At least one showmance that started while filming The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion is still going strong as the episodes are now airing on MTV.
So far in the episodes, viewers have seen showmances involving Moriah Jadea and James Lock, Kyland Young and Melissa Reeves, and Horacio Gutierrez and Nurys Mateo.
The latter may have caught fans and even Nurys and Horacio off guard because they were also castmates for their rookie season, Ride or Dies, but never showed interest in one another.
During that season, they had other interests, with Nurys interested in castmates Johnny Middlebrooks and Jordan Wiseley. Horacio had a brief showmance with Laurel Stucky.
However, sparks emerged in Season 39, and the couple has continued to date after the show was filmed.
Nurys recently shared her sweet surprise for Horacio as he films his other competition series in a different country.
Nurys shares footage from her surprise visit to see Horacio
Horacio is filming for a season of the competition show Exatlon Estados Unidos All-Star 2023 in the Dominican Republic, keeping him away from his girlfriend and Challenge castmate, Nurys Mateo.
However, Nurys traveled the distance to see the love of her life and shared photos and videos from the trip.
The first slide presents a scene from Horacio’s show where the host speaks Spanish. Soon after, the host introduces Horacio’s girlfriend, Nurys Mateo, who walks out.
Horacio is shocked by her visit but has a massive smile. She rushes up and hugs him, and the two lock lips while holding their hug.
A second slide is a quick video of the couple together on the set as they hug and are all smiles.
“Reunited,” they each say as they kiss one another.
In another of Nurys’ slides, Horacio is at a vehicle’s window and makes a heart gesture with his hands, which suggests Nurys was departing the area.
“Still can’t believe I really got to surprise visit Horacio while he films his show! Not being able to talk to my person for 10+ weeks (and counting) has been so hard on the both of us but look at God 🙏🏽 ,” Nurys wrote in the English portion of her caption.
Exatlon Estados Unidos is a reality competition series that airs on Telemundo. Its format is similar to The Challenge in that the competitors are divided into teams for various competitions. Horacio is on Team Blue.
At the end of the season, up to 10 competitors remain who compete individually to win the $200,000 prize.
The Challenge stars react to their castmates’ sweet reunion
Among castmates and The Challenge stars who reacted to Nurys’ surprise visit to Horacio were Melissa, Ravyn Rochelle, Cheyenne Floyd, Da’Vonne Rogers, and Amber Borzotra.
“This is so cute!” Melissa wrote, while Ravyn commented, “lol sooo beautiful love y’all.”
“I hate how sensitive I am bc I’m literally crying happy tears right now. This is so sweet and lovely to see,” their Ride or Dies castmate Amber wrote.
Nurys addresses the possibility of marriage
In several of the comments on her post from fans, Nurys addressed the possibility of marriage.
“I see this relationship turning into a marriage [ring emoji] + a blessing [baby emoji],” a commenter wrote, tagging the couple.
“praying for this,” Nurys replied with a praying hands emoji.
One commenter said they were “shooting [their] shot early” for her and her husband as potential videographers for the wedding.
“aww love this! Saving this and if not remind me if/when we get engaged,” Nurys wrote.
Another commenter said, “The wedding and the babies are coming in 2024,” and told Nurys they’ve been her fan since her appearance on Are You The One? on MTV.
“maybe 2025 haha don’t wanna rush it!” Nurys replied.
Speculation arrived that The Challenge castmates were dating soon after filming for Battle For a New Champion ended. There had been rumors of their showmance, but fans began to notice they shared similar photos on Instagram.
Soon after, they eventually went public with their relationship, making it Instagram official.
Nurys has continued to share updates about their situation on social media, including that she’s been watching Horacio’s currently airing competition show. The surprise visit to his show happened just recently. She also mentioned their plans to move in together once he returns from that show.
Viewers are watching their showmance evolve on The Challenge Season 39, as Nurys and Horacio are still part of the game as of Episode 10.
The Challenge: Battle For a New Champion airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.