Brad Fiorenza and Jonna Mannion Say They Were 'Set Up' to Volunteer to Be Targets on 'The Challenge 40'

The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras is here! Throughout the season, Parade.com will speak with the challengers who were eliminated from the milestone season of the MTV series.

Brad Fiorenza and Jonna Mannion both came into The Challenge 40 in a weird space reputation-wise. The two had not been on the MTV show in some time, Seasons 32 (for Brad) and 26 (for Jonna) specifically. Instead, the two were rubbing elbows with fellow old-schoolers on The Challenge All Stars, with Jonna even racking up back-to-back wins. Their return to the flagship came down entirely to relationships. Brad has a cross-era connection with Emily Schromm, having a literal steamy hook-up with her in the bathroom.

But for Jonna, it was all about a lack of relationships, which made her try to avoid volunteering to be a target for her team. Unfortunately she was picked anyway, despite her protestations, and sent into elimination for her lack of connections to Josh Martinez and Jenny West. In the sand, Brad continued to rack up L's for Era 1, as his lack of accuracy proved to be his doom against Cory Wharton. And it was a battle of the champs when Jonna went in against Rachel, ultimately getting outmatched and sent out of the game.

Following their elimination, Brad and Jonna talk with Parade about why they both were not in a good headspace going into Season 40, why Jonna chose not to volunteer as a target, and the status of Brad's relationship with Emily.

Related: Everything to Know About The Challenge 40

Brad, when we last talked, you had gone into detail about how you were not in a good headspace for your appearances on All-Stars 4 and Battle for a New Champion. How were you going into Season 40?
Brad Fiorenza: Gosh, Mike. Touchy subject, of course, but I'm an open book. It wasn't the best departure. Unfortunately, there were still some situations at home where I was not in control. There were people close to me making choices that I couldn't control. I've been seeing a professional now for almost a year, a therapist. And I just want to say this and be transparent, because what I'd like to point out is to anybody, especially other people in their lives that are sharing negative thoughts on a regular basis, if you are receiving from somebody else or having yourself negative thoughts that are going to take up half of a conversation or a relationship if it's consistently over half negative thoughts.

What I'm going to say is I'm urging anybody experiencing that to seek professional help, because it's going to help you manage your situation. I'm at a spot now where things are a lot more manageable because of the boundaries that I've put in place prior to Season 40. And a lot of my castmates do know this. I was unfortunately going through another traumatic experience that was probably even a little bit worse than All-Stars 4, unfortunately. So it was a challenge. I went almost five full nights with no sleep due to jet lag when I got there.

Again?! 
Brad: Yes. So a lot of people went, like, one or two nights. I didn't have sleeping medication. I was trying to fall asleep to massage music, like 528 frequency.
Jonna Mannion: In that house, it was basically like we were all sleeping in the same room with all the noise. It was crazy. 
Brad: I was able to sleep better in the house than the hotel leading up to it. But Mike, just to get back to what your question was, it was another challenging season for me. But I felt like it went a little better than All-Stars 4, and that's because I've been doing the work at home; I was more prepared. But I did struggle with sleep. When you see the toga party, I was sleeping for a majority of that. I did the intro and everything, but then I had to focus on my sleep to compete for the team. So it was a challenging season, but I'm not one to make excuses. And I will say that I've been doing the work at home so I can show up and still do my best. I just didn't have the departure that I was hoping for, but I had some great friends in place to help me finish my training program and get on the road, and I did the best I could with it.

Well, thank you for being so open, and I'm glad you have that support system around you. Jonna, you have become a completely different person since we last saw you on the flagship, considering your two All Stars wins. So what was your headspace coming into your return to MTV?
Jonna: Oh man, taking it all the way back to Exes 2! I am such a different person and than I was back then. That's part of the reason why I wanted to come to Season 40. I feel like, after doing All Stars, I kind of conquered that. And it was something personal to myself, that I wanted to prove I can compete with the best of the best, and that I was someone that can show up and ultimately win a flagship as well. That wasn't in the cards for me this time. And, as Brad said, this similar situation, I was going through something before leaving for this season. And I will say, okay, you can train as much as you want for the show. But 90% of this game is mental, and it will push you to a point that you even start to question yourself, your own abilities. And, in this situation, I was breaking down. But when it came down to game time, and when TJ blows the horn, I'm just like, "I gotta put all this shit aside and do it."

So let's talk about how that breakdown may have led to you sitting here talking with me today. You choose not to volunteer to be a target for your team, which really seems to tick everyone off. CT says you're playing selfishly, Nia calls it a "blatant sign of disrespect." Cory even says that he feels you weighed him down by association because of that decision. So talk to me about your logic behind that, and your reaction to the reactions around you.
Jonna: So the reason why that I was not trying to volunteer is because I knew what was going on. I knew that I was being set up. So this whole self nomination thing was brilliantly organized, I think, by Era 1. It was a way so, when you're when you feel out of control in the game, it's a way to control the game and the situation that's going on. I knew that just based off of watching the last couple of challenges and the nomination process, all of it, that ultimately, people are saying they're self nominating, but it was a way to control what was actually going on in the game. So I I know it looked like I was being selfish. Let's be honest; everyone is playing a selfish game.

For instance, the trivia challenge. I watched Jordan throw the trivia challenge. I was up there. He looks back at Laurel and says, "I can't say Aneesa's name for my game." And she says, "I can." And so that happened, right? And I just came in there, and I'm just like, "Jordan, what are you doing? I don't want you to lose!" Anytime I compete in a challenge, no matter who the target is, I am doing what I can to make sure that they win. And that's how I was playing the game. Because I was like, "The only way I can show up and be a good teammate is by doing that." And then I then I started to realize, okay, they're playing a very "Ride or Dies" style game. They're playing not to win, but not to lose. Why would I want to nominate myself when I know that this is happening?

So when we're in our team meeting, everybody on my team is trying to get me to self nominate. And they're painting it as like, "You're not a bad teammate, but you are being selfish in this game. You all have to do it." And I'm like, "Whoa, wait up a second! The only person who is self nominated here is Tori and Jordan." I had Nia coming at me saying, "I put on the jersey for Era 3. I'm competing no matter what. I've been down there in the sand." And I was like, "But you didn't volunteer! You lost that Invitational, and then Darrell selected you." And then Avery was just like, "Well, I volunteered. I've been down in the sand because of the team." And I was just like, "You stalemated with Tony, and that was a decision you made for your game to defend our mutual best friend." It was just a convenient time for everyone to say, "Yeah, I self-nominated." Not everyone on our team did. Devin did not self-nominate. He actually was just like, "I don't want to self-nominate," and then Jenny picked him anyways, even after saying he didn't want to do it. But then, all of a sudden, now that it was my turn. Obviously, it benefited everyone there to to follow suit with what the bigger plan was, and go from there.
Brad: Jonna, correct me if I'm wrong. There were three phases to volunteering. Chaos, "I don't understand why the hell people are doing this." Groupthink, people kind of like, "Okay." And then the third part was it was weaponized. And what I mean by weaponized is, I never had any plans on volunteering myself. But after enough people started the group think with it. And then it was the "I already did this." Once it was the "I already did this," well, you volunteered willingly with–
Jonna: –when you knew who your opponents were going to be.
Brad: Yes, yes! There was a motive behind it. You were either going to get the favor repaid, or you were doing it to repay a favor that was already owed to somebody, which is only going to strengthen your game in the minute now for other people. Even Emily became a victim of groupthink. It's her first season back, and she's like, "I'm a competitor. What did I train for if I'm not going to volunteer? It's my time." And I'm trying to tell her, "I don't think that's the right strategy." Well, after she did it, I'm sitting there thinking, "Am I going to throw my man card in the garbage can right now and walk away? I'm trying to weasel out of an elimination when I love this game and I love to compete." I didn't even know how to feel about myself in that moment, getting back to what you were saying earlier, where you almost start to question yourself.

That was my moment. I'm questioning myself, like, "Dude, we came here to play. Now everybody's volunteering. It's my turn to volunteer." I felt like my performance was good enough to have an argument in most challenges where I showed up and I did the work I was supposed to. Minus that boat where I was in the back; that was a lot different than I expected. So, honestly, the last phase of it was like your team's either going to try to put you on blast for not being a team player, or you're going in, at that point, I might just take me.
Jonna: The moment that I realized that it was being used to control who goes in was right before Derrick and Horacio's elimination. I remember I was there, Rachel was there, Tori was there, and Derrick was there. And Rachel's like, "Yeah, we're going to have to go back and forth between Tina and I." I was like, "Yeah, that's the only option for Era 1." In that moment, Derrick's like, "I don't want to choose between you and Tori. Why don't you guys choose who goes next? And then that way, you know, the blood's not on my hands, basically." But, in that moment, Rachel said, "Oh, it's going to be Tina." And I was just like, "I don't want to go against Tina. "And then she's like, "Oh, you don't want to go against Tina?" And I was like, "Yeah. I also don't want to go against you. I don't want to go into elimination is what's happening." And then it was very like, "Well, you have to go in at some point." And I'm like, "I don't know! I don't think that I have to do."

Related: Jodi Weatherton Explains Her Elimination "Anxiety Attack" on The Challenge 40

Brad: Yeah, you're like, "Maybe you didn't see me play in the past."
Jonna:  And then that was the moment that I knew. I was just like, "Okay, there's something bigger going on here. "And I really, truly think that on Era 3, I think that Tori saw me as a threat, and I think that she wanted me out. And I the way that the bigger group operates, it's like, "Take out my threat. And then when it's your turn, I'll take out yours." That's the reason why they play together. But anyways, I knew all of this was happening, and it was very chaotic. And I didn't want to verbalize what was going on, because I didn't want to blow up people's games. I didn't want to put there and say, "Jordan, what do you mean? You threw the last challenge. Devin, the last challenge, I've never seen someone so happy to lose a challenge in my life."

That was why, they showed at the end, but I was pissed off. Because Nehemiah was on the line, and we dropped the Y and then waited until Era 4 won, and then they're like, "Okay, let's go. Let's go." Because they didn't want to get last place, but they also didn't want to get first place. And so I was visually seeing this, and they're like, "No, what do you mean? We're always trying to win." And the thing about it is, Devin's a genius; they're so smart. But I don't think they realize that I'm just as smart as they are. I think I became a threat to their game because I was just like, "Wait, wait, wait, I'm not going to follow suit, because I see what's happening. I'm not going to call you guys out. I'm not going to blow up your spot. But I'm also not going to put myself on the line so that you can help get people [you want out.]

And I said this to CT when I was sitting there in that conversation. I was just like, "I feel like this is a a plot to get me as an opponent and get me out." And I was right. I was told that I was selected by Rachel. She said she wanted Aviv from Era 2, me from Era 3, and Michele from Era 4. And with Nehemiah, I was sitting there and I was like, "Nehemiah, why?" And he was proud of the fact. He's like,"Well, guess who I gave her. I gave her Laurel and Jenny." And I was like, "You also gave me Laurel and Jenny!" He fell right into that trap. He's like, "You're going to win. You gotta win." I was like, "Yeah, but there's a chance that my team will not win, because I've watched them throw the last two challenges, because that's how they're playing." And I I playing in a way where I was just like, "I don't care who the target is. I just want our team to win. I want Era 3 to be strong. I want to dominate. And let's all get there in the end, and then maybe it'll go individual, whatever."

But. I was not following suit because I knew all this information, and I'm seeing it as it's happening. But yet they I'm painted as even Cory believes, "Oh, Jonna s my downfall." And it's just like, there's certain people in the game that are sheep, and they follow what is they're told to do. And I was resisting. And, at that point, I was no longer beneficial to the Vacation Alliance or to the people that were involved in this control. And so they're like, "Alright, she's got to go." And that's what happened.

Brad, you mentioned Emily before. I would be remiss not to bring up the bond you made, culminating in hooking up in the house. Talk to me about your relationship, and where things are now.
Brad: So, like we spoke about with just being mindful and self development and mental health as a whole. Before I left for The Challenge 40, I was meditating at sunrise and sunset, just to show gratitude for the blessings of my life. And for anybody curious, that does work, by the way; it definitely provides you a higher quality of life. But the ironic part was, I was the first one up most mornings, and I would very quietly slide out to the pool to do my morning sunrise meditations, even before challenge days. And I would bring my oolong tea. And the one thing I noticed was I was waking up at sunrise naturally, and so is Emily. So it was just kind of ironic that we both ended up in the pool every morning together, and we were both doing almost the exact same thing, which kind of helped us build some rapport early on, just to catch up and hadn't seen each other in a while

And before you knew it, I was bringing her tea out with my tea and things like that. And it just kind of developed. We kind of hooked up. And then after we did hook up, the game was so intense. We are still really good friends. We're not romantically involved anymore, but I will say she's a beautiful person. She's a beautiful energy. I appreciate her, and the energy she shares with the people around her. Her heart is so kind. But we don't really live anywhere near each other. Afer we kind of made out a little bit, r whatever, I almost felt like worried to ruin the friendship, because it was so incredible. And I've talked to her a few times since. We definitely get along; I enjoy our phone conversations. But [we're] definitely not romantically involved anymore.

Finally, in honor of the infamous "Shit They Should Have Shown" episode of the old-school days of The Challenge, what's one moment from your time on the show that you wish you had made the edit?
Jonna: Well, I haven't seen my exit. I hope that they show it the way that it went down. I do think that in the past few episodes that I've watched, I'm glad that they showed a clip of Jordan supposedly not throwing it or whatever. And I'm glad that it's been leading up to this, because there was so much more going on, and I wish I would have spoken up more. But as far as what was not shown, I do wish that they showed our team meeting to get me to self-nominate. Because I at no point in time said I want to self-nominate. I was actually saying, "I do not want to self-nominate, but it's not because I'm selfish and whatever. It's because I see what's going on you guys, and I'm not going to fall into that trap." But ultimately, I did.
Brad: Mike, I don't know if you're ready for this. So it's night before an elimination. It's already challenging enough to sleep. This is the second time this happened to me in a Challenge experience. So the first time my comforter got switched was on All Stars 2. The cleaning people come in. Let me paint this picture properly. I use hypoallergenic soap detergents for my sheets and clothing. But a lot of times, the cleaning crews come in, they have this huge house to clean with all these beds. So I think they just take all the comforters off, put them in a pile. I don't know exactly what they do with the sheets, but sometimes they rotate the comforters. And the first time this happened to me, Tyler blew his nose into his comforter, and, I mean, cleaned out his sinuses on that bad boy. And I came home from a challenge and just threw myself in the bed, and then saw all this disgusting snot right next to my arm and almost puked.

So this is the second time this happened to me. It's the night before the elimination. I'm laying in my bed, and I'm trying to think, "Alright, stay chill. Elimination. Just take your mind off of it." And all of a sudden I noticed this is not my comforter. And then Darrell, right around the same time as me realizing this, says, "Oh, your comforter is over here. That's CT's." And then he started laughing and goes, "Oh, man. CT just shaved the calluses off his feet into his comforter before he went home." Mike, I almost puked in my mouth. And then I realized these aren't even my sheets. 

I maybe pulled off two, two and a half hours of sleep before that elimination. It doesn't sound like a big deal to some people, maybe. But when I think about sitting in a bed with somebody's dead callous skin cells in my sheets, I was just struggling to get back to bed after that. And not for nothing, Cory put on an amazing show. And I want to just remind everybody that hears this that that man is at the peak of his Challenge career. He's so hungry for that W. He did an amazing job in there. He out strategized me. And I was a little jealous, because that's usually my angle on eliminations. I'm used to being a strategy guy. And then I had to sit back and watch my one arm tosses, or my one arm bullet throws, and I see him throw in the chest pass. Just hats off to him. But, yeah, that used to be my gig, and I want it back. [Laughs.]

Next, check out our interview with Tony Raines, who was eliminated in The Challenge 40 Episode 3.