Jenna Compono and Zach Nichols are one of several couples whose love blossomed after they met on The Challenge, ultimately leading to them becoming husband and wife.
The duo had two weddings, with the first an intimate mini-wedding ceremony last year after they previously postponed wedding plans due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A second, larger wedding ceremony arrived last month and had many more people there for the celebration, including Challenge castmates, friends, and family.
So why two weddings? During a recent appearance on Johnny Bananas’ podcast, Jenna explained the real reason she married Zach that first time in a smaller ceremony last year.
Jenna reveals the reason for her and Zach Nichols’ first wedding
Sometimes life throws curveballs into people’s plans. For The Challenge’s Jenna Compono and Zach Nichols, and many others, that was the case when the COVID-19 pandemic arrived, shifting many peoples’ plans for large gatherings, including weddings.
So like many other couples, they postponed their wedding until a later date, thinking it wouldn’t be an issue if they waited to tie the knot.
However, even though Jenna and Zach were ok waiting to get married, they hadn’t accounted for one aspect of their life that changed. That was when Jenna became pregnant with their first child.
She explained to Johnny Bananas on the April 28 episode of his Death, Taxes, and Bananas podcast that was why she and Zach chose to get married in the mini wedding ceremony last year.
“We had two. The first one, realistically, I just needed insurance to get the baby because my insurance was so bad,” Jenna said, adding, “So we got married then. I was pregnant while we got married, but we planned the baby. It wasn’t an accident or anything.”
She said they were initially going to push their wedding back and wait for an ideal time to have the ceremony, but she realized how costly it would be to have the baby on her insurance rather than Zach’s.
“Got pregnant. Got married. Had a baby. Got married,” Jenna said of the situation.
Zach and Jenna had a larger wedding with castmates invited
After having that first marriage ceremony to make things official and then welcoming their baby boy, Joseph Anthony Nichols, they decided to have a much bigger wedding celebration.
The event featured family and friends, with more than a few of their castmates from The Challenge in attendance, including Nany Gonzalez, Kaycee Clark, Jordan Wiseley, Laurel Stuckey, and Nicole Zanatta.
Jenna and Zach’s second wedding brought some memorable photos and videos featuring their castmates, including one viral video featuring Kaycee accidentally knocking over the bride.
They weren’t the only Challengers to have a wedding recently either. Their former castmate, All Stars 3’s Kailah Casillas, also tied the knot as she eloped with Sam Bird several weeks ago.
Next up will be castmates Kam Williams and Leroy Garrett, who recently held a baby shower that also included castmates as guests. During the event, Kam showed off her engagement ring in a video posted by Nelson Thomas. As of this writing, their wedding date is unknown.
The Challenge Season 38 is TBA on MTV. The Challenge: All Stars 3 premieres on May 11 on Paramount Plus.