The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II

Format

• After the first eight "Dome" games, a losing team will have a chance to re-join the competition in "Battle of the EX-iled," which will pit a newly eliminated couple against the winner of the previous week's "Ex-iled" winner. Ex-ile matches and mini episodes were shown on MTV.com and MTV aired a Battle of the EX-iled Recap special after episode 6 showing progress in ex-iles up to that point.
• At the end of the season, three teams will compete in the final challenge — for a share of a $350,000 prize. The first-place team wins $250,000, second-place wins $70,000 and third-place wins $30,000.

  Contestants

Teams

Pre-season romantic backgrounds

• Adam & Brittany: On the first season of Are You the One?, Brittany immediately fell in love with Adam. Adam wasn't interested but Brittany was convinced they were a perfect match and spent the duration of the season cooing over Adam.
• Bananas & Nany: The two had a brief dalliance outside of The Challenge. Towards the end of Free Agents, the two started to develop a closer friendship, and realized that they worked well together. Nany has stated that she can still feel the spark between them on some occasions.
• CT & Diem: The two were paired together in the original Battle of the Exes season, and placed second in the final challenge. The two next competed on Rivals II, however, Diem felt that CT's political game interfered with their trust. CT ended up winning the competition, while Diem was eliminated right before the final challenge.
• Dustin & Jessica: The two developed a brief relationship during Free Agents, after a newly single Dustin was reluctant to hook up with anyone, following his breakup with his Real World: Las Vegas housemate Heather Marter. Jessica hoped to re-connect with Dustin after the season, however, she stated during the Free Agents reunion that she discovered that Dustin hooked up with another girl.
• Jay & Jenna: Jenna entered the Real World: Ex-Plosion house as Jay's ex. Jay tried to put his "player" ways in the past, however, Jenna never felt she was getting the respect she deserved when dating Jay. It was revealed during the Real World: Ex-Plosion reunion show that the two had broken up, as Jenna had grown tired of Jay's cheating ways.
• John & Simone: At the beginning of the first season of Are You The One?, the two spent a good amount of time hanging out, but they discovered that they were not a perfect match early into the season. Once they began pursuing other people, jealousy erupted and bitter words were exchanged.
• Johnny & Averey: The two started dating on The Real World: Portland. After the season, Averey left her Hooters job in Arizona and moved in with Johnny in Boston. However, the two broke up following accusations of cheating on Averey's part. Johnny later hooked up with Nany González during Free Agents, to the disgust of Averey.
• Jordan & Sarah: The two had a short-lived flirt during Rivals II, before Sarah was removed from the competition for being left without a partner.
• Knight & Jemmye: The two stated dating on The Real World: New Orleans and continued to date after the show. However, once Jemmye found out that Knight had cheated on her with an ex-girlfriend, she broke up with him. On Battle of the Seasons, the two worked well together, despite the fact that Jemmye said she would get back with Knight "over her dead body." On Rivals II, their relationship soured, as Knight's main role in the house was bothering Jemmye, even going as far as to pour ketchup on her during an argument.
• Leroy & Nia: Leroy & Nia were rumored to have hooked up on Free Agents, after the two were spotted exiting a bathroom together.
• * Leroy & Theresa: Leroy and Theresa had a brief romantic tryst during Rivals II, which quickly turned ugly afterwards.
• Thomas & Hailey: The two were high-school sweethearts. Hailey is the girl Thomas lost his virginity to, but Thomas was distraught when he found out Hailey was not as innocent. During the Real World: Ex-Plosion, negative feelings resurfaced when Hailey entered the house. Thomas accused Hailey of ruining his experience and his relationship with housemate Jamie Larson. The two got into a fight which ended with Hailey leaving the show earlier to save their friendship.
• Wes & Theresa: On Fresh Meat II, Theresa had crushes on Wes, as well as Kenny Santucci, but wasn't sure of who she wanted more. Initially, she was attracted to Kenny, but once he denied her advances, she turned her attention towards Wes. Wes' attraction towards Theresa faded once Kenny confirmed that Theresa was indeed interested in Kenny first. On Rivals II, Theresa found a new attraction, Leroy, and the two hooked up in the top bunk of Wes' bunk bed. Wes proceeded to call Theresa "the trashiest girl in the house" during the "Frenemies" challenge.
• Zach & Jonna: The two met on Battle of the Seasons and Jonna was instantly attracted to Zach, despite the fact that she had a boyfriend back home. Before she pursued any sort of relationship with Zach, Jonna called her boyfriend to break it off so she would not be a cheater. The two were almost inseparable on the show, with Zach doing anything in his power to keep Jonna's Team Cancun safe until they came in last place on that season's final mission and were eliminated. Zach moved to Los Angeles to continue dating Jonna, but he realized they were too different and left her.

  Gameplay

Challenge games

• I Got You Babe: Teams have to advance from one tall building to another, on a tightrope that is suspended above ground. The female partners advance on the tightrope, while their male partners are suspended on an overhead tightrope in a "Superman" position, and have to drop a rope toward their partners in order to advance on the tightrope. Teams are disqualified if the female partner falls off the tightrope. The team that advances from one building to another in the fastest time wins the Power Couple, while the team whose female partner falls off the rope in the fastest time is automatically sent to the Dome.
• * Winners: Wes & Theresa
• Rounding the Bases: This challenge consists of a series of four tasks on a baseball diamond.
• * First base: Each team has to race across a bamboo lane, place a card between each other's lips, and either "suck" or "blow" in order to advance the card around bamboo poles. If a team drops the card, they have to start from the beginning. The three last-place teams are eliminated from the challenge, while the last-place team at the first base is automatically sent to the Dome.
• * Second base: Each team has to unscrew a contraption — in a "sexually suggestive" manner; the male partner is positioned in front of and has to unscrew a pair of baseballs, while the female partner is positioned in front of and has to unscrew a baseball bat, and place the parts in a box at the finish line. The three last-place teams are out.
• * Third base: Each team has to lick off peanut butter at their designated stations in order to reveal numbers needed for a combination to unlock a pair of poles. The three last-place teams are out.
• * Home plate: Three teams remain at the final phase of the challenge. Each partner has to grab a 30-foot pole, 60 feet apart, insert the tip of one pole into another, and push until one pole pops out at the other end. The first team to advance their poles wins the entire challenge.
• ** Winners: Bananas & Nany
• On Again, Off Again: Teams have to spin on a wheel that is attached by ropes to a zip line above a pond, swim around a buoy at the opposite side of the pond, then return to the shore and ring a bell. Two teams compete at a time on the spinning zip line. The team with the fastest time wins the Power Couple, while the team with the slowest time is automatically sent to the Dome.
• * Winners: Jordan & Sarah
• The Brush Off: First, the girls have to run and jump into a large square pool of red paint, and cover themselves with as much paint as possible, then race up a cargo net, where their male partners will be positioned on a platform, next to a series of hanging canvasses that have 12 white squares. The girls will then transfer the paint with their bodies to their male partners, who will jump onto their designated canvas, and try to cover 12 white squares within a three-minute time limit. The challenge is played in two separate heats — of five and four teams — and the team whose male partner covers the most squares within a three-minute time limit wins, while the team whose male partner covers the fewest squares is automatically sent to the Dome.
• * Winners: Zach & Jonna
• Open Arms: Teams have to advance on a zip line above a pond, swim around a buoy at the opposite side of the pond, then return to the shore and ring a bell. First, the female partner is positioned on a heavy bag, while the male partner is positioned on a sled, and after each zip line is released, the guys will attempt to jump toward their female partners, then each teammate will swim together. Unlike the aforementioned "On Again, Off Again," only one team competes at a time. The team with the fastest time wins the Power Couple, while the team with the slowest time is automatically sent to the Dome.
• * Winners: Wes & Theresa
• Don't Forget About Me: Teams have to solve a memory puzzle while hiking up and down a mountain. First, the guys will lift up a 300-pound steel door out of the sand that is connected to a rope for as long as they can. Under the steel door is an answer key that contains various colors of squares and rectangles, which the female partners will have to memorize. Whenever the girls feel that they have memorized the answer key enough, or their male partners are unable to keep the steel doors from shutting, each partner will be required to hike up a mountain with a bag containing their puzzle pieces, to their designated puzzle station, which the girls will have to solve. The process continues back and forth, and the first team to correctly solve their puzzle wins the Power Couple. Initially, the last team to correctly solve their puzzle would be automatically sent to the Dome; however, due to time constraints and the reduced amount of daylight, the team with the fewest correctly solved puzzle pieces was sent to the Dome instead.
• * Winners: Wes & Theresa
• Are You The One?: Teams are asked each team a series of trivia questions, which includes spelling, sports, geography, pop culture, and U.S. history. The challenge is played in multiple rounds, and each player is wrapped in a blanket that is hanging from a platform suspended above water. If teams correctly answers a question, they will stay in the game, but will get an "X" for each wrong answer. If a team gets two X's, both teammates are dropped into the water. The first team to be eliminated is automatically sent to the Dome, while the last team standing wins the Power Couple.
• * Winners: Jay & Jenna
• Speed Dating: Teams have to jump back and forth from one tractor trailer to another, while each trailer is moving side by side at a speed of 30 mph on a runway. Each team is positioned on one trailer, with an empty wall that has an arrow slot, while attached to a safety harness that is hanging from a platform on one trailer. Each partner alternates retrieving several colored balls from the opposite trailer. The goal is to deposit as many balls into the arrow slot on the wall as possible, before the trailers reach the end of the runway. The guys must stay on the outside of their female partners in order to avoid having their safety harness tangled up, and midway through the runway, the trailers will separate when they reach smoke signals, making it impossible for any partner to jump. A player must wait for their partner to return to the wall on one trailer before jumping onto the opposite trailer. The team that deposits the most balls into the wall wins the Power Couple, while the team that deposits the fewest balls is automatically sent to the Dome.
• * Winners: Leroy & Nia
• Wrecking Ball: Players from each team are positioned on a square platform suspended 30 feet above water, and have to knock opposing players off the platform with a swinging canvas bag. Players can also use two dodgeballs to knock other players off. The last player standing on the platform wins the Power Couple for their team, while the first team to have both players to fall into the water is automatically sent to the Dome.
• * Winners: Jordan & Sarah
• Don't Let Me Down: Teams have to descend down a series of five ropes hanging from the top of a 50-story building. Each team starts on a plank, and descends down each rope at the same time. When each partner reaches the end of a rope, they must transfer to the next rope together. If a player falls, their teammate can continue, however, the best performance is determined by which team descends the furthest together. If no team advances to the bottom rope, where a bell is located, the team that descends together the furthest and in the fastest time wins the Power Couple as well as an automatic bid to the final challenge. The team that descended the shortest distance is automatically sent to the Dome.
• * Winners: ''Jordan & Sarah''