‘The Challenge: All Stars’: Jonna Mannion Revealed Producer Talked Her out of Quitting
The Challenge: All Stars two-time champ Jonna Mannion recently admitted she contemplated quitting season 3 halfway due to “old-school drama.” However, a producer reportedly talked her out of it and encouraged her to remain in the competition.
Beth Stolarczyk accused Jonna Mannion of having an affair during ‘The Challenge: All Stars 3’
The Challenge: All Stars 2 champ Jonna Mannion returned for All Stars 3, where she captured the crown again.
However, she had a more difficult season, especially after Beth Stolarczyk began spreading rumors that she had an affair with ally and All Stars 2 co-champ, MJ Garrett, in an attempt to get Jonna thrown into elimination.
The Real World star overheard and confronted Beth. She later volunteered herself, giving her the power to pick who she wanted to compete against.
Jonna called out Beth and stole her stars after the Los Angeles alum quit when she heard MJ helping her. She eventually advanced to the finals, where she won, taking home another $250,000 check. After the season, Jonna talked to EntertainmentWeekly.com and spoke about how much harder All Stars 3 was for her.
Jonna admitted she wanted to quit halfway through ‘The Challenge: All Stars 3’
She admitted she “shut down” halfway through the competition and contemplated leaving. Jonna continued, noting she felt pulled back into “old-school drama” and pointed out how the rumors Beth spread “can affect my family back at home.”
Therefore, the Arizona native wanted to quit and confided in a production assistant who previously worked on her original Real World: Cancun season in 2009.
She recalled the producer encouraging her to stay because she knew Jonna would regret her choice if she walked away due to the drama.
The two-time winner noted she remembered her reasons for competing, which included proving what she could accomplish to herself, and realized she had a “good chance” to win again. While Jonna admitted her “human moment” almost caused her to exit early, she noted, “I’m really glad that I didn’t.”
Jonna has won back-to-back seasons of ‘The Challenge: All Stars’
After appearing in The Real World: Cancun, Jonna joined competitive spinoff MTV’s The Challenge for Rivals. She competed five times but didn’t make the finals once. She had her best performance in 2012’s Battle of the Seasons, where she and her Cancun team barely missed the last challenge.
Jonna last appeared in 2015’s Battle of the Exes 2 alongside Zach Nichols before returning for Paramount+-based spinoff, The Challenge: All Stars.
During the first season, she advanced to her first finals by only winning one daily mission and without seeing elimination but ultimately placed third overall. Jonna returned for All Stars 2, where she made it to the finals without competing in the Arena.
Running alongside MJ, the pair controversially pulled out the win, earning $250,000 each. The Arizona native played her best game during All Stars 3 by sending two competitors home, stealing their stars. She also won the last two challenges before the final, giving her a point advantage. Jonna held on to her lead, for the most part, ultimately pulling out a back-to-back victory. The Challenge: All Stars is streaming on Paramount+.
