Reality TV

Konrad Bien-Stephens discusses his physical altercation on The Challenge

''I was picking him up and dropping him on his head again and again''
Loading the player...

”100 thousand dollars isn’t enough for me to seriously injure someone,” says The Challenge semi finalist Konrad Bien-Stephens.

The former Bachelor star gave it his all when battling out in the elimination challenge against Australian Ninja Warrior all star Troy Cullen, who, despite being half Konrad’s size, stood strong.

Or should we say held on strong?

In shocking footage from the episode that left viewers stomachs in a twist, Konrad and Troy faced off in a challenge where each contestant had to force the other, and a ball out of a circle.

But Troy proved a fierce competitor, using his endurance to his advantage.

Konrad and Troy faced off in a bloody, sweaty showdown that was more than enough to make viewers stomachs turn.

(IMAGE: Channel 10)

”Troy is a great competitor, I mean he is a rock climber so he has that brute strength, he’s just amazing so I always knew it was going to be hard [competiting against Troy],” Konrad laments.

”The only thing I could have done different [to win] is break his arm and I just didn’t want to go there.

Whilst their scuffle was summed up in less than 10 minutes of footage, Konrad revealed to Now to Love that in real life, their wrestling continued for over 90 minutes.

”One thing you didn’t really see [in the elimination challenge] was that we were doing it for about an hour and a half. So I was picking him up and dropping him on his head again and again and it got to a point where I was worried that I would break his neck or something.”

Even speaking about it months after filming has wrapped, it is clear Konrad does not have particularly fond memories of the experience.

”I actually saw him [Troy] in Argentina [after filming wrapped] and I mentioned to him that I felt that at one point I thought I could have paralysed him and he was like ‘aw man you should have just kept trying’ so maybe if I did it again I would break something but I dunno….I really don’t think it was worth it for him to be injured like that, even with 100k on the line.”

Konrad and Abbie’s open relationship was the source of much public debate prior to their split.

(IMAGE: Instagram)

Elaborating on his time filming the show, Konrad said that while it was ‘weird’ to compete against former flame (and Bachelorette) Brooke Blurton, the pair had moved on ‘maturely’.

”During the whole experience [on The Bachelor] you are in this bubble and you put someone on a pedestal and you obsess over them and for a short period they are your whole world but soon that bubble bursts and since then we’ve both moved on with our lives.”

But whilst Konrad did not reignite the love between himself Brooke, he did find himself spending time both in the hot tub and under the sheets with fellow Bachelor alum Megan Marx.

Konrad said he was quite shocked to connect with someone on the back of his highly publicised breakup with media personality Abbie Chatfield.

”My mind was fully focused on winning the money. It was interesting what happened between Megan and me, we got along super well but we both knew and still know that all we are is friends.”

WATCH NOW: Konrad Bien-Stephens says ‘I Love You’ to Abbie Chatfield for the first time. Article continues after video.

Loading the player...

Speaking of Abbie, Konrad also confirmed that whilst the pair were on amicable terms since their split, they were not friendly.

”We’ve both moved on and text occasionally but not really no, we don’t speak.”

And on his plans for the future? In short, no more reality TV.

”I don’t want to do reality TV again, I feel like it would have to be super wholesome or to have good prize money. I just don’t thrive in that environment with the manipulation and the gameplay and the social aspect.

”In 2023 I’m looking forward to dabbling in some creative stuff and will be taking some acting classes.”

Related stories


Unwind and relax with your favourite magazine!

Huge savings plus FREE home delivery