‘The Challenge’: Nurys Shares the Real Reason Why She and Olivia Won’t Make Amends

The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion has finally crowned its victor. While Nurys Mateo may not have won the game, she won fans’ hearts. Along the way, the Are You the One? alum found herself in several sticky situations, including ones with her (now former) friends Olivia Kaiser and Jay Starrett. Now that everything is all said and done, what’s the status of Nurys’ relationships with Olivia and Jay? Well, she told PopCulture.com that there’s one person that she can envision possibly making amends. But, her friendship with the other may have come to an end for good. 

Nurys came into Season 39 with several allies, including Olivia and Jay. During the season, she experienced betrayals by those very allies, thrusting her into an underdog position in the latter part of the game. As Nurys explained to PopCulture.com, she was especially disappointed to see her onetime allies go against her, Horacio Gutierrez, and Kyland Young because there was a six-person alliance in place, between those three, Michele Fitzgerald, Jay, and Olivia, which was her “real secret alliance.”

“That’s why when Jay decided to start shooting, I was confused,” Nurys said “And that’s when instantly my mindset was like, ‘You’re shady because we had a secret alliance. We already talked. You’ve given both Kyland and Horacio your word, and then all of a sudden, I’m the liar. I’m the one that’s going against my alliance. When in reality, [that was] your alliance.’” Much has been said about these betrayals, but does Nurys envision ever making amends with those whom she was betrayed by? Surprisingly enough, she said that she would “probably be quicker to forgive Jay” than Olivia at this moment. 

Despite Jay putting her in a “sh*tty position” this season, Nurys said that her issues with him “all comes down to a bunch of game moves.” It’s a different story with Olivia, as the former BFF’s beef continued after filming. Nurys said that she accepted Olivia’s apology at the reunion and that they appeared to be on a better path in their friendship. 

However, after Olivia released an episode of her podcast, Gimme That Mic, sharing her version of events, things changed. In addition to the drama over the podcast, Nurys said that certain behind-the-scenes social media behavior contributed to the downfall of their friendship. The Challenge star claimed that she, Olivia, and Moriah Jade were invited to be in a group chat with fans during the Ride or Dies season. While she and Moriah did not accept the invitation, they were able to see what conversations were taking place in it. She claimed that Olivia was a part of that group chat and that, as of late, she was “talking all this nasty sh*t” and liking comments about her while attempting to apologize privately. 

“It is just things like that, where I’m like, ‘Girl. You try to be one way, but the reality is that you’re another way, and I’m not going to accept your apology. Keep liking those comments before I slap the sh*t out of you,” Nurys said. “That’s just where I’m at now. It’s like, ‘I’m not your friend and don’t care to be your friend.” I’m so grateful that I got to see her true colors.’” With her relationships changing, and with some big wins on her back, how will this affect Nurys’ future on Challenge seasons to come? She knows that it may be an uphill battle, especially if there are certain people cast alongside her. 

“I’m very real. If I don’t want to work with you, I won’t. I am very true to who I am,” she said. “I hope that that is something that they can also consider in the future. People that I haven’t worked with or people that I have worked with where they know that my word means a lot to me, that if I tell you I have your back, I have your back, and hopefully that means something to those people.”