DC ExtraTime: Remembering Azaylia Diamond Cain

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

All Photos Courtesy Ashley and Saiffya's
Twitter and Instagram Accounts.

Three years ago, The Challenge stretched its wings to include those from outside the U.S. making their American television debuts from around the MTV family, ultimately encompassing the entire world of reality TV. And those who came our way from Britain to begin this global invasion have made an instant impact in every season since they first appeared on Vendettas in 2018, with finals appearances on there, Final Reckoning, War of the Worlds 1 and 2 and Total Madness, and one title during that span.

When the second wave of British imports came across the pond and to Namibia for War of the Worlds in 2019, much of the attention was one of the UK's biggest reality stars and his relationship with an alum of its summer guilty pleasure Love Island while one of her fellow Islanders went on to finish 2nd in what is seen as the toughest final challenge ever contested. But there was also some focus on the man from the East Midlands who nurtured his career on the football pitch playing for Coventry City in the second tier of the English Football League Championship and in clubs below the Premier League.

Ashley Cain became much more well known in Britain as part of two series of MTV's global dating franchise Ex On The Beach, being the man in the middle of a love triangle with Melissa Reeves and Kayleigh Morris - two of the original five who went from being on MTV UK to The Challenge. He came to War of the Worlds and got paired with the leader of the latest generation of female challengers, Kam Williams, and they flew under the radar in making it to halfway through the season before succumbing in elimination - one of the handful of times that Killa Kam has fallen short of a final.

However in the time since he left that Challenge season, it was just during this past year that Ash became more well known in the UK as he took on the task of becoming a dad to his first kid. But little did he know when he welcomed her into his world that he would say farewell less than a year later.

DC ExtraTime: Challenge Nation Remembers DMX

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Throughout the past several seasons of The Challenge as well as many other MTV shows, an aspect of these shows that, if it was an actual member of the cast, would certainly qualify for MVP honors has been the music department. Whether it's the action of the fifth major pro sport, the drama that takes place in Siesta Key or any other reality show that airs on the channel or produced by it, those who choose the songs that accompany scenes in these shows have certainly nailed those choices.

Credit: Prince Williams/WireImage

When MTV's first two entries to the slate of new original programming that came with the launch of Paramount+ this spring in Real World Homecoming and The Challenge All-Stars, the geniuses that make the experience of watching MTV Reality on the musical side of things continued into the streaming sphere. And when the ladder debuted to enormous buzz as arguably the most anticipated of the new shows to debut on ViacomCBS' entry into the streaming wars, one musical choice stood out the most, especially now.

It was after the April 1st premiere of All-Stars was made available on Paramount+ that news trickled in unexpectedly from the world of hip-hop involving a heavyweight of the late '90s and 2000's, DMX. The debut of the spinoff to the regular MTV competition show featured the track "Ruff Ryders Anthem" when the competitors came home from their first challenge of going underwater that, along with many other songs, instantly brought back memories to viewers streaming the first episode.

What an honor to have #DMX on the premiere episode of #TheChallengeAllStars ... you will be missed but never forgotten.

🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 pic.twitter.com/85bRFaAWtt

— WeWantOGs (@WeWantOGs) April 9, 2021

DC ExtraTime: Paulie's Chance at Glory

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

IG @PaulCalafiore_

As Viacom and CBS are being busy aggressively pushing the newest player in the streaming world of Paramount+, it's worth noting of where this all began of the newest media powerhouse in our industry. And three years ago this winter & spring, one of the first seeds of that were first planted in the ground that would eventually blossom in this era of being at home all the time during this pandemic.

It was in 2018 that MTV's The Challenge decided to dramatically expand upon its list of probably competitors with which to choose. And the first inklings of what would eventually become the reunited ViacomCBS came when former houseguests of CBS' Big Brother came onto Vendettas and then to the first season of the U.S. version of Ex On The Beach. There, the show that defines summer for every reality TV fan in America has gotten to expand its reach beyond those 100 days in publicized quarantine life in having to made a huge impact on The Challenge, whether you like it or not.

There's little doubt that the ringleader of Big Brother's MTV invasion is Paulie Calafiore of Season 18, who arrived in Hawaii for EOTB USA and then flew over to South Africa where he made it all the way to the end on Final Reckoning, and then again to the War of the Worlds II final. It would've been three straight appearances in the two-day marathon for the cash had he not faltered in the last elimination on the first WOTW season just as he did getting hurt in the Thailand heat. And of course, he found something he didn't get in the EOTB mansion: true love with Cara Maria.

Last summer & fall he watched his older brother Cody win Big Brother All-Stars after being on Season 16 two years prior to him moving into the famed summer house... and now Paulie is eyeing something even bigger than going for $1 million on a reality game show. And last month, he began his quest to follow in the footsteps of a few of his contemporaries and the headlining rookie of Double Agents into uncharted waters for anyone who's been on The Challenge but something as grand: the Olympic world.

DC ExtraTime: Someone You Should Know - Lexy Panterra

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

Along with this ongoing global pandemic, it was back in the early summer of last year that things as we knew it when it comes to the casts of some of reality TV's most vaunted franchises were upended by the Black Lives Matter movement when the police-initiated murder of George Floyd ignited the firestorm of protests that gripped the world's attention during a most chaotic year. And along with it affecting both The Challenge and Siesta Key, the past undoing's and actions by reality personalities also shook one of Hollywood's most well-known hangout joints.

Three years ago, Faith Stowers found herself as one of the ten entrants to the Ex On The Beach house in Hawaii and then competed on two seasons of The Challenge... but she was also someone unique in the environment of Vanderpump Rules. She was the only Black cast member of the Bravo series, being known before crossing into MTV space for her brief affair on Jax Taylor and causing him to cheat on Brittany Cartwright. And it was last year that a 2018 off-camera incident was brought to light where original VPR castmates Stassi Schroeder and Kristen Doute sent local police a false police report involving Faith. After it made waves in British red top tabloid The Daily Mail, Stassi used racially insensitive language when sharing that article while also discussing it on her podcast... but the damage had been done, and she & Kristen were booted from the show.

Faith is now plotting her own course in the world of reality television as she has been shopping around her own series to other outlets following her career in owning her own business in addition to following her life as a mom after beating out everyone else in the SUR world (including Scheana) to parenthood. And last week to kick off a different than usual Grammy Week, she got to hang out with one who has ambitions on becoming a household name as she got to drop some new music...

DC ExtraTime: The British Bear Gets Busted

 *** CAUTION: Content Featured May Be Disturbing to Some Readers *** 

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB/TK

In the course of the past two weeks, all eyes have been glued to the biggest nation in the free world, as the final days of a turbulent presidency have played out just after what might be the defining moment of a former reality star's occupancy of the White House, and the lingering consequences of a stunning raid of Capitol Hill. But while that has been going on in Washington, D.C., along with today's inauguration of a new man in charge, those who've been wanting to get away from a world where many major countries are still on lockdown have found a haven in the Middle East.

Last week, the world's finest judokas gathered in Doha, Qatar for the first competition of a delayed Olympic year, and this week sees Rory McIlroy and Justin Thomas headline a European Tour golf tournament in this region less than two years it welcomes football's best for the FIFA World Cup. For the past several months next door in the United Arab Emirates, global pop collective Now United and most of its seventeen members came together to create songs, videos and content for their growing Uniters fanbase. And a group NU's Mexican member Sabina Hidalgo idolized back home, boy band and VMA winners CNCO, have also spent their winter vacation in this region.

And as the streets of the United Kingdom remain all but deserted as the pandemic-initiated quarantine continues, the cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi have remained vibrant in these uncertain times. During this winter, this UAE and its ideal warm climate have lured British reality TV stars in need to let their guard down to this paradise, including those who have worn the Union Jack on MTV's The Challenge since their invasion of America's fifth major pro sport began on Vendettas. And as the current season of Double Agents enters its second month in Iceland, this past week saw a possible reckoning for one of those who brought his cheeky personality into American airwaves, and his crush on that U.S. debut.

DC ExtraTime: A Big Brother All-Star's Brother Meets Toddy Rockstar

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Wednesday night, after five months of a season that had much go on in and outside its world and culminated with more history, The Challenge gave way to another show that has gone from strength to strength to dominate our summers. After three members of the same cast made it all the way to the final of Total Madness and became spectators to Johnny Bananas and Jenny West reign victorious at the top of Mount Olympus, it was the turn of the show that introduced them to America to take over our attention for the end of this summer and the first few months of the autumn.

Twenty years ago, the fortunes of a CBS network which fell into the cellar during the 90's put their chips into the reality category to regain its glory days. Survivor debuted in May and it was at this time in August that the country watched in increasing numbers that first season and leading to nearly 50 million watching the finale. At the same time, Big Brother debuted as the network put its hopes behind a format that, like Survivor, did so well in Europe that they hoped would emulate their success overseas here. It didn't necessarily translate into that kind of success they hoped for, but thanks to retooling the format it would eventually become a powerhouse that dominates both TV and social.

This week saw the kickoff of the twenty-second season of Big Brother in America, but this time instead of casting a whole new group of newbies, it's past alumni who have joined for another shot on Big Brother All Stars. BB22 is of most interest to Challenge Naton for two reasons: straight off of her finals appearance one-half of the Swayleigh express, Bayleigh Dayton, is back to where she first became a TV star on BB20 two years ago. Also returning to the fold after a two-season sojourn to The Challenge is Final Reckoning and War of the Worlds cult favorite Da'Vonne Rogers, who was a houseguest on two seasons: BB17 in 2015 and Season 18 a year later. They are the two players that stand out to us in a summer that began with the live move-in on Wednesday and continues this weekend, with episode 2 airing later on Sunday due to golf's PGA Championship in San Francisco.

There is one other person of note in that BB All-Stars house who shares the same blood with one who also knows what it's like to be scrutinized for 100 days in that famed summer house, and this past week the one who proceeded him as a houseguest got to meet up with a multi-talented superstar who is also an icon to two communities. Todrick Hall turned 35 years young back in April having already solidified himself as a quadruple threat, but whose journey to stardom began back on the ninth season of American Idol, where the native of the Lubbock area auditioned in Dallas, made it to Hollywood and was eliminated in the semifinals missing out on the final 12 & the live shows.

But that was only the start of a journey that has seen Todrick vault into the stratosphere in the social media age: over 3.5 million subscribe to his YouTube channel which has garnered 775 million views with his many music videos plus parodies and skits. He is also a choreographer having also helped teach many contestants dance moves on RuPaul's Drag Race and has appeared in many Broadway plays. And a few years ago, he let MTV in on how he makes the magic for the 2015 docuseries Todrick, and where he gets to do all the work by himself and with his friends at his side.

But above all, Toddy has become a role model to the LGBTQ community and people of color, having come out when he was aged 15. It was this fact in mind that last year, his good friend Taylor Swift appointed him to direct the video for her second single off Lover, "You Need to Calm Down," which has become an anthem to the gay & lesbian community. The two-time VMA winning video itself not only features Hall, but also Karamo Brown and his Queer Eye fab five, RuPaul, Ellen DeGeneres, Ryan Reynolds, Laverne Cox, Adam Lambert, Ciara and, of course, Katy Perry.

The fandom who adore Todrick are affectionately called the Toddlerz, and one of them who got to run into the main man himself happens to be the brother of one of the new Big Brother All-Stars. And one who also was on Mama Day's second stint in the BB house is Paulie Califiore, who made waves during that summer of 2016, and who would ultimately become a new face and villain to Challenge fans in making two finals and scoring Cara Maria, and who made a pit stop on the first season of Ex On The Beach U.S. en route to Final Reckoning.

DC ExtraTime: Meet The New Mom of Total Madness

*** CAUTION: Contains Potential Spoilers for Overseas Readers ***

 FOLLOW-UP  Congratulations Melissa!

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

Going into 2020, this was going to be the year of the baby in MTV Family: those who you have seen on The Challenge, Real World, Are You The One?, Ex On The Beach, Teen Mom and Siesta Key becoming parents. And while there's been plenty of those so far and more good news like this to come, none of us had any idea that this would be taking place during a challenging time of us in a pandemic and other goings on. But nonetheless, there's always something to smile about and to celebrate whenever those who we've enjoyed on our TV's gets to welcome a new kid into their world.
   The British invasion of The Challenge that started on Vendettas two years ago has been nothing short of a success in injecting some much needed blood into this show, as seventeen players in total have crossed the pond into our American living rooms. They've also packed into their suitcases the reality formats Love Island, Just Tattoo of Us and Ex On The Beach, which have a home in the ViacomCBS family and where the ladder has given us not only a tabloid-friendly U.S. version of MTV's most distributed international franchise, but also a number of stellar U.K. challengers who have their made mark on our biggest major pro sport going on right now.
   As we are halfway through the current season of Total Madness -- that is, as those of us here are watching it, the game has turned in its head with all of the twists that have been laid down by T.J. Lavin, as well as a Brit finding himself in a romance with a returning Challenger, and the never-ending fascination between two of our defending champions with an English accent. That, among other things, have seen those who would normally have more camera time have to play the role of second fiddle to them having the surprise Bananas/Wes alliance and the Big Brother kids getting face time... and we'd only see a handful of those during the daily challenges and eliminations.

That statement is pretty much true for Melissa Reeves, who those in Britain saw on two series of Ex On The Beach U.K., developed a deep vendetta with Kayleigh Morris over their common fascination with former British footballer Ashley Cain, and who gave viewers on the tellies there some explosive television. Her rookie season on Vendettas saw her take on an epic elimination battle with Sylvia as they wrestled in the oil, but her sophomore go saw her get into a fight with Kailah and got them sent home after the opening purge on Final Reckoning.
   This season has definitely been a totally different story for Melissa: the drama she would usually bring to the table has surprisingly been absent thanks to everyone else getting the attention in the extended episodes. With the exception of her standing by Kyle in the midst of his fight in the bar with Nelson this past week, we've really only seen her during the competition itself. Her being able to focus on just that has seen her impress a lot of us in being able to expand upon what she got to do as a rookie but didn't the last time out... and the 2019 she had off has certainly helped.
   Being able to take advantage of her small size to excel in the Fast & Furious truck challenge with Johnny Bananas is proof that Mel may be one to watch as we head into the business end this week. With just one past champion and two veterans left in the field for the women, along with others like her with less than three seasons under their belt, there's a better chance now than at the start of this that Mel may slip into the marathon for £807,430 ($1 million US) - and that will depend upon how things shape up the rest of the way and who might get any of the remaining skulls needed to join the finals party come summertime. If she does, it would be her second time being in a final - the first serving as a mercenary turned Vegas card dealer during the last act of Vendettas.

Twitter/Instagram @DJMelReeves

There's one particular reason why Melissa the Challenger has been seen a bit more often than the Melissa the Drama Queen that viewers on both sides of the pond have been used to. While filming of Total Madness was taking place (that is, back in fall & winter of last year), she had just found out that she had become pregnant, but it wasn't until January and filming had ended that she made it Instagram official with a baby bump under the sun on the beaches of Barbados.
   While those in America marked the start of this presumptively lost summer with Memorial Day at home, those in Britain also had a long 3-day weekend with the late May Bank Holiday Monday off. And while most everyone had nowhere to go to, Melissa was spending time at the hospital to prepare to go into labor for the last hours of her nine-month pregnancy which, like everyone else who has had to go through this since March, takes place in the midst of the coronavirus crisis.
   And a week ago last Sunday after being in labor for three days starting just after Episode 8 aired in America the previous Wednesday, she got to welcome her new bundle of joy. Mel waited until the following day for her to make the announcement on social media, and she captioned on Instagram @DJMelReeves, "24/05/2020 My world changed forever 💞 my baby girl arrived right on her due date 💗 words can’t describe how in love with this little angel I am. I feel so happy and blessed. 👶🏼 🍼 I was in labour for 3 days, then we had to opt for a C section because it turns out she is one big baby, she’s 8lb 11!!"
   She added afterwards, "I had a sweep & my midwife told me I was already 2cm dilated. I've had every sign of labour except for my waters haven't broken & my contractions are irregular. They were regular enough to keep me awake most of the night but I am still only in the early stages of labour."

DC ExtraTime Funny File: A Lion's Challenge Impersonations

BY DC CUEVA                      

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

As part of the promotional blitz leading into this past week's premiere of The Challenge: Total Madness, a guy who's won more of these than any other stated to US Weekly the relief he has that this season has more of what fans like in the competition and less of what he calls "toxic, awful personalities" to make it more favorable to everyone. The subliminal shade Johnny Bananas gave on the magazine's TV podcast referred to two of the biggest notables no-shows to a season that began in grand fashion last week for a sporting nation hungry for some action in this time of uncertainty.

Those two people are Cara Maria Sorbello and Paulie Califiore, who met each other two years ago on The Challenge and have had such a public relationship that it has fascinated everyone who follows both MTV Reality and reality television in its totality. The way the relationship began for the both of them stemming from his split from Bachelor Nation alum Danielle Maltby has divided everyone in Challenge Nation, has seen the approval ratings of the two-time Challenge queen take a nose dive, and helped solidify Big Brother's impact as not just as CBS' summertime guilty pleasure, but now a year-round presence on its once-again cable sibling in the new ViacomCBS regime.

Paulie made his TV debut on the 2016 season of Big Brother, which two years later came to The Challenge starting on Vendettas. He himself moved into the Season 1 Ex On The Beach house just after that season aired, before making a huge impact himself on Final Reckoning as well as the two War of the Worlds seasons. Him being able to play the game relentlessly and fearlessly saw this brother of a past BB houseguest and a former soccer player make a name almost from the start, earning the ire of Johnny and everyone else in making two of his three finals, and narrowly missing the third when him going all in on the last purge on War of the Worlds I cost him dearly.

A member of this year's Challenge cast, "Swaggy C" from the Big Brother season two years after Paul's, BB20, knows what it's like to be the least-liked member of his cast and yet still have an enormous impact on the season. It's very much the same way for Paulie when you refer to not only his original BB18 season but also in what he got to do on Final Reckoning and last year's two WOTW seasons... but while he is taking this season off this time, this past week he took to Instagram to do, what his girlfriend did earlier in her Challenge career.

Back when she was a young up-and-comer who was continuing to earn her stripes, Cara Maria did a YouTube video where she got to do impersonations of fellow Challengers. Those who respected her then who might as well not be on her side now like Jemmye, Nany and Camila, and even Cara were impersonated in that eight-minute video released during Battle of the Seasons 2, where she was part of that infamous Fresh Meat group.

With that video in mind, Paulie decided to do his own impersonations of fellow Challengers which he posted on Instagram TV (the longer version of videos posted on the social app that's longer than 60 seconds). There, he decided to take his chance to act as CT, Wes, Ashley, Rogan, Kam and Jenny. And thus, it includes sights of a wig & bra, a Red Sox hat, and yes, a ginger beard.

When it was posted on premiere night last Wednesday, it might've been just as good as the actual premiere episode itself and over 123,000 of you have seen the video ever since of him doing these spot-on imitations of those he's competed with, and where now he's observing them as just us, armchair fans.

And just about everyone in Challenge Nation, as well as the biggest star of Champs vs. Pros and his fellow Big Brother alumni, had their say in the Instagram comments on the biggest absentee becoming them for a few moments - starting with his #1 fan...

● @misscaramaria: "This is the paulie i know. 🤣♥️"
● @roguesnaps: "Hahahahahahahahahaha mate I’m in tears 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 p.s. BEER ME"
● @mtvashleybrooke: "Oh my god your ct is fucking perfect  you made my day I love you Soooooo much 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😍🔥"

● @darrell_taylor_lb4lb: "CT was on point 😂"

● @jenniferwestofficial: "Oh my god I'm dying!!! C.T and Rogan were spot on!! 😂😂😂😂😂 In this case Paulie you weren't shit you were actually good 😉"

● @lolojones: "Acting skills on point"

● @deenguyen: "I’m mad u didn’t do me. U have the best Australian accent 😂"

● @natalienegrotti: "LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOIOO This is incredible now text me back biatch"

● @mrashleycain: "I actually watched the whole thing. I'm cracking up man. You should deffo do some more! 🤣👏🏾"

● @bradfiorenza: "OMG bro 😂😂😂😂😂"

● @stevie_bear: "😂😂😂😂"

● @jossmooney: "😂😂😂😂 @_famous4nothing"

● @fessyfitness: "Bruhhhhh this is to good 😂😂😂😂😂"

● @kcsince1987: "Lmaoooo 😂😂😂😂"

● @iamkamiam_: "You are hilarious 😭😭😭"

● @eastwood100 Clint/Real World Atlanta: "Hilarious bro 👍🙌"

● @zackass Zach Holmes/Too Stupid to Die: "😂😂😂"

● @ginamariez Gina Zimmerman/Big Brother: "Yo the man brother. Without y’all the Challenge is shit. They scared"

● @daniellealexism Danielle Murphree/Big Brother: "I told you!! I’m so glad that you did this 😂😭 the ones with the accents kill me .... Ashley and Rogan 🤣🤣🤣🤣🔥🔥🔥🔥 I miss y’all!! @misscaramaria"

View this post on Instagram

I’m just going to leave this here.... . . . . @challengemtv @mtv @mtvashleybrooke @westonbergmann @roguesnaps @_famous4nothing @iamkamiam_ @jenniferwestofficial . . . . . . #TheChallenge35

A post shared by Paulie Calafiore (@paulcalafiore_) on Apr 1, 2020 at 3:44pm PDT

- I AM DC
#DCBLOG

DC ExtraTime: Team Jogan Takes Las Vegas

Follow-Up to Dancing with the Chippendales
BY DC CUEVA                          

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

TW @JossMooney

It was two years ago this winter that The Challenge, and MTV in America in general, was invaded by a group of people who those of us on this side of the Atlantic had no idea about, but who have made quite an impression on our shores. Season 31 of Vendettas expanded the big show's potential field of competitors by quite a bit when those from the United Kingdom first came onto both the show and our airwaves both on the field and in the houses of that season and succeeding ones since then. Those like Kayleigh, Bear, Georgia, Theo and Kyle have made their mark on The Challenge ever since

Perhaps, two of those who have become fan favorites to those of us in America as they were on their multiple series of Ex On The Beach (for which it was introduced to U.S. viewers by their appearance and premiered after Vendettas) have become this series' latest bromance in Joss Mooney and Rogan O'Connor. The former was part of a memorable elimination against Derrick Kosinski on Vendettas and made it to the Final Reckoning final, while the ladder went from being gone in the opening purge in Spain to ultimately become one of the four teammates on Team UK that won War of the Worlds 2 just a few months ago.

Team Jogan is relishing this newfound fame after Rogan's $250,000 payday (or, £192,000 in British currency post-Brexit) for winning that WOTW2 final with Jordan, CT and Dee - not to mention meeting Logan Paul in London when they were there for the reunion and the YouTuber for the press tour for his rematch against KSI. And given his part-time job being a stripper back home in London, it was no surprise that the Chippendales gave him and Joss a call if they could host a weekend of shows in Las Vegas.

It was before Final Reckoning premiered that Joss got to hang out with the famed strip troupe at its permanent home at the Rio Las Vegas off the Strip and donned the famed bow tie & cuff links. And last year, Vinny Guadagnino did an extended, two-stint gig of hosting with the Chippendales that was documented on Jersey Shore including when he struggled to get through the first few shows after suffering in injury in rehearsing.

Below, some of the best from their time in Sin City hosting the Chippendales and the press tour proceeding their gig on the weekend of January 24-25 (yes, the weekend before Kobe Bryant's death), plus their Challenge colleague Josh Martinez joining them in Vegas for Conor McGregor's return to the UFC and that victory over the Cowboy the proceeding their gig. They also got to hang out with Vanderpump Rules OG Scheana on her podcast, as well as Kleber Bambam of the Brazilian version of Big Brother and a friend of Team MTV, Mikey P.

DC ExtraTime: Congratulations Melissa!

BY DC CUEVA                        

■ @DC408DXTR  @ IG/YT/SC/TB

This month, while reality TV fans in the U.S. were glued to pillow wrestling on The Bachelor this week as well as the finale of Netflix's The Circle, those across the pond in the United Kingdom have found solstice from the cold outside in reality TV. There, the original version of global phenomenon Love Island launched its fifth series on British tellies with its first season to air during the winter, being held in South Africa during the Southern Hemisphere summer.
   Over on MTV UK, after over a year away the original British installment of Ex On The Beach returned for its tenth series and took a cue from its American cousins & its strategy of making reality stars THE stars of our version. Celebrity EOTB debuted this week with Love Island 2017 alum and two-time Challenger Georgia Harrison being part of a cast of singles that also includes Geordie Shore alum Sophie Kasaei, Mob Wives' Marissa Jade, VH1 staple Tiffany "New York" Pollard and other reality stars from shows airing on UK television that we might not have heard of.

Ex On The Beach rolls along on our side of the Atlantic with its winter-themed Peak of Love season, where Love Island 2018 islander Georgia Steel and British reality star Callum Izzard are part of this winter's cast. But it's because of what was airing at this time two years ago that we have this series on our MTV. Four past EOTB alumni competed on The Challenge Vendettas as part of the British invasion, and their time on the show acted as the bridge to the eventual springtime debut of EOTB USA (which includes mom-to-be Taylor Selfridge after she held her baby shower last week).
   Those who were chosen to cross the pond two years have made big impacts: Joss Mooney had a memorable elimination with Derrick K. there and made it to the Final Reckoning final, while Rogan O'Connor went from being purged on that season to becoming king on War of the Worlds 2. And after one of them got a sense of what it's like to be a stripper like his fellow new Challenge champ, this weekend Team Jogan will be co-hosting the Chippendales shows at the Rio Las Vegas, all after a press tour to promote the same gig Jersey Shore's Vinny Guadagnino had last year in Sin City.

While the bromance has given us reason to love Joss and Rogan and those who've worn the Union Jack on our airwaves, then there's the girls who made it onto that Challenge, and what brought them there was their common attraction to a former footballer that turned into blowups on their two EOTB series. And if you think that the feelings she still had with Nelson Thomas helped to befell Angela Babicz' former BFF relationship with Season 1 bestie Victoria Alario was huge, then its a different cry to what Kayleigh Morris and Melissa Reeves did that brought them to Vendettas.
   The two lasses were on two series of EOTB UK, starting with its second season in 2015 when they were part of the original group of singles alongside Rogan. Both started out on good terms, but it's when soccer player Ashley Cain came into the mix as the UK franchise's first two-time castmate that things got dicey for Kayleigh and Mel. And when all three of them, along with the former's ex Joss, came onto the last two episodes of Series 5 a few years later things got ugly for the girls: a couple arguments between them got out of control.
   The middle leg of the dirty/bad blood trilogy two years ago brought Kayleigh, Mel, Joss, Rogan and Geordie Shore bad boy Kyle Christie to American screens for the first time. And while the lads have made plenty of buzz on our shores, them being in the same place at the same time saw the girls make up without much fanfare, all while the former Big Brother UK houseguest got bullied by the girls in Spain, and the DJ battled Sylvia in a stirring elimination & received a straight red card the next time around when she & Kailah got into a fight after the opening purge on Final Reckoning.

Of what is now the sixteen British competitors who've competed on The Challenge thus far in this new era (and more to come with the upcoming season), only one of them at the present time is a parent. But now, the mom who delighted us in putting up a good battle with Georgia H. last fall, Esther Falana, will have some company, thanks to an Instagram announcement last week from the sunny locale of Barbados...

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Mini me coming summer 2020 👶 🍼

A post shared by Melissa Reeves (@djmelreeves) on Jan 18, 2020 at 10:21am PST

@DJMelReeves

With that simple caption of "Mini me coming summer 2020 👶 🍼," Melissa is the latest MTV'er personality to become a parent-to-be, posted the same day that Taylor Selfridge & Cory Wharton held their baby shower out in California and he wrote in the Instagram comments, "Awwwwww 🙌🏽 CONGRATULATIONS 🎈!!!" The one time Vendetta wrote, "Wait WHAT!!!!," while Big Brother's Bayleigh got to say to her, "MY LITTLE TWIN IS ON HER WAY! You know I’m obsessed already but this photo just made me even more obsessed !!!! I love you sis ❤️😘."
   A number of her other fellow Challengers, as well as those from the MTV UK family and the now expanded Viacom/CBS community have also sent their congrats to the soon-to-be mommy Mel, including ETB UK veteran Chloe Goodman and others. But it also triggered buzz among some in the social community of who might possibly be the father of that new Baby Reeves... that question remains to be answered and the resolution to that may come another day, but for now our congrats go out to Melissa.

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Time for the inundation of bump pics ⚠️🤰🏼

A post shared by Melissa Reeves (@djmelreeves) on Jan 19, 2020 at 8:48am PST

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1 month, 2 months, 3 months, 4....Iv been pregnant for way too long 🤰🏼☀️

A post shared by Melissa Reeves (@djmelreeves) on Jan 21, 2020 at 9:43am PST

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I can’t wait to meet you little one ❤️

A post shared by Melissa Reeves (@djmelreeves) on Jan 23, 2020 at 10:18am PST

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