"Heartbroken": The Challenge star Horacio blames Olivia for elimination

The Challenge season 39 has reached the“Conquest” stage where contestants compete individually. The winner of the daily challenge becomes immune and the loser gets eliminated. Subsequently, the winner also gets the power to save another player, the chosen contestant picks another name, and the process continues until three names remain at the bottom.

The three who do not get saved compete in a private elimination round, with the loser sent packing home. In episode 16, titled Family Knows Best, released on Wednesday, January 31, the chaotic selection divided The Challenge house, forcing Olivia Kaiser to choose between her closest allies. In a dramatic twist, she betrayed her best friends, leading to the elimination of Horacio and Kyland Young.

Viewers of the show are aware of Olivia and Horacio’s close association as the duo were paired together on Ride or Dies, where they emerged as one of the fan favorites. In an interview with Distractify, Horacio spoke at length about Olivia’s decision:

“The word that I feel like is the perfect term to describe it is just 'heartbroken’.”

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The Challenge star Horacio reflects on Olivia’s betrayal

In episode 16, when Olivia was given a chance to save someone from being in the bottom three, it was assumed she’d pick Nurys Mateo’s name, who is also her best friend.

If that were the case, it would have resulted in Nurys saving Horacio, who would have then saved Kyland. However, Olivia used the power to save Moriah Jade, resulting in all three of them battling in the private elimination round.

Talking about Olivia’s betrayal, Horacio added:

“It was very, very, hard. Very heartbreaking because I know that if she had picked Nurys, we would not be having this conversation right now. The game would have played out so differently.”

One of the reasons why it was assumed Olivia would choose Nurys was because the latter saved Olivia from landing in eliminations last week. When Nurys had the final decision on who to save, Horacia insisted she not pick his name. For those unaware, Nurys and Horacio are dating each other.

Ultimately, she decided to save Olivia, which resulted in Kyland, Horacio, and Zara battling to survive in the elimination round. Though Zara had a strong start, unfortunately, Horacio and Kyland ultimately outpaced her.

Horacio noted how this would have been the perfect opportunity for Olivia to return the favor to Nurys. The Challenge star said:

"This was the perfect opportunity for [Olivia] to show that she was with us.”

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What happened on The Challenge season 39 episode 16?

Player Jay was the winner of the daily challenge and saved Michele from elimination, who picked Olivia’s name. During her turn, she chose Moriah and her decision took every cast member by shock. Corey told the cameras he was surprised by the decision because if Olivia could do that to her best friend, nobody else was safe.

Meanwhile, Horacia explained he was equally “disappointed” and “shocked.” A segment showed Nurys telling Olivia about a phone call with her brother where he warned her not to trust Olivia, claiming she could “screw” her over.

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The Challenge: Battle for a New Champion airs on MTV on Wednesdays at 8 pm ET/PT. Interested viewers can stream the show on services including Philo, DirecTV Stream, FuboTV, and Sling TV.