Former The Challenge winner Zach Nichols said he has nothing against his former castmate from a previous season of the MTV competition series.
Zach, a former cast member from The Real World: San Diego, appeared in nine MTV seasons of the show.
Viewers saw him debut on Battle of the Seasons in 2012 and win that rookie season alongside his Real World castmates Ashley Kelsey, Frank Sweeney, and Sam McGinn.
Zach reached the final in three other seasons and was part of significant storylines with castmates he hooked up with or had showmances with.
His showmance with Jenna Compono became an ongoing roller coaster ride of a love story played out through various seasons.
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Zach last competed in The Challenge since War of the Worlds 2. However, he appeared in scenes during Total Madness via video chat with Jenna when the couple had relationship issues.
Zach says he’s got nothing against his Exes castmate
Zach and Jenna have worked out those earlier differences, married, and had three children together. Zach said he appreciated a former castmate for that.
One of the seasons Zach competed in was Season 26, the popular Battle of the Exes II. It featured pairs of exes from relationships, with Zach partnered with former showmance Jonna Mannion.
Another team featured Jenna teamed up with Jay “Gotti” Mitchell, her ex-boyfriend from Real World: Ex-Plosion.
Surprisingly, Zach didn’t reach that final, but Jenna and Jay did. That featured an infamous scene where Jay couldn’t stomach a fish guts drink they needed to down to continue. After tears, he admitted he couldn’t continue, which resulted in a DQ for him and Jenna.
While on the Zach Nichols Podcast, Zach’s former castmate Nicole Zanatta mentioned her All Stars 4 castmate Jay, saying he thought Zach still “hates” him.
“I have no issue with him. When I watch back Exes II, I was like, ‘I was such a d***,’” Zach admitted, adding, “But that was back in the day where everyone’s pumping their chest.”
He added that he “got the girl” due to Jay cheating on her multiple times.
“I want to thank him for cheating on her so many times. He cheated on her so many times she landed in my lap,” Zach joked.
“I have nothing but appreciation and love for him,” Zach said about his former castmate.
Jay was one of Nicole’s few allies when she arrived at All Stars 4, mentioning that others included Tony Raines and Leroy Garrett. However, Tony had to self-eliminate from the show due to a personal matter with family, leaving Nicole with one less ally.
“He just seems like a really nice kid now,” Zach said during his podcast, which Nicole confirmed.
“Watching him on the show, it looks like he got a huge serving of humble pie,” Zach said, likely referring to Jay’s previous appearance on MTV’s shows.
They mentioned that Jay never finished last during his appearance on Exes II. He also didn’t appear in a single elimination that season.
As of the first four episodes, he’s managed to stay under the radar on All Stars 4, but he might become a target for elimination at some point in the game as competitors want the coveted Stars ahead of the final.
The Challenge: All Stars 4 airs Wednesdays on Paramount+.
