By Andrew Pryor
On MTV’s The Challenge: Battle of the Exes, viewers began the season expecting drama and fights, and they haven’t been disappointed so far. But for every crazy moment the cameras catch for those watching at home, there are at least five more that go unnoticed. And for Challenge competitors Naomi Defensor and Leroy Garrett, most of their drama occurred when they were off the record.
Both Defensor and Garrett knew there was going to be trouble from the very beginning. “I was worried, just because of the relationship we had previously in Las Vegas,” said Garrett, “I thought she was gonna want to hook-up and her mind wouldn’t be focused on the game, and I didn’t know how well she would compete physically because she’s really not athletic like that, so in my mind, I really didn’t think we were gonna make it too far.”
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Their problems started way back in Las Vegas, where an agreement to keep an open relationship quickly turned ugly. “Regardless of what Leroy says,” stated Defensor, “the truth is that after The Real World we were talking for a bit, trying to figure things out on a different level…he wasn’t ready for a relationship or for any kind of commitment, but he likes to act like that never happened.”
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However, Garrett tells a different story. “Our whole beef started back in Las Vegas, Naomi hated me while we were living there, we made this deal that we could hook-up and be friends with benefits, and when I was hooking up with other girls she’d be so pissed about it. I was super cool, we made a deal, and she didn’t stick to her end of it.”
Their differences in opinion led to tensions between them. And those tensions resurfaced during Battle of The Exes, making their game an uphill battle.
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Defensor said, “Our communication was definitely off…I was worried about hooking up at first and he was worried about winning so there was conflict there. They don’t show us arguing much but we spent the entire time arguing.”
“Every other team, they were on the same page–they were there to get the money, and never once did Naomi even speak about the money. Naomi would walk around the house with the biggest mouth, talking about how she would kill this girl or that girl, and as soon as the challenge next morning she’d be ready to cry because she was afraid of heights. She had no confidence at all whatsoever,” said Garrett.
An early exit from the game made it perfectly clear that their communication issues were their downfall.
Now that the challenge is over, both Garrett and Defensor are no longer in contact with each other and don’t plan to make amends anytime soon. Yet they can both agree on one thing: Do they hope to see their ex on any more Challenges?
Defensor: “No, I don’t really care to see him ever again to be honest.”
Garrett: “Most definitely not, and if she is I don’t want her to be my partner.”
Well, that says it all.
