The suit also claimed that Bunim/Murray and MTV “encouraged and condoned male contestants to mistreat females, usually in a sexually offensive matter.” Examples cited include the following: “male cast members forcibly removing female cast members’ bathing suits, male cast members inappropriately touch[ing] female cast members’ bodies, male cast members call[ing] female cast members derogatory terms, including terms that were offensive and directed at their gender.”

The case never went to trial; it was settled privately and closed on Oct. 18, 2012.

Cooley — who made her MTV debut on The Real World: Chicago before her eight-season Challenge stint, beginning with Battle of the Sexes (Season 6) — told BuzzFeed News in a phone interview she was legally unable to discuss anything that happened on The Ruins, but she did speak about the demons she fought throughout her time on MTV. “I was drinking too much and it … stopped being a game of sport for me and I [made] some unhealthy choices,” she said.

Several episodes after the alleged incident occurred, Cooley was kicked off The Ruins when she slapped Portillo in the face during a heated argument. After that, Cooley said, “I figured it was time to look inside myself and get a little straight.”

BuzzFeed News spoke to several other Ruins cast members, some of whom were present on the night Cooley said she was sexually assaulted. They claimed the incident wasn’t exactly as Cooley and her lawsuit depicted it.

“My bunk bed and Tonya’s bunk were basically right next to each other,” Devenanzio said. “Tonya was laid out, passed out on the bed, the toothbrush was brought out.” A photo of Starkman and Santucci with the toothbrush and Cooley was taken, but it never came close to her, according to Devenanzio. “They were guilty of hijinks and playing pranks, but nothing even close to what they were accused of.”

Patterson said, “I, as somebody who is an advocate for sexual abuse victims, would not call that sexual violence. Nobody ever penetrated anybody with a toothbrush. That didn’t happen. Were the actions inappropriate? Yes. Were they illegal and rape? No.”

Devenanzio and Meister both mentioned there is nonstop surveillance in the house — which includes cameras mounted in every room. If what was alleged had happened, they said, production would have first intervened and also caught the incident on tape. Meister, who married Adam Butler, a crew member on The Ruins, told BuzzFeed News, “My husband was on the night crew that night and I talked to him about it and said, ‘Did I miss something?’ And he’s like, ‘Absolutely not. There was nothing.’ The truth of the matter is, Tonya got wasted, passed out on her bed with her bikini bottoms falling off, and the guys did hold up this toothbrush as a joke to take a picture — which is totally inappropriate and disgusting. But there wasn’t an assault that happened.”

Given that Cooley was unconscious at the time of the incident, Devenanzio believes she was unknowingly fed an inaccurate version of events by other cast members with an ax to grind with Santucci and Starkman. “The feeling I got from it was there were some people who strongly disliked Kenny and Evan and … when they found an opportunity to try and bring the two of them down, they did in a horrible and disgusting way based on lies and horrible fabrications,” he said.

Murray declined to comment on the matter.

“The reason why it’s believable is because of the behavior they promote on the show. People fight and punch each other out and then they get invited back the next season, so why wouldn’t people believe that this happened?” said Meister. “It’s kind of evidence of the fact there is a fraternity mentality in the house and also a ‘boys will be boys’ mentality, but Tonya in particular had some problems with alcohol that created a situation where she didn’t really know what was going on, so she believed what people told her. And unfortunately, Kenny and Evan got in big trouble for something that didn’t happen. I just feel sad for all the people involved.

“I don’t think Tonya is purposefully accusing people that didn’t do it. I believe she believes it happened when it didn’t.”