Reality TV stars Johnny Bananas Devenanzio and Morgan Willett’s relationship quickly went from on-screen partners on The Challenge Season 33 to being a real-life couple.
While the two didn’t outright announce that they were dating shortly after their TV stint, the public knew it all too well. The two had been hanging out with each other and traveling around the world.
However, they chose to keep what label they had private. They dated for two years and broke things off in September 2021.
From Reality TV To Real-Life
Devenanzio first met on The Challenge: War of the Worlds set, which they filmed around October until December 2018. The season aired in February 2019, and around that time, the pair also started sharing photos of them together. Of course, people got curious real quick.
So, they got eliminated early on in the show and decided to travel just the two of them for two weeks. In an exclusive interview with Us Weekly in April 2019, Willett shared that she got to know the star on a more personal level, and it was definitely refreshing to do that outside the reality TV world.
While Willett didn’t say anything other than she was very happy with how her life was going, even expressing that she wasn’t “canoodling” with Devenanzio. To her, it implied that they were just hooking up, and she didn’t consider herself a hookup.
“I’ve had a lot of people on social media reach out to me and say, ‘You know, you’re just hooking up with him to get on the next show,’ and that couldn’t be further from the truth.”
Then, in September 2019, Devenanzio spoke with Us, and just like Willett, he didn’t divulge any details. He just said he had his personal life and “The Challenge” life. It seemed like he wanted to keep his boundaries between those two lives intact.
Private But Not Secret
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Nevertheless, the two didn’t keep their romance a secret.
In November 2019, Willett posted a photo with The Challenge legend with the caption, “But… how on earth has it already been a year?!” – which most likely meant that the two started dating while filming the show.
Two months later, in January 2020, Devenanzio finally debuted Willett on his Instagram. And on Valentine’s Day, he officially confirmed that they were together. He wrote, “You’re fine and you’re mine and you look so divine.”
After that, the two became more open with their relationship on social media, greeting each other on their birthdays. Willett was first up in June, and she shared not just one but a slideshow of photos. Aside from saying happy birthday, she also thanked her “biggest pain in the ass” for putting up with her selfies and stealing her matching workout sets.
Devenanazio returned the favor the next year. He penned a short but sweet message for Willett’s 27th, saying how it had been one hell of a year and that he couldn’t have done it without her. Then, a month later, they celebrated his birthday together with a montage of their best moments.
The Breakup
Everyone was surprised when Us reported that they split in September 2021.
Morgan Willett released a statement, saying that after seeing everything circulating over the Internet, she decided to speak up. She confirmed they were no longer together but didn’t reveal the reason for their breakup.
However, she did subtly hint at a cheating issue. Devenanzio also released his own, stating that while he had been an open book, this was something he wanted “to keep close to the cuff.”
The following month, she took to Instagram to share that Devenanzio cheated on her.
In February 2022, Willett was ready to share more about what had happened between them. Talking with Gabrielle Stone on the FML podcast, she said she suspected her ex cheated on her while she was on a girls’ trip. Her evidence? Clean sheets.
She noted that they were just taken right out of the machine, her ex was hungover, and nothing else was being cleaned then. Devenanzio also didn’t kiss her good night. Adding to that, a mutual friend of theirs alleged that her ex and another girl went home together from the bar.
Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio didn’t deny nor confirm Morgan Willett’s claims on how their relationship ended. He just said that they were both really going through their breakup, and he would like to leave it at that.
