Why The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras Winners Are Taking a Break

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Johnny Bananas Reflects on His Evolution on 'The Challenge' (Exclusive)

Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio might be flying solo for the next few seasons of MTV's The Challenge.

Having bested the rest of the women competing on The Challenge 40: Battle of the Eras, Rachel Robinson and Jenny West—who dubbed their alliance with Bananas and Aviv Bruno "Johnny's Angels"—are hanging up their halos for a bit.

"Listen, I looked at season 40 as such a monumental season, and I just really wanted to put my name on it," Robinson told E! News in an exclusive interview, a day before viewers watched her and West tie for first place on the long-running series. (Jordan Wiseley claimed the $400,000 prize for the men, beating out Bananas, Derek Chavez and Kyland Young.) "I am definitely going to enjoy, at least for next season, being a viewer."

And after she cheers her pals through another one of host T.J. Lavin's vicious finals, she might consider slipping back into her jersey. Maybe.

"I like to ride the wave of the championship a little while before I put my hat back in the ring," explained the 41-year-old, who also claimed victories in 2003's The Gauntlet and 2009's The Duel II. "It's a chancy arena. Things can go crazy in there."

But things can get equally as hairy at her Florida home with her and wife Natalie Gee's three kids.

Which is why if the Gee Beauty founder was asked about Robinson returning, "She'd be like, 'Absolutely not,'" the reality star joked. The entire filming process "really consumes a year of your life," Robinson noted. "So, I'm not jumping on board for the next one, but I definitely am a challenger for life. And you'll never be able to say that you can count me out."

Courtesy of MTV.

Similarly, West is listening to her better angels when it comes to future seasons of the reality hit.

"It truly takes a whole year of your life away from you," noted the England resident. So while she's "always so grateful" for the experience and the friends she's made, amassing two wins in her three seasons, "The way it distracts me from my own progression in my personal life is monumental," said West. "I am still cleaning up the mess from last season, not quite ready to go into another season."

Instead, she and Robinson are cherishing the souvenirs they took home from their weeks in Vietnam.

There's the $237,500 a piece in cash, of course, which they both invested. "I always think, 'Just pretend it doesn't exist,'" noted West, "because if you act like it exists, you can spend it so fast."

But they've each found the relationships they've built to be even more valuable.

"There is a real friendship there," Robinson stressed of their alliance. "Besides winning the money, and besides being a champion, that is what makes The Challenge so special, the relationships that you come out of that are actually real, that can translate into your real life. I know that Johnny and I are kind of the surprise twist, but it just naturally happened."

Really, they'd happily tread water next to any of the contestants they swam against in that last, grueling challenge that saw them swimming back and forth to a ship docked in the South China Sea.

"By the time you make it to the final you're just so grateful to be there and the end is in sight," explained West. "There's no more politicking. Everyone just works as hard as they can for themselves and that's it. Let's all just do what we can, and may the best person win."

Courtesy of MTV.

And once the cash prizes are doled out, "You all look at each other and are like, 'Holy f--k, we all went through that together and we all understand the trauma,'" the 38-year-old reflected. "I was eating toothpaste out of a tube I found in the captain's bathroom, for crying out loud."

By that point, added Robinson, all of the rivalries had pretty much been scrubbed away, including those between Bananas and frenemies Michelle Fitzgerald and Tori Deal.

"The truth is that everyone, especially in that final, does love each other," she insisted. "Even Michelle and Johnny, even Tori and Johnny. They really do love each other."

Courtesy of MTV.

But for her and West, the true happy ending was getting to win season 40 together after they each struggled in the earlier team format. While West saw herself frequently voted into elimination rounds by her fellow Era Four competitors, Robinson watched as her Era One comrades were picked off one by one.

And so, when they got the chance to dominate as individuals and then race—and win—a final together, "You couldn't have dreamt for a better outcome," insisted West. "Storybook from start to end."

Because once upon a time, she met Robinson while training at Barry's Bootcamp in Miami. "And I thought, 'Yeah, this is my kind of woman,'" recalled West. "And then to find out we're going to be in the season together just a few months later was awesome."

Having then battled together in the arena trenches, West gained "Such a deep respect for her as a competitor and as a person," she continued. "For me, there are friendships I know I will have for life."

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