“Halfway through the season I wanted to go home,” [SPOILER] says.
“Now that I can publicly talk about it, it’s exciting.
“I’m getting a lot of really kind words and a lot of support from people.
‘The Challenge’ host TJ Lavin with winners Wes Bergmann and Jonna Mannion.Paul Castillero/Paramount+
I’m just trying to soak it all in.”
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You almost went home earlier this season after Beth tried to stir up drama.
What inspired you to stay in those low moments?
JONNA MANNION:Yeah, season 3 was tougher for me.
Halfway through the season, I wanted to go home.
This producer was a P.A.
on myReal World Cancunseason.
She was like, “Jonna, I’ve known you for so long.
You’ve come so far.
At that moment, I looked at the reason why I was really there.
I knew I still had a good chance.
Is there anything you want to say about the Beth situation and the allegations she was making against you?
Hit me up, we all got your back.”
She has my number and you know what?
The ball’s in her court at this point.
She had a different idea in mind.
She came in with a plan and a vendetta and I just unfortunately was the victim of it.
[Laughs] Yeah, I really am glad I did.
She almost got me!
How did this win compare to winning last season?
It felt really good.
Winning the third season was a big deal for me because it was an individual game.
I went in and my elimination record wasn’t great.
I think it was like 2-7 at that point or something.
Had I not gone into those eliminations, I wouldn’t have won.
I am not good at crossword puzzles.
I’m not good with words, word scrambles, maps, none of that.
That is literally my worst nightmare.
Everything happens for a reason.
Once again that proves you never know what’s going to happen onThe Challenge.
And you have to be brave.
But this time, me proving to myself my own thing ended up helping me win.
I feel like I’m the luckiest girl in the world, really.
How did this final compare to the finals in the otherAll Starsseasons?
Every time you ask me this question, my answer might change a little bit.
I was surprised I even made it there.
I wasn’t expecting to be there.
[Laughs] By far!
I would still chalk up season 2 to being the hardest for me.
But all three of them were hard in their own way.
The season 3 final was the best victory for me.
I learned from season 1, with the point system, the points really do matter.
At what point did you realize you were going to win?
On day one, three of us girls were super close.
The second day, we started off with that run.
Because if the money was on the boat, I knew that has to be the end, right?
As soon as I started seeing sand, that’s how I knew I was close.
That’s the point where it’s on.
Give it your all.
Keep going, push yourself until you pass out.
This is the end.
When I got to the tangram part, nobody else was there.
Then I went to the block-stacking thing and that’s when Brad and Kailah caught up to me.
Was there any part of the final that we didn’t see in the two episodes?
But besides that, everything was pretty much exactly how it was shown.
Soit wasn’t like last season!
[Laughs] It was a little confusing last season.
I wasn’t going to say it!
You know exactly what I’m thinking.
[Laughs] There’s no controversy this time!
It was Wes and then me.
[Laughs] And nobody could eat food like him so there was no beating him.
What does this win mean for your future onThe Challenge?
Will we see you come back again since you’re at the top of your game?
What’s next from here?
It’s a hard choice.
Last year was a big year: three finals in one year.
I don’t wish that upon anyone.
But now I’m back at home and I’m ready to just live my life and enjoy it.
Since I have the back-to-back wins, financially I can do that.
I don’t know what the future ofAll Starsis, whether there’ll be more seasons or not.
It’s time for somebody else to win.
We mean this in the best way possible.”
And I take it as a compliment.
