In honor of CT Tamburello’s 38th birthday and 15 years of being on MTV, this is part two of a three-part series about the Real World and Challenge star. If you missed part one, you can find it here. For part three, click here.

CT 2.0: I’m Back

With CT in exile, The Challenge was mired in the polarizing JEK era. With Kenny, Evan and Johnny dominating almost every season, the show needed someone to shake up the status quo.

So CT was brought back in for a test run on Cutthroat, and he delivered not only the highlight of the season, but one of the greatest moments in the history of The Challenge.

Bringing back CT on Rivals was a risk, especially pairing him with Adam. And while he didn’t necessarily return as a saint, the gamble turned out to be one of the best moves the show has ever made.

CT returned to The Challenge with a bigger target on his back than anyone who has ever been on the show, with the possible lone exception of Wes on The Ruins. Not only was he a pariah for his past actions, but he was the best competitor and the biggest threat to the mob’s game.

He had nearly the entire house against him, but he was able to keep himself in check while delivering gold material.

CT’s Rivals season almost felt like he was back in Paris again. He was outcast by most of the house, and even girls like Mandi and Laurel who showed interest in him were shunned.

CT’s treatment of Adam felt like one of his classic apology tours from Paris. He asked Adam if they were friends yet after almost every mission as if he were desperate for forgiveness, even though Adam was still clearly uneasy being around him.

It’s easy to understand why Adam had trouble trusting CT given their long, checkered history. He had been clowned on national television three times by the guy.

But it’s also important to think of the past incidents with Adam through CT’s lenses.

In the Paris fight, CT felt like Adam didn’t have his back in his altercation with the guy in the bar. Adam even went and apologized for CT’s behavior.

On Gauntlet III, he believed Adam was trying to protect Frank, a member of the rookie team, instead of himself, who was not only his teammate on the vets squad but also the person in the house he knew the longest.

In the blowup on Duel II , CT felt Adam betrayed him by telling Diem he hooked up with Shauvon.

None of these are excuses for his behavior, but it shows what is most important to him — loyalty.

CT never felt like Adam had his back, so in turn he treated Adam like shit multiple times.

Although he and Adam fell short in the final elimination, Rivals could be deemed as nothing less than a success for CT.

He re-established himself as one of the franchise’s biggest stars, and he didn’t have to bully or hit anyone to provide entertainment. He repaired his relationship with Adam, and proved that he wasn’t the monster that some made him out to be.

The redemption arc for CT continued on Battle of the Exes, when he was paired with Diem.

Having not seen each other since the events of Duel II, there was little trust and communication between the two at the beginning of Exes, particularly from Diem’s end. It carried into the missions, as they underperformed in the early going.

After a huge fight about their past, CT and Diem were able to finally get over their history by having an open talk their relationship.

While Diem’s issues with CT stemmed from his past behavior, CT’s problem with Diem followed a familiar theme.

Diem didn’t come to his brother’s funeral, and to him that proved a lack of loyalty. Diem had already chosen to focus on her career instead of having a relationship with CT. Not attending his brother’s funeral was another perceived blow to her loyalty to him.

It was clear that both sides still had open wounds from their past, and resolving their issues helped them work together better in daily challenges.

As the season went on, CT and Diem’s relationship progressed from hostile to adorable. It was almost as if it were The Duel again.

CT and Diem were a physically strong pair together, as they were the power couple for the final two eliminations. But they made some costly game decisions.

They decided to throw Dunbar/Paula in against elimination monsters Ty/Emily rather than Bananas/Camila or Mark/Robin, which TJ called the dumbest move he had ever seen.

Then at the final elimination, they threw in the weaker Mark/Robin against Bananas/Camila, because Mark/Robin hadn’t gone into an elimination yet and Ty/Emily had already been in three times.

Those moves helped keep Bananas/Camila in the game and, along with CT gassing out in the finals, prevented CT and Diem from pulling off the storybook ending and getting their first win together.

CT’s good guy turn spiraled on Rivals II. It appeared his goal to start the season was to have sex with every girl and fight every guy in the house.

The beginning of Rivals II was basically the CT Show.

He got in a fight with Marlon, tried to re-kindle his relationship with Diem, orchestrated an attempt to send Johnny and Frank into the jungle, and hooked up with Anastasia.

All in the first episode.

CT continued his tear in the second episode, getting into an argument with Frank after he called CT out for having sex with Anastasia.

But the worst look for him was clearly hooking up with Anastasia for her vote and to make Diem, who was coming off her second bout with ovarian cancer, jealous.

Frankly, CT’s actions toward Diem for the entire season are hard to watch. If there’s a season that gives credence to the belief by some that CT didn’t really care as much about Diem as the show made it out to be, it’s Rivals II.

CT supposedly hooked up with about half the house on Rivals II, including Anastasia, Nany and Cooke. So when he and Diem finally kissed late in the season, it cheapened the moment (it was also cheapened because Diem appeared to be blackout drunk).

CT also didn’t support Diem as much in the game as she supported him. In the final girls elimination, CT and Wes voted for Paula/Emily to face Diem/Aneesa, even though they wanted to go against Camila/Jemmye.

CT made Diem (and himself) look bad on Rivals II, and he put her through a lot (including possibly the most awkward moment in the history of The Challenge in their interview with Jonny Moseley at the reunion show).

Several castmembers felt CT was exploiting Diem’s vulnerability coming off another battle with cancer, preying on her emotions to secure her vote in the game. And despite their long history together, it’s hard to argue against that point.

But as bad as CT looked with Diem throughout the season, you can’t say he wasn’t entertaining.

And not only was he one of the leaders of the seasons in storylines, but he and Wes were able to dominate the game both physically and socially. They won three daily challenges and used their veteran status to slide into the finals without going into elimination.

At long last, after nine seasons, CT was able to capture the championship that had been eluding him for nearly a decade.

(Apologies for not having footage of his victory moment, I couldn’t find any downloadable videos of the Rivals II finale).

CT said he wanted to go down as the Tom Brady of The Challenge, not the Dan Marino. And while he’ll probably never approach Bananas’ record of six wins, his victory on Rivals II cemented him as one of the greatest competitors in the show’s history.

Regardless of his behavior throughout Rivals II, CT’s victory was one of the most satisfying and well-deserved moments ever on The Challenge. It was a cathartic, earned moment for fans, similar to Bubbles nonchalantly walking up his sister’s basement stairs on the The Wire or Walter White telling Skyler that he sold drugs because it made him feel good on Breaking Bad.

Yes, it would have felt more gratifying if he had won Rivals with Adam, or especially Exes with Diem. But those heartbreaks made the Rivals II win that much sweeter.

CT came back the next season on Free Agents, and surprisingly hung in the background for most of the time.

He played strip basketball with Theresa, incurred the wrath of the Camilinator and won The Wrecking Wall elimination against Leroy, but it was arguably his quietest season. CT came up short of reaching the finals, falling in a puzzle to Bananas in the final elimination.

Although CT had plenty of options for Battle of the Exes II, it was obvious who his partner was going to be. His relationship with Diem was still a focal point of the show, and after Rivals II there was still plenty to be explored.

Tragically, their time on the show was short. After performing well in the first two daily challenges, Diem fell ill as her cancer symptoms returned (she apparently knew she had cancer for a third time going into Exes II, but kept it quiet). She couldn’t continue in the game, and CT went home with her. Three months after she was forced to leave Exes II, she lost her battle to cancer.

This was the last time we saw CT and Diem on camera together, and it truly wrapped up an end of an era on the show. They had done six seasons together, and each time they were together it was a major storyline on the show.

Putting a bow on CT and Diem’s relationship is tough because of how complicated and enigmatic it was. I think one thing is clear — they both genuinely loved and cared about each other at one point.

Were they going to get married? Who knows. (It was reported that CT proposed to Diem days before she died, but those stories were refuted).

We really don’t know much about the extent of their relationship other than what we saw on the show. They dated for about a year and a half between The Duel and Gauntlet III, and CT clearly helped Diem through one of the most difficult times of her life.

The show could have played up their feelings for each other, especially from Diem’s end.

It’s been an issue with the show in the past that a female character is defined almost entirely by their relationship with a man (think Tori with Brad or Melinda with Danny). While Diem certainly wasn’t only defined by her relationship with CT, at times it felt like it overshadowed her character.

But there were rumors that CT and Diem rekindled their relationship after Rivals II, and that they were hoping to start a family together after Exes II.

CT’s tribute to Diem after her death fueled that belief even more. They were both private people, so we might never know how true the rumors were.

Regardless of the extent of their romance off the show, CT and Diem have the greatest relationship in the show’s history because of how genuine it felt. The ups seemed real, and the downs seemed even more real.

Diem brought out the sweet side of CT that we had seen glimpses of on The Real World. He truly cared about her and was there for her when she needed him most.

It would be hard to blame CT if he didn’t want to come back to the show after Diem’s death. Being in a Challenge house was sure to bring back memories about his past with her.

But after taking two seasons off, he had a new motivation to return — his son.

Part 1

Part 3