‘The Challenge’: Devin Walker Admits to Sharing Prize Money With Finalists for Tax Purposes
The Challenge 38 champions Devin Walker and Tori Deal followed in last season’s winners CT Tamburello and Kayce Clark’s footsteps by sharing their prize money. However, Devin admitted taxes might have played a role in his decision.
Devin Walker and Tori Deal gave other ‘Ride or Dies’ finalists $38,000
Last season, winners CT Tamburello and Kaycee Clark split their million-dollar earnings with other finalists Devin Walker and Tori Deal, giving them $50,000 each.
Devin and Tori went on to win Ride or Dies as teammates and continued the tradition by giving $38,000 to all the other finalists: Olivia Kaiser and Horacio Gutiérrez, Aneesa Ferreira and Jordan Wiseley, and Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and Nany González.
At the moment, Devin explained the money they were gifted last season made their journey worthwhile, even though they didn’t pull out the win.
Following the episode, the Ride or Dies champs appeared on MTV’s Official Challenge Podcast to discuss their victory, and they explained their motivation behind sharing the hefty prize. According to the pair, they initially thought about it during the third stage of the final, which required them to dig through the sand to reach the next level.
Devin admitted to sharing the prize money for tax purposes
The two explained that Tori brought it up after hearing the other finalists tell them about Bananas and Nany’s crucial blunder in stage two as the pair buried a crucial cinder block to complete their puzzle.
However, Devin refused to talk about it because he considered it bad luck and thought the other contestants were lying about their competitors’ mistake.
Once they made the final stage, which required them to remove chains before reaching the middle to pull the lever, signifying their win, the two said they realized how far ahead they were of Bananas and Nany.
Therefore, they circled back to the conversation and agreed on the $38,000 to share. Additionally, Devin admitted that splitting the prize money, which resulted in them taking home $386,000 each, brought them $14,000 below the next tax bracket, playing a role in his decision.
Devin’s loss last season took a mental toll on him
Although the money CT and Kaycee shared with Devin last season made his loss a little more bearable, the Rivals 3 finalist admitted the defeat weighed hard on him.
The Massachusetts native also talked about the “mental beating” he went through during the podcast, crediting it as what propelled his rigid off-season training heading into Ride or Dies.
He recalled having the lead for the first portion of the Spies, Lies, and Allies final and thought he could finally take home the victory until his inability to get over a hill fast enough cost him his first victory. The way he lost caused the MTV alum to confront himself for talking “a lot of s***” and claiming he wanted the win without putting the necessary work into his body, admitting he had to come to a “hard realization.”
Regardless, it resulted in him incorporating a lot of running into his training, which he hates. Even so, The Challenge star is willing to work on his weaknesses, something he believes separates himself and Tori as competitors while other Challengers “live in self-delusion.” The Challenge is available to watch on MTV and Paramount+.
