The Challenge: Ride or Dies season introduced several rookies to the show, and some found potential relationships with veteran castmates.
Among the rookies with showmances shown or teased during the season were Moriah Jadea, Nurys Mateo, Horacio Gutierrez, and Olivia Kaiser.
Olivia was originally in Argentina with rookie partner Horacio as alternate cast members, and they arrived early into the season as a replacement or additional team.
The former Love Island star caught castmate Nelson Thomas’ eye, and the two had a fun and flirty relationship that was spotlighted in various episodes.
In Episode 12, viewers saw Nelly T eliminated from the game by his friend Faysal “Fessy” Shafaat, which ended his time with Olivia. However, she rushed down from the stands to offer a hug and kiss before his exit.
After the Ride or Dies filming, she said things hadn’t worked out between her and Nelson. More recently, Olivia provided some updates about her and Nelson on her Instagram Stories.
Olivia Kaiser comments about the situation with Nelson Thomas
Taking to her IG Stories, Olivia recently opened things up for fans to send in questions; naturally, several arrived regarding her and Nelson. One fan asked Olivia what the story is with her and Nelson and if she’s “willing to talk about it” since not many details were known about their post-Challenge attempt at dating.
“Apparently, y’all haven’t been tuning in, but I have addressed this before. No, me and Nelson are not together. I am single,” she shared.
“It just didn’t work out,” she said, adding, “I don’t really have anything to say about it. There was some things that went down. You guys will just see as I guess the season continues.”
She continued by adding she thinks they’re “good now” despite the post-show romance not working out.
Monsters and Critics reported that Olivia had to “friend zone it” with Nelson after filming had ended. At the time, she didn’t elaborate on any particular reason for their split. However, in her recent IG Stories answer, she mentioned “some things went down” and told fans they’d see “as the season continues.”
It’s unknown if she is referring to an episode where Nelson opted to save his friend Fessy from elimination over her or if she’s talking about something that takes place in the season’s final two episodes. It’s also possible she is referring to tea that arrives during the Ride or Dies reunion.
Olivia says she saw Ride or Dies castmate recently
Another fan question on Olivia’s IG Q&A asked if she’s seen Nelson since filming, and she indicated they had. The two were likely part of The Challenge: Ride or Dies reunion set to arrive after the season finale.
“Like I said, we’re good. We’re cordial,” Olivia explained, “I just saw him last weekend in LA at Fitness Expo.”
“In my world, I think we’re fine. We’re friendly. Nothing’s really changed as far as he’s still funny. He makes jokes and whatever. Yeah, like I said, no bad blood on my end,” she said in her IG Stories answer.
Before coming onto MTV’s The Challenge: Ride or Dies, Olivia was among the cast members of Love Island USA Season 3. She seemingly found love during that initial reality TV appearance, becoming close to Korey Gandy. The two went on to win the season, splitting the prize money.
While the two had a romantic spark during Love Island, things fell apart after TV. In December 2021, Monsters and Critics reported about Olivia and Korey’s split despite Korey moving to Arizona to be where Olivia was. That opened the door for her to find love on The Challenge as a single woman, but it didn’t go too far beyond the show.
Although Nelson and Olivia didn’t work out, based on her comments, they’re still on friendly terms. It won’t be surprising to see them become allies in a future Challenge season if Olivia can forgive and forget him not saving her from potential elimination at The Zone.
The Challenge: Ride or Dies airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.