The Challenge: Ride or Dies features a theme with duos competing together that have a strong bond. Along the way, cast members form bonds with other castmates in friendships or showmances.
That’s been the case with several Ride or Dies cast members, although not all of those showmances and friendships went smoothly through and after filming.
Eventually, people have to make moves in the game that may not sit well with their friends or romantic interests, including difficult elimination decisions.
In Episode 6 of Ride or Dies, that was the case as Jay Starrett and Michele Fitzgerald found themselves in a tough position, leading to some irked castmates.
During a recent podcast, Jakk Maddox revealed why he blocked his castmate Jay’s number after filming due to a comment he made to him.
This report will contain spoilers through Episode 6 of The Challenge: Ride or Dies.
Jakk Maddox felt Ride or Dies friend was a ‘fraud’
The Challenge: Ride or Dies brought a group of seasoned vets and newcomers to the playing field, including rookie Jakk Maddox, who teamed up with his friend and former Ex on the Peak castmate, Laurel Stucky, a former Challenge champion.
In Ride or Dies Episode 5, viewers saw an early spotlight on Jakk and Jay’s emerging friendship during the season. However, that went south due to decisions that Jay and Michele had to make after winning the daily challenge.
They ultimately put Jakk and Laurel into elimination due to Michele not knowing if Laurel was going after her in the game. Laurel and Jakk managed to win the elimination and returned to the house for Episode 6, only for Jay and Michele to win another daily challenge.
With that, Laurel and Jakk were back in elimination, this time going against Jordan Wiseley and Aneesa Ferreira, two veteran competitors. Jordan and Aneesa defeated Laurel and Jakk in the In Your Face game, sending them home for the season.
During the episode, Jakk referred to Jay as “garbage” and a “fraud” due to feeling he was faking his friendship to take advantage of him and send him into elimination.
Jay attempted to make amends after the show was filmed, but Jakk said he put an end to that because of a particular comment Jay made to him.
Jakk Maddox says he blocked Ride or Dies castmate
After The Challenge: Ride or Dies Episode 6 aired on MTV, the Official Challenge Podcast episode covering it arrived online. Jakk appeared as the special guest for the episode, with Laurel unable to be there due to storm conditions where she was.
During the podcast, Jakk said that Jay “reached out and apologized” to him after the season, and they were going to meet up and talk things out. However, a comment that Jay made caused Jakk to block his number.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, maybe we can go grab lunch, go to the gym, kind of talk it out,’ and then,” Jakk said, stopping himself from revealing something else.
Podcast co-host Devyn Simone wasn’t allowing Jakk to get off the hook, so she asked him to reveal what he wasn’t saying.
“This is the straightforward podcast Jakk. We keep it real just like you do in your confessionals,” Devyn said.
“You know what? He had made a comment. He was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll bring my good camera’ to make like [Instagram] content,” Jakk revealed.
“And I was like, ‘This is our first time hanging out after you just royally f***ed me over for a million dollars, and you wanted to make content to put on your Instagram that way the fans don’t come for you,'” Jakk said.
He said Jay had a chance to redeem himself after what happened and for them to talk “man to man” to sort things out. However, Jakk said the comment rubbed him wrong, so he blocked Jay’s number. Before that, Jakk also said he recommended his therapist’s number to Jay because he has a “great therapist.”
Based on Jakk’s description of what went down after Ride or Dies season was filmed, it seems he and Jay couldn’t patch up their fractured friendship. However, fans know there’s typically a Challenge reunion, so there may be a chance Jay and Jakk could work things out there.
The Challenge: Ride or Dies airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.