‘The Challenge’: Rogan O’Connor Said He Only Dated Dee Nguyen Out of Boredom

[Spoilers: Details about the finale of The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2 ahead.]

The Challenge: War of the Worlds 2 has come to a close, and we’re still reeling from what went down. While the American team dominated all season long thanks to the leadership of Paulie Calafiore and Cara Maria Sorbello, they slowly weakened their team by dispatching their best players. In the end, the U.K. team won the grand prize of $1 million. And Dee Nguyen and Rogan O’Connor were part of that squad.

Nguyen and O’Connor had a relationship on the show. While Nguyen fell hard and fast for O’Connor, it seems O’Connor may have just been using Nguyen to get him further in the game. Here’s what was said at the War of the Worlds 2 reunion.

Dee Nguyen fell in love with Rogan O’Connor on ‘The Challenge’

Despite The Challenge being all about a battle of wits, physical strength, and social gameplay, there’s always a showmance or two. And this season, all eyes were on Nguyen and O’Connor.

Early on in the season, Nguyen and O’Connor established an initial attraction toward one another. And they hooked up early on, causing Nguyen to catch major feelings. She even told the producers she was falling in love with O’Connor and seemed to allude that she’d love to make their romance last outside of the show despite their massive geographical difference (Nguyen resides in Australia while O’Connor lives in the U.K.)

As for O’Connor, he never appeared to be quite as into the relationship as Nguyen was. And later in the season, he was willing to throw her into an elimination to save face with his team, which caused a major rift in their relationship. MTV reminds us he said, “I’m not gonna f***ing drag someone to the final and have to drag her over the finish line. … Feelings aside, I think it’s time to cut Dee.”

O’Connor said he only dated Nguyen because he was ‘bored’

The truth truly came out during the War of the Worlds 2 reunion on Dec. 18. When the topic of O’Connor and Nguyen’s relationship came up, they played a clip from early on in the season when O’Connor exposed his true feelings.

Calafiore asked O’Connor, “What’s going on with you and Dee?”

O’Connor answered, “I’m bored. Bro, I just come out of like, a three-and-a-half-year relationship. So I come here to have fun. I was like, I’m a come here, I’m single. I’m a do bits here, I’m a do bits there.”

During the conversation, O’Connor then tells Calafiore that he actually really likes Nguyen, but he didn’t necessarily want to commit to anything too early on. And Calafiore encouraged O’Connor to keep hooking up with Nguyen, as it keeps her on their side during the game.

Nguyen seems to have forgiven O’Connor

Nguyen was not happy seeing the footage play back. She told both Calafiore and O’Connor that she was deeply hurt that they planned to use her for their own personal gain.

“I’m loyal to a fault, and I rode with you guys, and to see you guys talk about me behind my back like that, that f***ing sucks,” Nguyen said at the reunion through tears.

O’Connor apologized to Nguyen, but his reputation is definitely tarnished. And Calafiore certainly shot himself in the foot with the footage, too, as it shows he had no regard for Nguyen’s feelings.

At the end of the day, however, it seems Nguyen didn’t have it in her heart to hold a grudge. According to Entertainment Weekly, their segment on the reunion ended with Nguyen telling the cameras that she and O’Connor are still friends, and she has his back no matter what happened in their past.

Will we see Nguyen and O’Connor on The Challenge together in the future? And are there lingering feelings that may stir? We’re not sure. We’ll have to stay tuned for Season 35 to find out!

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