Quite the lesson. Ed Eason was eliminated from The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies during the Wednesday, October 20, episode, and is well aware that if he’d been more prepared, things could have gone better.
“I definitely should have done my research. People said, ‘Hey, you’d be a great fit for The Challenge, you should apply to it.’ Shortly after I was done with The Circle, The Challenge actually reached out to me, so it was like destiny there, but I had not watched it before,” the Pennsylvania native, 25, explained on the “Watch With Us” podcast on Friday, October 22. “I knew from talking to people that there was a lot of physical competitions and I thought as long as I’m physically capable and I do well in competitions, I’m going to do great. … I had seen one full episode, which was definitely not enough because I did not realize that it’s much more than just physical challenges. There is a lot of sneaky manipulation and just dirty gameplay that goes on that I was not prepared for.”
During Wednesday’s episode, Ed volunteered to go into the Lair in order to earn his spot. When he got there, he chose Kyle Christie as his opponent — a competitor who has never lost at pole wrestle.
Although the Circle alum admitted that if he did the “homework,” he may have done better on the show, he revealed on the podcast that when he called Kyle’s name, he didn’t know they would be wrestling.
“I do look kind of stupid on the show but when we walked into the Lair, they show a quick little clip of the pole in the sand. But in reality, when we went down into the Lair, it was empty and usually, something is set up there. So there was no pole, there was nothing laying in the sand,” he explained to Us. “[Usually] something is set up, so we get to kind of guess what the game is at least. But there was nothing here. I’m like, ‘TJ [Lavin], can I know what the game is before I pick somebody?’ And he’s like, ‘No, you’ve got to pick somebody first.’ So, I didn’t know that we were getting into a pole wrestle until after I picked Kyle.”
Ed calls his time on The Challenge “the coolest experience of my life” and is looking forward to doing more. That said, he’ll be a bit more prepared next time.
“The political game — that surprised me. I felt like I was at a high school party at all times during it, like, there was just people talking about you behind your back and this clique talking about that clique,” he explained. “It was just so much, petty — not petty nonsense, obviously it’s a big part of the game — but I felt like people were just, like, digging or making up lies about people. And I wasn’t ready for [that]. I didn’t think it was that sneaky and manipulative. I had thought it was just more physical, but I learned quick that OK, that game is actually much more than just physical.”
He added that he was “way too nice” and “naive” when he joined the show and plans to change that in the future.
“I can still be a nice guy, but I think you got to flip a switch when you enter the game and realize that these people can still be your friends, you can still have great relationships outside, but, like, if you’re playing the game, you’re playing to win $1 million and you’ve got to have almost two separate personalities. You can be Ed outside the show and then Ed in the show where I can be a little more sneaky and manipulative and ruthless, I guess you could say,” he said. “You’ve gotta fight dirty while you’re in there. As much as it might not be me, in the show, I think I’ve really got to be able to flip that switch and turn into somebody else, just for the time being to make it further in the game.”
For more from Ed, including what his relationship was like with Tori Deal in the house, listen to the full podcast above and subscribe for free for more Challenge news and exclusive interviews.
The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies airs on MTV Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.