‘The Challenge’: Horacio Shares Where He Stands With ‘Ride or Die’ Olivia After ‘Heartbreaking’ Move

The players on The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion may have made it through the “Chaos” stage of the game, but the next phase, “Conquest,” has proven to be even more chaotic. Conquest has also provided viewers with, possibly, the wildest move yet. In the Jan. 31 episode, viewers saw Olivia Kaiser make a decision that led to her allies, Kyland Young, Horacio Gutierrez, and Nurys Mateo, being placed into elimination. It came as a major shock to her “Ride or Die” Horacio, in particular, and during PopCulture.com’s recent chat with the competitor, he expressed how “heartbreaking” it was to see his onetime ally’s decision. 

Of course, Horacio experienced a gamut of emotions when the move first took place while they were filming, but it was just as hard to relive it months later. He shared that it was “extremely tough” to watch it all back. The reality star said that it was especially hard to watch given how much they bonded on Season 38, which ended with the pair being medically disqualified in the final because of Olivia’s injury. On top of it all, it was difficult for him to reconcile with the decision since Nurys saved Olivia from going into elimination (over him, at his urging) the week prior.

“So for her to just completely say, ‘Okay, I’m in survivor mode and I don’t care about anybody else except for me,’ after Nurys made that decision, I kind of made that decision as well. Okay, cool. That was very heartbreaking. That’s the word,” Horacio said. “Honestly, it was heartbreaking because if she would’ve picked Nurys, I’m telling you right now, the whole outcome of the entire show would’ve been different. I promise you that. The whole entire outcome of the show would’ve been different.”

Considering how things went down during the season, how are things between him and Olivia today? Well, suffice it to say, they may not be working on the same team if they do cross paths in the future. In regards to his friendship with Olivia and others who may have betrayed him, Horacio explained that it’s “crazy” to experience having “a true friend, a true connection with people, and you jump into this game that it’s literally that game, but in a way, that game’s going to show who you really are. So, I learned a lot from them.” He added, “if anything, going forward, I think the line’s always going to be drawn, simple as that. And I have no revenge or anything that I’m seeking, but at the end of the day, of course, I’d love to see them in a future season.”

The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion airs on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on MTV. Stay tuned to PopCulture.com for Challenge coverage all throughout Season 39.