by Gina Scarpa

 

Last week on The Challenge: Rivals 2, Ty and Leroy suffered a devastating loss in the Jungle to rookies Marlon and Jordan.  Though Ty and Leroy often found themselves as adversaries in previous Challenges, the two found a way to become friends outside of the show.  Together, they felt they could make it all the way to the finals and win it, but their experience in Thailand was cut much too short for their liking.  We chatted with Ty today in an exclusive interview about rivals, politics, and his plan to take the entertainment world by storm.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You're a challenge veteran these days! Why do you think MTV keeps bringing you back to compete?
A. Ty: I think they're counting on the fact that I'm pretty much a lightning rod in the house. You either love me or hate me. There'll be some storyline where I'm doing something crazy or I find a love interest. I don't really do it on purpose. For some reason, I always get the spotlight.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: I will say, this season, you were a little bit more laid back and out of the drama though.
A. Ty: I tried to tone it down for at least one season. I didn't wanna be that ridiculous personality. I told myself maybe I should let someone else be the fool and I'll sit back and laugh.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: When you found out this was going to be a Rivals season, and you'd be paired with Leroy, what was your reaction?
A. Ty: I love the concept of Rivals. The first one was a great success and I knew I had a ton of rivals so I just didn't know exactly who I was going to have. Even when we were there and we were introduced, I saw at least three or four guys that I could be partnered up with. Thank god it was Leroy! I was looking at Dunbar, CT, Wes... any of these people could've been associated with me.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You guys seemed to have a good partnership and get along well. Did you come into this season on good terms?
A. Ty: Yeah, I mean we actually talked a couple months back. I hung out with him a little bit in Vegas. He's one of my good friends outside of the show. The glimpses that you get from Rivals 1 or Battle of the Exes... outside of the game, we ended up being friends.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Being around for a few years now and knowing these people outside of the game, is it hard when people act different in front of the cameras?
A. Ty: Well, some of them do! There's not really a lot of people on the show that are the same outside of the show. I've seen Jasmine inside and outside and she's just crazy! She's wild, she'll get loud, and that's the type of person she is. Outside of the show, you see guys turn it on and turn it off.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Your elimination last week was pretty shocking. How did you take it?
A. Ty: Not well, not well at all. I didn't feel like that was our time to go home, to say it bluntly. I feel like we could've made it to the end and won the entire challenge. We were on the same page with that from the get go, hearing we were partners. We were one of the stronger teams in the house. Losing to a rookie team... we didn't know how things were going to be structured and how the politics were gonna play out. It was kinda heartbreaking. I felt like I had an opportunity with a good partner.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Speaking of the politics, how did it affect your game?
A. Ty: While I was there, I didn't really have good relationships with a lot of girls and it's mostly because of those politics. I wasn't one of the guys that goes around looking for a hookup or tries to scheme their way into the bedroom. I had something else going on outside of the show. I was laying low. You don't want to be by yourself on a Challenge. I was on a neutral plane and I didn't have a positive association with the girls. The ones I did hang out with before, I couldn't really rely on them all the way through.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Which type of Challenge would be ideal for you?
A. Ty: I think there are a lot of Challenges that wouldn't look to my strengths as a competitor. I would love a Duel setting, just for the competitive one on one, let's go head to head, and go up against some of these guys.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What are you up to now?
A. Ty: Well, I'm in Los Angeles now and following along the lines of Real World alums and doing a lot of entertainment things. I've done a few magazines here and there, I'm taking classes, and hopefully I'll do a lot more with television or the silver screen. I'm loving it here and I like the whole entertainment rat race. It's fun, it's exciting, and in a lot of ways, it's just like the Challenge! Every day, there are lots of twists and turns.

 

 

The Challenge: Rivals 2 airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on MTV.

 

(Image courtesy of MTV)

 

Follow Gina @ginascarpa