Did Nelson Thomas and Natalie Negrotti REALLY hookup on The Challenge: Final Reckoning?! That’s what Johnny Bananas insinuated when he caught up with Nelson’s girlfriend, Kayleigh Morris, when he arrived at the Redemption House. Johnny admitted he was just stirring the pot and making things more difficult for Nelson and his partner, Shane Landrum, but it didn’t stop Kayleigh from wondering if there was some truth to the rumor that her man and her nemesis were getting cozy back in the main house. Nelson assured Kayleigh that nothing went on, and was able to calm her down during the Nov. 6 episode. Now, he’s dishing more about what really went on with Natalie.
“There’s nothing going on with Natalie and me,” Nelson confirmed on the Challenge Mania podcast. “We’re friends. We’ve always been friends. She was going through a tough time and I was there for her.” Nelson added that every interaction we saw between him and Natalie on the show is as far as anything ever got, and admitted he understands why Johnny made things seem more serious than they were. “Anyone that goes into the Redemption House, you have to use all the weapons you need,” he explained. “I wasn’t expecting to go into the house and have everybody smiling. Natalie was going through a tough time and, me being her friend, I was there for her. Johnny took that and ran with it.”
Plus, Nelson added that Bananas knew he would really get a rise out of Kayleigh, regardless of what he told her. “Kayleigh is a firecracker,” Nelson said. “You can tell this girl anything and she’s gonna get fired up, especially with me in the other house with her vendetta, Natalie. He could’ve said anything and Kayleigh would’ve come at me.”
While there was no romance between Nelson and Natalie, though…there may have been a little something going on between her and his friend, Hunter Barfield. “I told Natalie that Hunter thought he was hot and Natalie thought he was a cutie,” Nelson revealed. “Going into the Redemption House, I knew Hunter and Natalie were trying to kick it off. I don’t know how far it went, but I knew they were kicking it off when I left for the house.”
He also dished that Natalie and Hunter had been “passing little love notes to each other” in the house. However, over the summer, Natalie took to Twitter to let fans know that she and Hunter “never made out” and insisted, “That’s a fact.”