‘Challenge’ Star Johnny Bananas Teases Interest In Being ABC’s ‘Bachelor’

Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio has been doing various seasons of MTV’s The Challenge franchise for more than a decade now, but he has hinted that he thinks a spin as The Bachelor could be the next challenge that would be right up his alley. From the looks of things, fans aren’t exactly opposed to the idea.

As E! News details, Johnny Bananas has been a prominent figure on MTV for the past 13 years. He first appeared on the 2006 Key West version of The Real World, and is current a part of the Challenge: War of the Worlds cast. Devenanzio has won plenty of cash thanks to his MTV appearances, and he has parlayed his competitive battles into some other television opportunities in recent months.

The Challenge icon is now hosting the NBC show First Look, but it sounds as if he might have a different show on a different network in his sights. When asked if he would ever consider tackling ABC’s Bachelor show, Johnny Bananas seemed all for it.

“Out of all the shows that are out there, that’s the one – I wouldn’t do those other dating shows… but The Bachelor would be dope, dude. That would actually be a lot of fun.”

When E! News threw out the idea via Twitter, their followers didn’t hesitate to share their love for the idea. Numerous people tweeted that they weren’t regular Bachelor viewers these days, but that they would be sure to tune in if Devenanzio were handing out roses.

In addition to that, current Bachelor Colton Underwood wrote a Twitter post saying that he was a supporter of the idea as well. While it would be an unusual direction for ABC to take, those who love the Challenge star probably wouldn’t have to work too hard to create a compelling argument for casting him.

Devenanzio, 36, does appear to be single at the moment. He dated professional snowboarder Hannah Teter for five years, but the couple split some time ago. Johnny Bananas also had something of a showmance with Big Brother-turned-Challenge star Natalie Negrotti for a brief time, but that never seemed to develop into much of anything.

Bananas has had some romantic dalliances with other Challenge co-stars over the years, but it doesn’t appear that he is currently attached to anybody. Johnny loves travel and a good adventure, and fans know that he’s a pretty big flirt with a big sense of humor.

“I think they could use somebody who’s a little grittier, a little edgier, a little more dynamic. And I definitely think I’m that and then the whole dealing with the ladies aspect, I think I’d be good at that.”

MTV has started to pull in new Challenge contestants from other shows like The Bachelor, but would ABC take a similar route? Fans probably shouldn’t get too excited about this possibility quite yet, but some do think it’s an intriguing idea.

It’s been years since ABC cast a lead who hadn’t been a former contestant. So, in all likelihood, the next Bachelor lead will be someone on the upcoming Bachelorette season. In addition, the next season won’t start filming until next September — with a premiere date coming next January — so any speculation about the next lead is quite premature at this point.

Should ABC go with someone like Challenge personality Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio to shake things up? It would definitely be a wild idea, and it looks as if there’s already a base of fans ready to embrace the idea.