The Challenge: Why was Berna not at the reunion?

The Challenge season 39 aired part one of its reunion special on Wednesday, February 28, 2024. During the segment, the Battle for a New Champion cast gathered with Maria Menounos to talk about the events of season 39.

While most of the cast attended the reunion special in person, some faces were missing. Berna Candeldek, who made it to the final and placed fifth, was not a part of the reunion special. As per Entertainment Weekly, the cast member was not in attendance since she was filming for another reality show, Survivor Turkey.

However, she was not the only contestant who didn't. Horacio Gutierrez attended the reunion special virtually, as he was filming for Exalton at the time.

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The Challenge season 39 reunion: What went down?

The Challenge season 39 (Battle for a New Champion) aired the first part of its reunion special on MTV earlier this week. During the special, the cast went over the events of the latest season with American television host Maria Menounos and were joined by some of the mercenaries who appeared on the MTV show.

The reunion special was the first time Olivia Kaiser and Nurys Mateo came face-to-face, and it proved to be more emotional than the cast members anticipated.

The runner-up walked off in tears. Mateo noted that seeing Olivia and being there without Horacio were both adding to her mood. However, one part of her problem was solved, as later in the episode, her boyfriend, Horacio, surprised her by joining the cast virtually.

Olivia and Nurys later got into an argument, and Nurys called Olivia the "biggest f*cking hater" when Kaiser claimed that she was happy for her and Horacio. Laurel Stucky and Horacio's past relationship, which was showcased in season 38, was also brought up, and the male cast member revealed that the two were on good terms.

Asaf Goren, who was eliminated by C.T. Tamburello from The Challenge season 39, tried to beef with the veterans. He told the mercenaries that it was good to see them even though they were only on the season for "10 minutes" and half of them lost.

Later in the episode, Asaf's and Jay's alliance was also questioned. Maria pointed out that since it was a secret, it didn't have much of an impact. Other cast members called him out, and he and Melissa got into an argument.

Michele and Colleen cleared up a misunderstanding. Previously, Colleen stated that she felt The Challenge season 39 cast member's gameplay was "desperate," but retracted her statement and admitted that she didn't know what the word meant.

Colleen wasn't the only MTV star Michele was at odds with, as Laurel Stucky called her out as well. Their beef started in season 38, and the two came face-to-face when Laurel appeared as a mercenary and chose the Survivor alum to compete against.

Laurel called out Michele and Jay's gameplay and noted that Survivor and The Challenge are two separate games. She added that Michele should change her gameplay, but Corey defended the season 39 cast member by noting that had she not been purged from the competition, she would have made it to the finale.

However, the biggest shock of the segment was Laurel defending Michele against Callum, who pursued things with her despite having a girlfriend. The alum noted that Michele didn't deserve it and asked him to change his attitude and behavior.

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The Challenge season 39 will return next week with part two of the reunion special on MTV.