‘The Challenge’: Johnny ‘Bananas’ Devenanzio Names His ‘Most Miserable’ Season
The Challenge star Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio competed in 20 seasons before returning for Ride or Dies. In a recent interview, the winningest player named the season he considered the toughest to endure.
Johnny ‘Bananas’ Devenanzio named his ‘most miserable’ season
Seven-time champ Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio has competed on The Challenge consistently since his 2006 debut on The Duel.
Therefore, he’s faced several conditions that would make the seasons more challenging, including the Survivor-inspired season The Island, which he went on to win, and being forced to compete alongside his rivals and exes. However, Johnny named season 32’s Final Reckoning (2018) as his “most miserable” season and pointed to the lack of human connection as the reason.
Speaking to Ride or Dies rookie Olivia Kaiser during a February 2023 episode of his podcast, Death, Taxes, and Bananas, Johnny pointed out he and teammate Tony Raines were at the bottom of the house and “isolated” by the other competitors and production.
He claimed everyone understood that if anyone befriended the two or attempted to work with them, they would also become a house target. The Real World star noted that human connection is essential and had difficulty lasting in the house for 10 weeks without it, especially as he’s from an affectionate family.
Johnny Bananas missed the finals in ‘Final Reckoning’
For Final Reckoning, the cast competed in pairs alongside someone they had a vendetta against for the title and grand prize.
Initially, rivals Devin Walker and Bananas were teamed up, but he withdrew from the competition due to his father’s death before briefly returning near the end as a Mercenary. Therefore, Tony entered the game as Johnny’s partner due to his memorable betrayal of his former mentor in Vendettas.
They remained safe for the first several episodes and then saved themselves with two daily challenge wins. However, their rivals Natalie Negrotti and Paulie Calafiore finally came into power in episode 16, and Tony and Bananas found themselves voted into elimination.
They called out Joss Mooney and Sylvia Elsrode, who sent them to the Redemption House. Even though they earned their way back into the house, they were quickly sent home again, this time for good, barely missing out on the finals.
Johnny Bananas has won the most seasons of ‘The Challenge’
After getting sent home first in his rookie debut, Bananas returned for The Inferno 3 as part of Team Good Guys and made it to his first finals. Following a brief appearance in The Gauntlet 3, the California native competed in The Island, the first season to ditch the Real World versus Road Rules theme, and won.
He returned for The Ruins, clocking another win before Tyler Duckworth eliminated him early in Cutthroat. However, Bananas followed it with his third victory when he teamed up with Tyler for Rivals. The reality TV star got his fourth win in his next season, Battle of the Exes 2, and then placed second in the subsequent Rivals 2 before earning his fifth win in Free Agents.
Despite impressive performances in Battle of the Exes 2 and Bloodlines, Bananas failed to make the finals. However, he turned his luck around in Rivals 3, capturing his sixth win alongside Sarah Rice, who had betrayed him. Therefore, Bananas didn’t flinch at the opportunity to walk away with the entire grand prize.
It’s believed his decision cursed him, as the popular player went home fairly early in his next six seasons before finally securing a historic seventh win. The Challenge airs Wednesdays on MTV.
