'The Challenge 40' Winners Rachel Robinson and Jenny West Break Down Their Historic and 'Magical' Victory (Exclusive)

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.

The Challenge 40 was the biggest installment of the veteran MTV reality series to date. It sported its largest cast ever, as 40 contestants initially represented their eras, from the show's debut in the late '90s through to its form today. How fitting, then, for a "Battle of the Eras" to conclude with a historic tie between one of the most "old-school" women, and one of its newest champs. Rachel Robinson and Jenny West were able to defy circumstances, surviving bleak circumstances and social ostracization to make it to the end of the game. And they finished by once again doing the impossible, as a mixture of the grueling final and season-long "karma vote" ended in a tied victory for the tight allies.

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Despite their united finish, Rachel and Jenny started the season in completely different places. Rachel was one of the most physically dominant women in her heyday, but had been away from the franchise for over a decade. She made her return having made fitness her passion and business, in the best shape of her life and ready to show she still had it. For Jenny, this was only her third season ever, having just debuted on the show a little over five years ago. But she was coming off a big win, and looking to repeat. Unfortunately for both women, they had their struggles in the team portion of the game. Jenny's comparatively short tenure put her on the outside of a lot of pre-existing relationships, something that made her the "scapegoat" of her Era 4 team, much to her chagrin. While Rachel was well-situated in Era 1, the OGs were getting absolutely slaughtered in dailies and eliminations. She fought her way through staggeringly becoming a team of one against the competition.

But just when Jenny and Rachel felt their most vulnerable, "Bananas' Angels" became their saving grace. When the game turned individual, they joined up with Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio and Aviv Melmed to become the tightest coalition in the game, standing toe-to-toe against the house. While Jenny showcased her competitive prowess, winning two dailies and an elimination, Rachel flexed her strategic muscles, making key relationships with some of the biggest male threats. Through their respective methods, both women made it through to a torturous final in the waters of the Philippines. Despite her previous cardio issues, Jenny quite literally swam through the competition, dominating on almost every checkpoint. But there was still one more element: The karma vote, with the eliminated players awarding points all season long. That was Rachel's time to shine in the final. And, stunningly, it catapulted her from third to first, as she and Jenny finished arm-in-arm, splitting $475,000.

Following the finale, Rachel and Jenny talk with Parade about their reaction to how the final results shook out, their different approaches to the game, and their choice to bet on "the horse" of Bananas in the second half of the season.

Related: Everything to Know About The Challenge 40

We have to, of course, start with where things finished. I believe you two make Challenge history as the only people to tie for an individual win. Rachel, I know your performance in the final wasn't up to expectations. But were you anticipating that the karma vote could have given you the win before it was revealed?
Rachel Robinson: No, it wasn't a surprise. I mean, as soon as I heard the karma twist, I knew that I had a good shot. I knew that that was going to work in my favor. Because, generally speaking, I have pretty good relationships with everyone, except for the people I probably had a hand in sending home, which wa the people who gave me a one on camera. And I also didn't do this on purpose, but I strategically looked around at the women that were left with me. And I said, "Well, Jenny, unfortunately, she's kind of like a newbie. People are maybe going to give her maybe middle range. She also happened to be there still with her two best friends, which are me and Johnny, so she doesn't have our karma vote, only Aviv's." And then it was Michele and Tori, who can both be in their own way–and rightfully so, I love it–polarizing. People are either going to love them or score them down. So I knew that I was going to have an advantage because of the karma points, whereas I think Jenny heard it and definitely had the opposite reaction.
Jenny West: I mean, I didn't even go through the denial stage. I went straight from hearing it to the acceptance stage. My fate was sealed with the karma vote, nd I knew it. But at the same time, I also knew it would be good for Rachel. And she'd slogged away so hard all season and, even in the final, she absolutely killed everything. But just because it was a swimming element, it just meant that she wasn't able to get those first places that she absolutely well deserved. So it was pretty cool how, in that moment, it was like, "Okay, this is going to help her out. It's definitely going to hinder me. But both of us always could keep pushing and just keep backing each other regardless. And hopefully just one of us can win." That was our mindset going into that final. If just one of us could win, we've won.

And you both won!
Rachel: [Laughs.] We didn't even know that was an option.
Jenny: No! Like you say, it's never been done before. We literally made Challenge history right there in the Philippines, on that horrendous Sinister.

Jenny, you had some struggles earlier this season in cardio-based challenges, which I know is due to your exercise-induced asthma. So color me surprised when you absolutely kill this final (except for the overnight portion), considering how swimming-based it is. Can you explain to me how that happened?
Jenny: Essentially, it comes down to, I have this switch in my head. I am so competitive. And when it comes to the absolute wire, that's it. Whatever's going on my head, or however I'm feeling in my body, something switches. And I know, in that moment, that I will die before I don't try my hardest. If I have to swim with one arm through the water with my leg broken.
Rachel: A shark bit off her leg!
Jenny: I can't do it. I can't do it. I wish I could. It's dangerous. The positions I can put myself in just to win in the moment, it's actually quite terrifying. I have no control over my mental state at that moment. I will do anything. It is just unfortunate. On day one of the final was my period. And nobody would ever know this if you don't live with me–my poor boyfriend–but on day one of my period, I choose not to be around anybody, because I have no patience. I go from being the nicest person ever to literally people thinking, "Jen, you are horrendous right now." 
Rachel: Anyone who follows Jenny on social media already knows that. She announces to her entire platform, "Cramps today!" I always think it's funny, because usually it's kind of like a topic that you don't so think about. But Jenny, even before this final, always talks about the effects of her period. So Jenny happened to start the final on the first day.
Jenny: I knew it was going to come on that day as well. Remember? I was working it out, and I was like, "It's going to come on day one of the final." The way it affects my hormones is unmatched; I am a different person. And then going back to the vaping thing and the exercise-induced asthma, the exercise never affects me, because I don't ever really train cardio. 
Rachel: She's taken my class before. She can run her ass off, and it doesn't come into play. It's just very dumb. I think it was the heat.
Jenny: I think so.
Rachel: I think it was the Vietnam heat, because that was something people were not accustomed to. And I truly believe that you put Jenny in maybe a climate that's normal, and you have her run 10 miles or five miles, she might never have that feeling in her throat.
Jenny: It's that tightness! It's not even my lungs. My lungs are fine. And even that on the very first checkpoint on the final, where we had to do the swim, and then was it a five-mile beach run, honestly, at any point in time, I could have just literally just given up on life. I remember thinking, "You'll have to drag my dead body off this beach before I stop. I'd rather die trying." It truly is like that for me, which is stupid.

Rachel, you felt the heat in a very different way during the first part of the season, especially once Era 1 winnowed down. In the process, we see you broker deals with a bunch of other guys, which pays off in spades when Jordan chooses not to send you into the last elimination. Considering how much time you had away before your return, was it always your intention to make these cross-era connections? Or did it come out of necessity?
Rachel: I said to a lot of people, especially on the production side, but also just friends that I talked to. I've always been a strategic player. But back in the old days, we didn't do it on camera. We did it in closed rooms. When the camera was gone, we shook a hand, walked the other direction, and knew what was going to happen. Nowadays, the deals are very much on the table. And I actually like that it's open now. People will literally come up to you and be like, "Can we have a talk?" And then they will call a camera crew over, pretty much, and be like, "And I need this on camera." And I like that.

And I also pride myself on being someone who is pretty well-spoken. So I mean, listen, I just can't stress enough how magical and meant to be it was that Jenny and I do win together. Because Jenny can tell you, there are moments when we were in that chamber, and almost every time I was in a vulnerable position in the game in the chamber, Jenny was sitting at the head of the table. And if you look back, she gave me what I wanted with Jonna the first time around. I asked her to do that for me. I said, "I need this." It was also she wasn't going to put Johnny in. Even in the last one, her being partnered with Jordan as a winner, you know, it felt comforting that Jenny was also sitting at the head of the table.

I forget where I'm going with this. But there were just like moments where it just all kind of came together, and we really played the entire game as a team, either a team in the beginning or a team within an individual. It makes sense, why the universe decided to, literally to the point, to the tee, line us up to share this victory. Even when we go into the maze, when we had to run through the 40-yard-dash maze, we were the only two people that stayed together, yeah. And not only did we stay together, we handed balls to each other. One of us would go in, turn around, and hand the ball to the other person.
Jenny: Helping each other out of a ditch.
Rachel: We had this instinctual connection to stay together in the game, to benefit each other. And it just happened the way it was meant to be. That's just something that I think is just such a beautiful story in this whole season. I don't think you can really write it any better. I couldn't have written it better if you gave me a pen and paper.
Jenny: We didn't even know that two could win! That's never happened before. For both us to be able to take first, it's the dream outcome. We didn't even think was a thing.

Jenny, you came into the season with comparatively fewer relationships than the other people of Era 4, something that put you on the outs early. We also heard some shots fired in the confessionals about how all you do is talk about your pets, chocolate, and exercise. Talk to me your perspective on where you felt in the house.
Jenny: When you back yourself and you trust your ability, you do not need to rely on people to be able to get yourself to the final. Is your road going to be more rocky? Yes, it is. Is it going to come with more, headaches and stress? Yes it is. But if I'm to make it to the final, I'm to make it off my own merit and my own hard work, my own ability that makes me feel safe. Because I only have myself to blame. I would hate to be in a scenario where I'm hoping that people are going to look out for me. I'm hoping people are going to save me. Now, for me, I don't want to spend my life, even if it is 10 weeks, with those people, and just be having the fake surface-level conversations and coming away from conversations thinking, "Oh, I hope that they don't say my name!" Or " I hope that they like me!" It literally gives me PTSD. [It] reminds of high school, where you just trying to fit in. I cannot be bothered. Frankly, I would rather just sit on my own, sit by the pool, talk about real life outside of the game. And honestly, when people start talking about the game, my brain just switches off. I have no energy or time for it. [Laughs.] And I understand it's stupid of me to do that.
Rachel: Jenny, what you should learn from me, and I think what every person [should] moving forward. Because now I remember what the question kind of stemmed back to. Taking so much time off and then coming back, I made, I made my connections in the game business. Jordan and I didn't have to hang out at all. I looked at him. I said, "You can benefit me. I can benefit you. You want in." And of course, he wanted me to have his back, and we both were very clear on where the lineup was. I knew Tori would always come before me. He knew Johnny would always come before him. But we shook, and that's it. Go your separate ways.
Jenny: There's no fakeness or pretending.
Rachel: No, there was no fakeness, no pretending. Andit really just boils down to, at the fourth quarter in the game, you putting your money on the right horses. And, had other people went home, or had things went different, we could have had a completely different outcome. But I put my money on Johnny and Jordan, and I was very comfortable. And Jenny put her money on just Johnny. [Laughs.]
Jenny: It's just a friend!
Rachel: I mean, you were very comfortable with that. She really did play a game where she was obviously, definitely relying [on him]. But I will say this season had a nice feel to it, because it really wasn't about numbers. Not massive numbers. You didn't need big numbers to be successful, you needed the right numbers.
Jenny: Like you say, I wouldn't have got to where I had, had I not had certain people in place at times. But the forefoot of my mind is always just do the best I can do. And what will happen will happen. And I think the difference in the way Rachel makes deals and whatever is. She doesn't go out of a way to be this person, to be friends with everybody. Not that she isn't friends with everybody, because you are friends with everybody. But it's not done in a way that's desperation, begging, obvious. Rachel is just chill and cool as f–k. She's there, she's respected. And your way of going around that politics is so different to certain other people.
Rachel: There's a reason why you're sitting with two champions. I think this season absolutely proved that in every way it could have.This season, there was no doubt that the cream rose to the top.
Jenny: I love that.
Rachel: And that was it. There was nobody that slid through. There was nobody that didn't deserve it or earn it. Everybody had to fight their way there. And even Jordan didn't see an elimination. He still won when he needed to. He put his right he put his money on the right horse.

Well, let's talk about one of your prize thoroughbreds in Johnny Bananas. Rachel, I'm sure you surprised yourself in working so closely with him, considering how things ended with the two of you on The Island and Battle of the Exes. And you said in a confessional that your relationship with him was like parenting a child, where you tend to celebrate the good things he does and ignore the bad things he does. Suffice it to say, that comment in particular raised a lot of discussion on social media from fans and even players from this season. Talk to me about your perspective on this new page in your relationship.
I know this is very provoking to people. I am very aware of it. But the truth is that even Michele will say that she likes Johnny. Maybe she's not allowed to say it right now. But deep down inside, even Michele loves Johnny, and even Tori loves Johnny. There is a lot of love. You know why? Because I will tell you one thing about Johnny. One, he's a very real person. And I've never seen anybody, to be honest, give more attention to fans when they meet him. He is actually, genuinely, a good person. When we went to LA in the premiere party, right at the Coliseum, he took 10 minutes to talk to every single person who came up. To the point where I looked over and I'm like, "You gotta stop! This line's gotta move a little faster." But that's who he is. He's just a people person. He genuinely supports. He was really a great support system for both Jenny and myself. And, listen, if you cross him, which I have done in the past, you absolutely have to be prepared for the wrath you know. It is childish. It is below the belt. It is all the things that you know he can go into. But he also,  at the end of the day is going to hug you and say he's sorry and make it all better. I don't know; it's just hard.

And I know I took a lot of heat for whatever Michele said on the bus, and me not saying something. But people have to understand Aviv comes before Michele for me, and Aviv was the one I was more concerned about. I didn't want to make that whole scene a bigger deal. You guys don't realize there's a million hiccups or fights that happen on a tense season. And if things don't escalate, they don't make air. So I was hoping that that little "touch," whatever, that turned into a bigger deal.,  was sitting on the back of the bus hoping that it didn't go anywhere. Trust me, if I come chiming in, it's going to go somewhere even more. So I was very protective of Aviv in that moment, and I didn't think that it was my place anyway to fight Michele's battles. She had made the bed that she was sleeping in.

At this point, I very much came into the season knowing what I wanted to do in order to win, knowing the people I wanted to keep close to me that kept my sanity, which was Jenny, which was Aviv, which was Josh ,and Johnny. Those people were very important to my success, because they kept me emotionally okay. That goes a very long way. What Johnny has with Michele, what Tori has with Michele, what this one has with this one, is not my business. It's not my battles to fight. And that was really my take on, you know, coming back. I also think, when you take a decade off, you're there for business. Especially when you have three kids, or you have a career Jenny and I, and you come back to the show.
Jenny: You've got to make it work.
It's not a successful season unless you win, you know. So, to me, the end goal was to walk away with, at the very least, making the final on a monumental season like this. I knew that I wanted to be part of that final. I wasn't letting any drama of other people's drama come in the way of my game.

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? 
Jenny: Straight in, Aviv, drunk, ran into a tree. Gave herself a black eye. [Laughs.]

[Laughs.] Was she trying to tackle it?
Jenny: Someone threw a ball. I think it's a height thing.
Rachel: She learned a lesson. Honestly, you do that once or twice. I consider Aviv kind of like The Challenge 40 rookie, because she had been so long and only done one season. You don't really play games where you can get hurt when it's outside once you've done a few of these, because the worst thing you can do is get hurt on off-time.
Jenny: Right, you don't want to injure your body, then not be able to perform.
Rachel: She won't be doing that again.
Jenny: But Aviv's like that little wrestler. She loves to get in on it and do all that. 

What about you, Rachel?
Rachel: I mean, it's been talked about on something else. But there wasquite a drama that wasn't that didn't make air, and that was "Bedgate." After Era 1 kind of slowly went down to just me, obviously I recruited Ryan into my room, and then Josh. But then those two left as well. Theo and Olivia decided they would possibly move into our side of the house. And, obviously, Johnny was not having that, because he didn't want our conversations to be heard, because we have so many conversations on our side of the house that have to do with our strategy. So he basically moved their bed and moved their stuff.
Jenny: He put all the mattresses in the wardrobe, remember? [Laughs.]
Rachel: I did feel bad for Theo and Olivia, because I think that they did feel personally shunned, and it wasn't really supposed to be like that. But I didn't get involved, even though it was my room. Hence why you're sitting here with a winner, because my karma was good. I didn't get involved. And I just kind of let it play out. But that was like a big drama that didn't make it. Maybe one day they'll release that footage.

Related: Cara Maria Sorbello Reveals Her Unseen Reconciliation With Tori on 'The Challenge 40'