Nany González doesn’t regret skipping The Challenge season 40.

The Real World: Las Vegas alum was last seen onscreen finishing in second place on Ride or Dies, and despite how Battle of the Eras celebrated the entire history of The Challenge, she wanted to prioritize her mental health instead. That’s why she ultimately delayed her return to the franchise until All Stars: Rivals.

“I’m super excited to be back on All Stars,” Nany tells Entertainment Weekly. “I was asked to do season 40 and I just wasn’t ready to come back yet. Hearing about the season though, and seeing all of the amazing competitors that were there, I’m not sad that I didn’t do it.”

Below, Nany explains more about why she needed to take a three-year break, what brought her back, and how she feels about being forced to team up with her former ally-turned-rival Turbo Çamkıran.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: You made the final in your last three seasons — did that make you feel more confident going into this season, or do you think it made you a bigger target?

NANY GONZÁLEZ: To be honest, having gone to so many finals, I would be a target if I had won those finals. But because I’ve lost all the finals I’ve been to, I sometimes think that helps me when it comes to the game, because people are like, “This girl goes to the final, but she can never win, so whatever.” I don’t necessarily think that it gave me confidence. I always know that in The Challenge, anything can happen, you can never get too comfortable, so it doesn’t matter if I’ve gone to the last three finals or not. Every season is different and it’s a task to get to the end every single time. If anything, I went in and I was like, “I’m going to have my work cut out for me.”

You almost got your first win on Ride or Dies until the very last checkpoint of the final. How did that impact you going into this season?

When I did Ride or Dies, that season in general, for me, I felt like I needed to redeem myself for that, how Johnny and I had lost in that final. And redeeming myself doesn’t mean win. It just means going in and just doing so much better than I left off.

How did you train in your time off to help you get that redemption this season?

[Pauses] Can I be completely honest with you?

Absolutely, please.

Honestly, when I had taken the three years off, I gave my body a rest. I gave my mind a rest. I spent three years with my family and my friends, and just working, and doing a lot of self-care, self-love, and just getting my mind right. I think that was what I needed in order to come back. Doing so many seasons back-to-back, it takes a toll on your body and your mind — it does for me, anyways. Once I get to five, six seasons in a row, it’s like, “Okay, girl, you need to give yourself a break because you don’t want to burn yourself out.” And because I still want to continue doing Challenges, I don’t want to burn myself out in the process.

How did taking that time and that break help you when you returned this season?

I just came in and I was ready to compete again. I was ready for that adrenaline rush. I missed The Challenge. I missed doing crazy cool things.

Did you know it was going to be Rivals before TJ announced it to the cast?

I had no idea that it was going to be Rivals. I had no idea Turbo was going on the season. I had no clue. When I agreed to do All Stars, I just never expected people from other shows to be on— I expected it to just be Real World/Road Rulers. So when I showed up and I saw Turbo there and all these other people, I was like, “Wait, what is going on?” And then of course, when the theme was announced, I was like, “Okay, this makes sense.”

What was your reaction when you learned that your partner was Turbo?

Oh my gosh, I knew instantly when they announced that it was Rivals that he was my partner, so I went through a pretty big range of emotions. I was overwhelmed and then I quickly came to my senses and realized that Turbo and I have worked together in the past, we’ve played this game together, I know how he competes, he knows how I compete. So when it comes down to competition and getting to the end, which is what I’m here for, I know that we’ll be okay because he and I have done this before. It’s really just being able to get along the entire season, I think that’s just going to be our issue. Of course.

Turbo seemed to be a completely different person between his first and second seasons — what do you think happened that caused that extreme change?

To be honest, I don’t really know. I just know that the Turbo that I met on War of the Worlds is the real Turbo. The Turbo that showed up on War of the Worlds 2 and every other season after that, I don’t know who that guy is. On All Stars, I’m just hoping that I get Turbo from World of the Worlds, and we can just do what we do best together, and that’s compete. I know that he is a difficult human. He’s a very stubborn man. But I also know that he’s got a huge heart, and when it comes to competing, he’s there for the right reasons. When it comes to competition, I have a lot of respect for him, and I know that I can rely on him. We’ll do okay if we can just put our differences to the side. I know it sounds crazy because technically we’re rivals, but when it comes down to it, I am really grateful to have him by my side.

What can you tease about how you and Turbo worked together this season? 

Anybody who is watching All Stars, if they’ve watched War of the Worlds, then they know what to expect from me and Turbo when it comes to competition. And as far as the politics goes, I mean, if they saw how War the Worlds was handled, then they’ll kind of have an idea as to how we will be handling the politics this season — or actually how I’ll be handling the politics this season.

Are you going to have any new rivalries created this season?

[Laughs] I will not be answering that question. You have to wait and see.

I don’t know how to interpret that response. Does that mean we can expect a lot of new rivalries…?

[Laughs] Let’s just say that, if anybody knows how I play the game, they know that I very much stay true to myself, and I don’t go with the masses, and I don’t follow other people. I am a leader and I do my own thing, and that’s how I’ve always played this game. That’s all I can really say.

Who did you see as your biggest threat at the start of the season?

Once we figured out the teams, you’re sizing up the cast and you’re figuring out who’s going to be a hard team to beat. I think it’s very obvious that teams with two guys like Steve and Adam or Devin and Leroy, just based off of strength alone, the teams with two males are definitely strong. But it’s The Challenge. It’s not always about strength.

Which pair did you think was going to crash and burn immediately?

Definitely Jonna and Beth, that was a team that I know is going to have some issues. Jonna is a good friend of mine, and I know that she was really not happy about having Beth as her partner.

That pairing was shocking. I was surprised she didn’t immediately walk off the set and just quit the season.

I know, you and me both.

What do you think is going to surprise fans about how this season goes for you?

I’m going to be locked in and I’m there to compete, and I’m going to be doing work this season, and I’m really excited to be back. I’m excited for viewers to see my return after taking some time off to myself, and see me redeem myself for that awful Ride or Dies final. That’s all I really want people to see, is that I try to make up for how terrible I did in that final.

Okay, I think you’re being way too hard on yourself! You weren’t terrible, you almost won.

[Laughs] I know, I know. I’m just being dramatic. I know it wasn’t terrible, but you know how it is when you’re so close. But this season’s going to be a great season. Definitely stay tuned because it gets wild.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The Challenge All Stars: Rivals, which moves from Paramount+ back to MTV, airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT.

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