Wes Bergmann Felt 'FOMO’ Not Being onThe Challenge 40, Enjoyed Doing 'Different Things’ onHouse of Villains(Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Wes Bergmann on ‘House of Villains’ season 2.Photo:Art Streiber/E! Entertainment

Art Streiber/E! Entertainment

Months after announcinghis retirementfromThe Challenge,Wes Bergmannpopped up on the cast list forHouse of Villainsseason 2.

“My fans are on me all the time. They’re like, ‘You’ll come back and you’ll do this. What do you doing?’” Bergmann, 40, tells PEOPLE. “There was a 10 times difference in time commitments. I could show up to this fat and dumb and out of shape and do just fine. Whereas onThe Challenge, I have to train for six months, leave the country and check into prison for three months. That’s way, way, way different.”

Bergmann added that onHouse of Villains, he could “come out and hang out” with his castmatesTeresa Giudice(The Real Housewives of New Jersey), Jessie Godderz (Big Brother),Richard Hatch(Survivor),Victoria Larson(The Bachelor), Larissa Lima (90 Day Fiancé), Kandy Muse (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Camilla Poindexter (Bad Girls Club), Tiffany “New York” Pollard (Flavor of Love) and Safaree (Love & Hip Hop: Atlanta).

“I obviously knew who Teresa was, so I thought that was fun,” Bergmann says. “And I could tell right away that I was going to be friends with Safaree, so I wasn’t gaming as much as they want to give me credit for at the beginning, we were just kind of getting to know each other and it was really playful. There were some cool friendships that were formed. And then we used the gamesmanship to go after the less funny people.”

The strategy worked so far to keep Bergmann off the Hit List. The season 2 premiere episode that aired on Wednesday, Oct. 9, saw Supervillain of the Week Safaree, 43, nominate Muse, 29, Larson, 31, and Lima, 38, for elimination.

‘House of Villains’ season 2 stars (clockwise from top left) Victoria Larson, Kandy Muse, Richard Hatch, Safaree, Larissa Lima, Camilla Poindexter, Teresa Giudice, Tiffany “New York” Pollard, Wes Bergmann and Jessie Godderz.Trae Patton/E! Entertainment

Trae Patton/E! Entertainment

Bergmann says he “was collecting data” at the beginning of the game — and reveals he touched base withHouse of Villainsseason 1 finalist and fellowChallengechampJohnny “Bananas” Devenanzio.

But “you can only take what he says with a grain of salt,” Bergmann says. “In some ways he’s very, very different than I am. But I got the gist of everything and it was helpful to talk with him. But I can’t do what he does because he’s got that thing that I could never replicate, so I still had to be myself.”

Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio (left) and Wes Bergmann on ‘The Challenge: USA’.Jonne Roriz, courtesy of Paramount

Jonne Roriz, courtesy of Paramount

Bergmann’s been watching Devenanzio onThe Challenge 40: Battle of the Erasand admits he has “a little bit of FOMO” about not participating.

“I’m going to beThe Challenge’s biggest cheerleader, and there are cameo-esque things in my future forThe Challenge,” the three-timeChallengewinner says. “But getting to do different things with very different types of people checks off more of my bucket list than what would’ve amounted to my 22nd or 23rd season. There was starting to be a law of diminishing returns of what I was getting out ofThe Challenge.”

Wes Bergmann on ‘The Challenge: USA’.Jonne Roriz/ courtesy of Paramount

Jonne Roriz/ courtesy of Paramount

While there may beChallengecameos down the line for Bergmann, he demurs the possibility of an appearance onThe Challenge: All Stars, which typically requires a shorter filming commitment.

“Everyone likes to say, ‘Oh, go doAll Stars. This is the easy version.’ Those are just as hard!” the father of 12-month-olddaughter Lucysays. “It’s just on a different channel, also in another country, also with the same people. We’re still hiking mountains and jumping out of helicopters and stuff.”

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House of Villains’ two-night premiere continues on Thursday, Oct. 10, at 10 p.m. ET on E!

source: people.com