‘The Challenge: Ride or Dies’ Star Veronica Portillo Talks Late Arrival, the Season’s Big Political Moves

If you’re a serious fan of The Challenge, you would know the name Veronica Portillo. The three-time Challenge champion is back to show the Ride or Dies competitors what she’s made of and, this time, she has fellow legend, Darrell Taylor, by her side. Ahead of the premiere of The Challenge: Ride or Dies, PopCulture.com got the chance to chat with Veronica about what she and Darrell are bringing to the table this time around. 

It was teased in the previous episode of The Challenge that two more heavy hitters would be joining the game. On Wednesday night, it was revealed that the two heavy hitters in question are Veronica and Darrell. They’re the third and final pair of veteran players to enter the game late and, according to Veronica, they planned it this way. She said, “Darrell and I had the option of would we come in number one? Would we come in number two? … we wanted to push it out as much as possible.”

Veronica didn’t expect that coming in later in the game would be as much of a “hindrance” as it ended up being. But, thankfully, she had Darrell by her side throughout it all. She noted that one of the reasons why she even said “yes” to Season 38 is because she was going to be partnered with Darrell, saying, “I didn’t want to let Darrell down … he had the opportunity to go. And it was, you know, both or no one.” After playing (and winning) so many seasons together, Veronica considers Darrell to be like a brother. Even though she knew that she could put her trust in that bond, she also knew that she was going to need some other allies to make it through the season. 

As any Challenge fan knows, Veronica is one of the best political players of all time. The reality TV veteran noted that while she’s great at the political side of the game, she does need people to “dance with.” For Ride or Dies, there were some players who did want to dance with her, but, on the other hand, “there are some people that really sh*t the bed when they are able to make the move that will benefit them in the end.”

Despite some interesting moves from her fellow competitors, Veronica is most excited for fans to see how the political side of the game turns out this season. In the end, she even stated that fans could have gotten “a completely different outcome to Season 38” due to the ramifications of some key decisions. Viewers will simply have to tune in to see where all of the cards fall. The Challenge: Ride or Dies airs on Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.