[SPOILER] talks making Challenge history after competing in two eliminations in one night.
Warning: This article contains spoilers about Wednesday’s episode ofThe Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies.
Everyone assumed that would be the last elimination before the final, and that they were all safe.
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“The chain of events that night was crazy,” Neagu tells EW.
“It sucked.”
Were you hoping to slide to the finale without doing any eliminations?
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EMANUEL NEAGU:I was hoping that I’m never going to get called down or sent into elimination.
And then I did another elimination and I went home.
It was pretty quick.
‘The Challenge: Spies, Lies, and Allies’.MTV
I knew I was going to go the second time because I was the only rookie.
But then when Devin said my name I was like, yeah, no.
Did you need a lot of time to recover from the elimination against Logan?
That looked so exhausting and then you had to go in again so soon.
It was, yeah.
It looked easier on TV to be honest.
We were going for like an hour and more.
But I was ready to go in another physical elimination.
That’s what I was expecting, that’s what I wanted.
I didn’t really need time to recover from that.
Physically I’m very strong, I have a lot of endurance.
At first I was like, alright, I get it.
Let me try it.
But I knew I was going to go home because that was Devin’s strength.
But then when we started, I was like, wooo!
Then the second one, the numbers, that f—ed me.
On TV it looks like I got help from people, but I couldn’t hear them.
That’s not at all what it looked like in the episode.
They only said, “Put the five in the middle.”
And that was Kaycee that said it.
Why, because I’m a rookie?
Everyone voted for Amanda instead of Emy, so why’s that?
I was wondering that too.
It’s obvious that they didn’t want me in the final.
They’d rather have Devin than me in the final.
That’s a nice compliment I guess?
[Laughs] I hate it.
What was it like competing while all that drama on the sidelines was happening with Tori and Nelson?
Was it hard to focus?
No, I was really focused on what I had to do.
And you’ve got the option to’t hear them that good from down there.
It’s not like how it looks on TV.
It doesn’t make sense.
And then I was just trying to calm Tori down.
Did it surprise you that your former partner and teammate Kaycee voted for you, too?
I mean, she could have said a different name because I had the most votes already.
But of course, she had to stick with the vets.
But for just that moment!
[Laughs] So yeah, I wasn’t shocked.
Did you always know you were going to pick Devin as your opponent?
No, I always wanted to pick CT. And of course, it was close to the final.
If I was in the middle of the game, I would have picked CT.
I need to get to the final.
I’m so close.
I don’t have to do like a superhero move or whatever.
That’s why I picked Devin.
Do you regret picking Devin and not CT?
Even though CT is evenbetterat puzzles?
I mean, you never know!
But probably I would have beat him.
I don’t know!
Maybe he [would be] slower.
I’m happy everyone saw that.
So don’t call me in!
When you got to the last puzzle, it looked like you actually solved it before Devin.
But you didn’t call for a check and he did.
Did you actually have it right first?
I think I had it right.
I kept doing it and there was a piece that couldn’t fit anywhere.
But then I had the last piece and I don’t even know.
You call it just in case.
Probably I had it right and I didn’t call it.
I was maybe checking one more time or whatever, but he was quicker so … [sighs].
Yeah, but every time you call check, you have to wait 10 seconds prior to beginning again.
Otherwise I would be like moving a piece, check!
So there is a risk with calling it too early.
Yeah, but you better call the check.
[Laughs] I mean, it can be your win.
What happened with your relationship with Tori after the season ended?
They stayed for three more days [for the final] so I waited for Tori in Spain.
[She came] with Nany, Kaycee, and I met Josh in Spain too.
The relationship went further than the game.
What’s your relationship with Tori like now?
Are you still together?
We don’t have a label for this relationship.
Obviously it’s hard to see each other because we live on the other side of the planet.
But we’re talking.
Yeah, we’re talking as friends.
And she was cool.
So we can be in an alliance!
But you never know.
What’s the biggest lesson you learned from this season?
I need to control my actions more when I’m emotional.
It affected my game.
And then obviously, I got angry with Devin because he said my name first.
You still had an amazing rookie season.
I stayed away from The Lair.
Everyone was like, “How did you do it?”
That happened on mySurvivortoo, I was the only one in the whole game without any votes.
I was used to doing strategies and talking to people more [while] not being seen by anyone.
Do you have any regrets from how you played this season?
I wish I would have played tougher, but that’s going to happen [my] next season.
This was my first season, so coming in hot would send me home.
That happened with Kelz and a lot of people.
So I don’t have any regrets, to be honest.
What are you doing to prepare for future seasons?
Physically, I’m training a lot.
I’m talking to Logan even more than before.
Don’t tell anyone, but I’m trying to make him my No.
1 guy in the game.
[Laughs] Hopefully we’re both going to be on the same season.
And now I have alliances, new friendships, and I’m taking that for the next season.
[My] next season is going to be way different.
Probably I’m going to win.
I’d need to break a leg or something because I’m doing puzzles, I’m running fast.
What was your favorite part of this season?
I’m an adrenaline freak.
[Laughs] I love adrenaline.
I love when I see people nervous, it’s like I’m feeding myself with their nerves.
That happened with Kyle, too, when he was about to call me in.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
