by Gina Scarpa

 

On last week's episode of The Challenge: Battle of the Seasons, St. Thomas came in last in the Insane Games, automatically putting themselves in the elimination round. New Orleans, the power team, sent Vegas in against them. Laura and Trey stepped up to battle Nany and Dustin in a strategic competition, but came up short and were eliminated from the game. We caught up with Trey to talk more about the dynamics on his team, his relationship with Laura, and why living with Frank was such hell.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: How much time did you have in between St. Thomas and The Challenge? Were you hesitant about going right back out again for another show?
A. Trey: It was about three weeks from when I left St. Thomas, came home, and went to Turkey. I kept telling myself while I was in the television mindset, that I should keep it going. People who went were out of shape or out of the television mindset so it was nice for me to go from one show to the next.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: The St. Thomas reunion got pretty nasty at points. Yes, Brandon, Swift, and LaToya weren't with you on The Challenge but what was the overall vibe on your team following all that drama?
A. Trey: I think there were pros and cons about leaving directly from St. Thomas. One of the cons was that we didn't have enough time to really rekindle our relationships and hang out with each other. I think if Marie and I had been home for a little bit or we had done some appearances together, had some drinks, I think we could've mended our relationship more. We left pretty abruptly so Marie and I were still not on the same page. We went from living on what seemed like a prison in St. Thomas to a prison in Turkey. I think it worked at a disadvantage.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: The Challenge is showing a much more supportive side of you when it comes to Laura and your dynamic is very different. Where were you guys at?
A. Trey: In a way, I kind of felt like The Challenge was my time at redemption. I kinda knew I was going to get a bad edit on St. Thomas. They focused and fixated on the relationship with Laura and I, and Chelsea and I. I was still up in the air with Chelsea when I told her I got picked to do The Challenge. I said, "I'm not going to put us through that again," after the overwhelming response with everyone. I didn't want to put us or Laura through that again so I ended things with Chelsea before. There was a lot of stress off of our backs on The Challenge. It was just Laura and I. I was focused on the game and the money but aside from all that, it allowed Laura and I to bond a little more.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Some people seemed to have a problem with you or felt they couldn't trust you. Do you know why they felt that way?
A. Trey: I'm pretty sure that the reason why the teams didn't like me because I wasn't going along with what they wanted to do. It just comes down to agree to disagree. I didn't piss people off, I didn't kill their dog. They just wanted to kick certain teams out of the house and I didn't want to kick those same teams out. I also didn't really enjoy taking orders or following Frank's rules. He'll throw around these terms that other people will catch onto. People started seeing me as this villain but there was nothing that substantial. I just didn't agree with their whole game plan. I'm a man, I can take a little of it. I got this thick skin but there's only so much a person can take.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: It's so interesting that Frank is trying to run the show. This wouldn't happen is The Challenge had people like Wes, Kenny, Johnny, CT, and so on...
A. Trey: Well that's my thing too. There aren't a lot of veterans to put him in place. He's running a Challenge full of rookies. I've gotten a great response from the fans for holding my ground. You saw just in this last episode, Alton's working out and Frank is provoking him. They don't show Frank provoking me but he did that too. He did it to Wes in the first episode. People use the excuse "it's a game" as a reason to treat someone inhumanely. It's more like a moral and a social issue. It's like, listen bro. If we gotta live together, why make this miserable? You can throw me in the arena, but you don't have to get in my face when I'm eating. Frank just made every moment in the house miserable.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What was going on with Marie during the Insane Games? She was really adamant that Laura should not do the fish challenge but Laura seems pretty athletic.
A. Trey: This was my mindset. I hate to throw Marie under the bus and I said this in Turkey but they didn't show it. Marie held us back in every challenge we did. She lost the egg toss for us. I understand her concept that she's stronger but the only reason we were in that losing round was because we lost the egg toss. Basically, Laura felt and I felt the same way... Laura's a very strong competitor. Even if Marie is bigger, Laura is a tough girl and I trust Laura. I thought it was only fair that Laura compete. In the oil wrestling, Laura was 2-0. She beat Melinda to keep us out of the arena. Nobody practices swinging a 15lb fish. It is what it is. Maybe Marie would've won but that's not the way it went. She threw a temper tantrum because she wants to be the star.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Was there any conversation about Rob and Marie going into the elimination round?
A. Trey: Laura and I nominated ourselves pretty much. I wasn't going to be like Fresh Meat - we're not that dysfunctional. It was understood that as soon as we lost the fish thing, laura and I were going in. There was no discussion. I just immediately stepped up. I had no doubts we were coming back and I felt good going in. We felt like we were going to give our team the best chance.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Would you go back to do another Challenge and what are you up to now?

A. Trey: I go back and forth on this. To be honest, it's not even so much the actual Challenge. Sometimes you're a little nervous but I don't think it's the actual Challenges that make us questionable. It's the living environment. To volunteer to live with Frank, I'd be lying if I said I was excited about that. It's miserable! At home, I'm surrounded by family and friends and then MTV sends me to a foreign country to live with a maniac. Right now I'm 50/50. I'd like to say I'm leaning more towards yes. Right now, I'm just enjoying the time with my family. We've got the holidays coming up. I've booked some speaking gigs. I'm talking at a high school next week, and a university early next year in Indiana. I'm speaking about bullying and growing up with people addicted to narcotics and alcohol.

 

The Challenge: Battle Of The Seasons airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on MTV.

 

(Image courtesy of MTV)

 

Follow Gina @ginascarpa