argued.
“I’m like, ‘I never burned you. I never did anything negative to you like these people did.’”
Challenge winners
MTV aired 29 seasons of The Challenge, giving away millions of dollars in prize money. Here’s a look at all the winners over the years.
- Season One – Traffic Rules: All Stars: Cynthia Roberts, Eric Nies, Jon Brennan, Rachel Campos, Sean Duffy
- Second Season – Real World vs. Traffic Rules: Anne Wharton, Kalle Dedolph, Kefla Hare, Mark Long, Noah Rickun, Roni Martin
- Third Season – Challenge 2000: Carlos ‘Los’ Jackson, Dan Setzler, Holly Shand, Piggy Thomas, Veronica Portillo, Sean Duffy
- Season Four – Extreme Challenge: Dan Renzi, Jamie Murray, Julie Stoffer, Kameelah Phillips, Rebecca Lord, Syrus Yarbough
- Fifth Season – Battle of the Seasons: Danny Roberts, Kelley Limp, Mike Mizanin, Coral Smith, Sean Duffy, Elka Walker
- Sixth Season – Battle of the Sexes: Colin Mortensen, Jamie Murray, Mark Long
- Seventh Season – The Challenge: Adam Larson, Cara Zavaleta, Darrell Taylor, Dave Diuntoli, Rachel Robinson, Roni Martin, Sarah Geyson, Theo Vonkurnatowski, Veronica Portillo
- Season Eight – The Inferno: Abram Boise, Christena Pyle, Darrell Taylor, Holly Shand, Katie Doyle, Kendal Sheppard, Timmy Beggy, Veronica Portillo
- Season Nine – Battle of the Sexes 2: Dan Setzler, Eric Nies, Theo Vonkurnatowski
- Season 10 – Inferno II: Darrell Taylor, Jamie Chung, Landon Luek and Mike Mizanin
- Season 11 – The Challenge II: Alton Williams, Ibis Nieves, Jamie Murray, Jodi Weatherton, Kina Dean, Landon Lueck, MJ Garrett, Randy Barry, Susie Meiste
- Season 12 – Fresh Meat: Darrell Taylor, Aviv Melmed
- Season 13 – The Duel: Wes Bergmann, Jodi Weatherton
- Season 14 – The Inferno 3: Abram Boise, Derrick Kosinski, Evelyn Smith, Janelle Casanave, Kenny Santucci, Tonya Cooley
- Season 15 – The Challenge III: Frank Roessler, Jillian Zoboroski, Johanna Botta, Nehemiah Clark, Rachel Moyal, Tori Hall
- Season 16 – The Island: Derrick Kosinki, Evelyn Smith, Johnny Devenanzio, Kenny Santucci
- Season 17 – The Duel II: Evan Starkman, Rachel Robinson
- Season 18 – The Ruins: Derrick Kosinski, Evan Starkman, Johnny Devenanzio, Kenny Santucci, Susie Meister
- Season 19 – Fresh Meat II: Landon Luek, Carley Johnson
- Season 20 – Cutthroat: Brad Fiorenza, Dunbar Merrill, Tori Hall, Tyler Duckworth
- Season 21 – Rivals: Johnny Devenenzio, Tyler Duckworth, Evelyn Smith, Paula Meronek
- Season 22 – Battle of the Exes: Johnny Devenanzio, Camila Nakagawa
- Season 23 – Battle of the Seasons: Ashley Kelsey, Frank Sweeney, Sam McGinn, Zach Nichols
- Season 24 – Rivals II: CT Tamburello, Wes Bergmann, Emily Schromm, Paula Meronek
- Season 25 – Free Agents: Johnny Devenanzio, Laurel Stucky
- Season 26 – Battle of the Exes II: Jordan Wiseley, Sarah Rice
- Season 27 – Battle of the Bloodlines: Cara Maria Sorbello, Jamie Banks
- Season 28 – Rivals III: Johnny Devenanzio, Sarah Rice
- Season 29 – Champions Invasion: CT Tamburello, Ashley Mitchell
- Season 30 – XXX: Dirty 30: Jordan Wiseley, Camila Nakagawa
- Season 31 – Vendettas: Dear Maria Sorbello
- Season 32 – Final Reckoning: Ashley Mitchell, Hunter Barfield
- Season 33 – War of the Worlds: Turabi ‘Turbo’ Camkiran
- Season 34 – War of the Worlds 2: CT Tamburello, Dee Nguyen, Jordan Wiseley, Rogan O’Connor
- Season 35 – Total Madness: Jennifer West, Johnny Devenanzio
- Season 36 – Double Agents: Amber Borzotra, CT Tamburello
- Season 37 – Spies, Lies and Allies: Ct Tamburello, Kaycee Clark
- Season 38 – Ride or Die: Devin Walker-Molaghan, Tori Deal
- Season 39 – Battle for a New Champion: Emanuel Neagu
Averey joked that she finally found her pack after enlisting the support of some of her more experienced friends.
“I went into a season with some good friends. My two closest friends would be Derek [Chavez] and Ryan [Kehoe]and fortunately, they are both in Era 2 and have many connections throughout all the Eras. The people I met helped me a lot,” the TV personality added.
Averey began her career in reality television starring in The Real World: Portland in 2013.
She returned to the small screen for several seasons of The Challenge after that, taking a break after Rivals III aired in 2016 and returning for All Stars 4 last year.
Since then, Averey has been focusing on her work as a Hooters Girl and is preparing to compete in the 2024 Miss Hooters International Pageant on August 22.
The Challenge: Battle of the Ages premieres Wednesday at 8 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on MTV and will stream the next day on Paramount Plus.
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
