Tori Deal Reveals an Unseen Night Portion in 'The Challenge: USA' Season 2 Final
Tori Deal
The Challenge: USA season 2 is here! Every week, Parade.com will speak with the CBS reality alumni who were eliminated from the all-star competition.
While Tori Deal was far from the only vet to walk into The Challenge: USA season 2, her situation was very unique. She had just come off of her first win in the franchise, and all eyes were on her as the woman to beat. So when the CBS alumni took charge in the initial stages, she was suddenly on the ropes, thrown into an early elimination against fellow winner Jonna Mannion. But Tori prevailed, and was able to fade into the shadows as the CBS alumni went after each other. She even tried to feed the flames with her "Operation Hat Trick," trying to sow more chaos into the game. At the same time, she was getting friendly with more rookies, most notably Sebastian Noel.
When the game turned individual, Tori's stock increased even more. She won the first two dailies back to back, keeping her safe. And she used the opportunity to broker arguably the most important deal of the season, as she went to the powerful trio of Desi Williams, Michaela Bradshaw, and Chanelle Howell to look out for each other. Despite one moment where the trust was broken, they were all able to stick to the deal, making it to the final. It was Tori's dream scenario, a six-time finalist up against two people who never saw a final and one who never finished. But it was an axe that proved to sever Tori's chances at $250,000. Despite making good time on the second day, she met her match in the first risk station. She failed to hit her target, and the other women did, sending Tori into last place and getting her eliminated mid-final.
The day after the season finale, Tori talks with Parade.com about how she reacted to getting targeted early, "Operation Hat Trick, and her relationship with Sebastian during and after the season.
Related: Everything to Know About The Challenge: USA Season 2
You came in not only as one of only six vets, but someone who had just won before the season filmed. While you're able to take power in your first team vote, you're then sent into elimination by the "Secret Garden" alliance. Were you surprised to get targeted so early?
Oh, for sure. It definitely pulled the rug out from my feet early on and left the taste in my mouth for the rest of my game. I knew that my back was going to be against the wall and I was going to have to figure out and basically tap into all of the bags I had from the years of experience and wonder which political moves I was going to pull out and play and things that I could do to somehow survive this game. And looking back at it, I'm like, [Applauds.] "Flawless execution."
I can't even knock myself for not finishing the final as strong as I'd like to, obviously. But when I look at the game in totality, I'm very, very proud of myself. I do feel like I kind of got that edge back that I had when I first signed up for Te Challenge. And that was refreshing to feel. Because anytime you're pushed with your back against the wall, you prove something to yourself that wouldn't get proved otherwise had you not had to face some type of adversity. So it was interesting. It was different, but it was kind of refreshing.
What also probably didn't help was that you did have vet opposition in the form of Amanda. The two of you had some conflict in previous seasons, and she was very open about wanting to target you throughout your time together on this season. I also know that some comments were exchanged between the two of you in social media before the season aired. What was it like interacting with her while all of this is happening?
It's interesting, right? What you see on social media, and the exchange was after the season had already filmed. What was experienced prior to entering the house was not that same attitude and energy, which is why that shift felt so, "Wait a minute, what's happening here?" But ultimately, I think it's really clear where it is. I have learned my lesson that there is no need to let things be water under the bridge; just burn the bridge down. And that's kind of where we're at now. And it feels good; it feels free. And also it feels good not to worry about everybody liking me. Some people aren't gonna like you. And I didn't really do anything to her. So I don't feel bad about anything.
So let's talk about some of those aforementioned political moves you pulled off. You literally pulled one out of the hat in "Operation Hat Trick," where all the vets each put a vote on someone. Now, there was some discussion after the move that it didn't really fulfill its purpose in creating chaos and not showing your hand, other than getting Alyssa Lopez in and out of the game with your one random vote. Talk to me about the execution and purpose of the move.
Why I did it is because, at that point in the game, I had people from Survivor coming up to me asking me to vote with them, and I had people from Big Brother coming up to me asking me to vote with them. And I had told them both yes. So I know, if I'm doing that, Bananas is doing that, Cory is doing that. We're all doing that. So how can we be sure that we can still continue to lie, even after this vote, and therefore we would still be an asset? So, yeah, maybe it wasn't as necessary as people thought. But in the moment, it brought me peace of mind knowing that I could hide behind any one of those votes that were cast behind somebody else, because that was the most important thing. So making it look like I could potentially be an ally for anybody who wanted my vote.
And did that end up becoming the case? Were you able to continue hiding behind neutrality and saying, "I'm with you, because technically I never voted against you?"
That's exactly what it was. And anytime you do something in the game, if you do something that crosses somebody else, and they don't know, there is always going to be the underlying paranoia. But when you kind of rid yourself of that, you can really play an authentic game. So it did help delete a lot of the paranoia which helped me to have actual conversations with people, which helped them to build trust with me.
Listen, you talk about relationships with the rookies. I'd be remiss not to bring up the sea bass in the room. You are certainly no stranger to this idea of finding feelings for somebody in the pressure cooker that is The Challenge. I know you went in with this adamancy it was not going to happen again. So talk to me about how your relationship with Sebastian emerged despite that.
I like and I enjoy sea bass as a person, I think he's a really, really, really sweet guy. I think, in the beginning of the game, when I was being targeted, he was really one of the only people that was really overly friendly to me. It was easy to talk to him. So I wasn't really getting along with a lot of the girls. Jonna had just gone home; she was the only girl at that point I was really close with. We're there for six weeks, and we don't have access to other people. I think that it just became easy to talk to somebody. It felt safe; it felt nice. And a few drunk nights and things will happen. [Laughs.] But he and I had a very real and honest conversation after, and we are just friends. And he's a great guy. So I have nothing against him personally. I think it was a nice exchange and experience in the moment. But that's all it was.
Speaking to more platonic relationships, Josh said last week that you, him, and Bananas were playing side-by-side throughout the season. How accurate is that?
It's very true. I mean, Josh and Bananas are my friends in real life. And when I think about one thing that I could walk away from this game, and change, I would go back and not vote for Josh. And even when I threw the axe and I missed, and when I read that note from TJ saying I got purged, I was like, "Honestly, I deserve this." I really feel like karma got me for this one. Because as much as I am cool with Cory and I had to deal with him, it was very difficult for me to really turn against my friend. And I put my ball on Josh not thinking he was gonna go in. And I knew many balls Bananas was gonna get, but I wasn't gonna put Bananas against Fessy in a Hall Brawl. Hell no!
SoI think ultimately, Josh, Bananas, and I are all really close. And I think that it was really interesting to have this moment where Josh voted for bananas and I vote for Josh. It was strange. And this game, that's the thing about it. When you make it to the end with your friends, you have to vote against your friends. And that's kind of a luxury to have, because that means you all made it to the end. But at the same time, it hurts even worse at that point. So it was difficult.
Well one of the things that helped protect you was this deal you made with Desi, Chanelle, and Michaela to protect each other. We did see Michaela try to break it a couple of times. Did you ever contemplate doing the same?
Definitely. When the game went individual, and I won the first challenge, I was like, "Okay, this is a great opportunity to get some leverage and to get into this incredible alliance that had formed." There's no way in alliance forms like that unless you have something to offer. And so the only thing I had to offer is there's potential I could win and I can help keep you safe. And so obviously doing that the first two times in a row, and then hearing how Michaela had toyed with it on the third week and then again on the fourth, at that point in time I was ready to go. If I had won again, I was like, "Alright, it's over."
And I think after the votes that Chanelle and Desi put on me, I think it was just like "Okay, they're having a difficult time accepting me into this group." And I get it; I understand. But I was definitely at a point where I was like, "I'm not going to just play nice anymore." So I think it would have been more interesting if I would have won again, because the game would have gotten spicy. But Desi really did have an upper end of the bargain when she won and then didn't want me in when she won that time with Chris. So I think it was rocky roads for a little bit. But when I look at them in total, I'm honored that I was able to be able to work with them. They crushed this season. Desi deserved it. Michaela deserved it Chanelle deserved it. Whoever was meant to win was meant to win. And I look at them, and I'm happy for them and honored that I was able to work with them for the season.
So throughout my interviews this season, I've heard people like Chris and Cassidy say they had relationships with you. Can you talk to me more about some of those bonds you made with the CBS people when your game was at its thorniest?
I kind of didn't go into it like that. I really felt like after that. And this is what I meant when I said earlier it left a bad taste in my mouth. I was expecting, because I had been voted into that second elimination, that at any point in time, I was going to be called in again. And I didn't necessarily care about making friends. What I cared about was winning, and then using that as leverage, and then almost not scaring people, but letting them know, "Hey, Tori has potential to have power in the game. So maybe I don't want to necessarily be on her bad side." So I didn't care about making friends as much as I cared about performing and kind of letting the alliances kind of build around me instead of me begging for them. But I thought I was going in every week, I'm not gonna lie. I can't believe I only went in once. That's my domain.
You walked into the final as by far the most experienced woman. When you miss that axe throw, how much are you weighing that your game is done, versus the possibility that there could be another shakeup?
I mean, the game can shift and pivot, and it does. But yeah, the axe row, damn. To get an extra mile added on, it's like a death sentence, especially because the next checkpoint was a purge. So I knew at that point in time, when I missed it, I was like, "Alright, this is it for me." Because I had been to so many finals, the thing about The Challenge is it's not the same as football or soccer, where you're working on one skill set constantly. You don't know what you're doing next. You don't know when it's coming. So I think that every single time I go on, I really do learn something new about myself.
What I can take away from this one, although it was my sixth final, it was my fourth final in a row. I had been so focused on that second day running next to Desi and Michaela because they were so fast. Keeping up with them, the moment I got to the axe, I was just still in race mode and not in, "calm down and execute." And so I think that it was a big shift for me to be like, "Okay, wait a minute, once I walk up to a checkpoint, slow down." And sometimes you forget that. That was a $250,000 mistake.
Bananas told me there was an unaired night portion after the first day of the final. Can you talk to me more about that?
Totally. So we were all standing on individual posts, and we had to count to an hour in our heads. And so we basically could step off the post in between an hour and an hour and five minutes. If we stepped off before after, then we had to redo it, and we had to recount. I don't know if you've ever counted an hour in your head, but it's impossible, especially because there are so many of us. Some of us are counting seconds, some of us are counting minutes, some of us are counting 10 minutes. We're trying to figure out how we're going to get to an hour.
The very first time we did it, we counted an hour and eight minutes, literally three minutes over the time we were allowed to go. The next time we did it, we counted to 57 minutes, so three minutes under the hour. And then the final time we did it we counted to an hour and four minutes and 30 seconds. And basically, we're this close to having to count again. And we did agree to all work with each other with the exception of Bananas who only had to count twice, because I guess he just has a better internal clock than all of us. But we worked together on it because it was so miserable. How can any of us be left there by ourselves to count for an hour? It's impossible. Everyone was afraid that they were going to be there by themselves all night.
Speaking to the CBS alumni you played with and against, who from this season would you want to make the jump to the MTV flagship to hopefully become a Challenge mainstay?
Definitely Desi. She's so powerful. She's so awesome. She's beautiful. She is like the epitome of a female champ in my mind. She's just like an angel. So strong. I'm a huge Desi fan. I would love to see Desi there, obviously Chanelle and Mikayla as well. Michaela has already been there, but it would be good to see her back. And I'm in good graces with them. [Laughs.] I think Monte would be a great addition to the game. I don't think that we got to see enough of his personality on the show. When you really get to see him in real life and talk to him, he's so vibrant and funny. So I think Monte would be a great addition for sure.
