‘The Real Love Boat’: 1 Contestant Is Related to an Iconic ‘The Challenge’ Player
It’s not uncommon for reality TV stars to jump between competition shows. And sometimes, they keep it in the family. According to The Challenge fans, one of the players from the popular MTV series is related to Michael Gonzalez, a contestant on The Real Love Boat on CBS.
Michael Gonzalez appeared in the premiere of ‘The Real Love Boat’
The Real Love Boat premiered on Wednesday, Oct. 5, on CBS. The series is designed to help singles fall in love in some of the most romantic places in the world as they travel on a cruise. Each week, the couples go on dates and participate in various competitions, new singles board the ship, and a re-coupling ceremony kicks a contestant or two off The Real Love Boat.
Rebecca Romijn and Jerry O’Connell host the series. And crew members Captain Paolo Arrigo, the cruise director Matt Mitcham, and the bartender Ezra Freeman help the singles on their journey.
Michale Gonzalez, a 35-year-old account manager, was a contestant introduced in the premiere of The Real Love Boat. He opened up about his past relationship and revealed that he would often gaslight his partner. But he started to go to therapy to become a better person.
Michael initially connected with Alisa Shah. However, a new guy, Nathan Kroger, arrived and grabbed Alisa’s attention. She picked Nathan at the first Sail Away Ceremony. And since no one chose Michael, he was eliminated from the show.
‘The Challenge’ fans discover a connection between Michael Gonzalez and Theresa Jones
Following the first episode of The Real Love Boat, fans of The Challenge noticed that one contestant has connections to a couple of players from the MTV series. And they shared their findings on Reddit.
They posted, “Theresa [Jones]’s brother and Nany [González]’s ex is on CBS’s The Real Love Boat,” along with photos of Michael with Theresa and Nany.
Theresa competed in seven seasons of The Challenge. And Nany appeared in 12 seasons. Neither woman ever won, but Theresa was a finalist in The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II, and Nany was a finalist in The Challenge: Free Agents, The Challenge: Double Agents, and The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies.
One Reddit user wrote, “I feel like this was a huge thing to leave out all of these years? Totally would better explain why Nany and [Theresa] don’t like each other.”
“It kind of puts [Theresa and Nany’s] beef into perspective,” someone added. “It always seemed like they had issues off the show, which was why the cause of their drama was never addressed on The Challenge.”
And one fan claimed, “[Michael and Nany] were hooking up for a little four years ago.” So it’s unclear what happened in their relationship, but it’s over now. Nany is currently dating Big Brother 20 and The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies winner Kaycee Clark.
‘The Real Love Boat’ premiered with low ratings
It seems like Michael exited The Real Love Boat at the right time.
Per TVLine, 2.4 million people tuned in to the premiere, and it received a 0.3 rating, making it one of the lowest-rated series premieres of fall 2022. And the fans that did watch it weren’t very receptive to its premise.
However, there is still time for The Real Love Boat to pick up steam.
The Real Love Boat airs Wednesdays at 9 p.m. ET on CBS.
