Wes Bergmann responded to fans who weren’t happy that he decided to star on House of Villains just months after declaring that he would not be returning to The Challenge. The reality star defended his decision to take on a new television venture following his 18-year tenure on MTV.

“I’m a Challenger for life. It’s in my blood,” Wes, 39, wrote on X on Wednesday, March 27. “I didn’t retire from The Challenge, I simply cannot do it any longer because my business responsibilities have grown too immense. I’ve been trying to tell y’all but no one believed me. I certainly didn’t ‘retire’ to do HOV – that’s absurd.”

He went on to explain that filming for The Challenge takes three months but is really a nine-month process “if you go in capable of actually winning,” due to the intense training required. On the other hand, House of Villains only took up three weeks of his time.

“If you can’t assess how it’s possible to do HOV and not The Challenge due to the length of filming alone, that is a you problem,” he continued. “I am The Challenge’s greatest ambassador and hype man. I will sincerely miss it.” The MTV alum confirmed that he “100 percent” be interested in competing on The Challenge: All-Stars – a Paramount+ spinoff – in the future “if they ever give six months notice.”

To conclude his note, he added, “The Challenge is THE competition show and HOV is THE comedic spin on the entire game. They’re incomparable in every category except for the fact that they’re both can’t-miss television.”

Wes announced the end of his Challenge career after competing on The Challenge: USA 2 in 2023. He was eliminated in episode 10 against eventual season winner Chris Underwood. Before that, he won The Challenge: All Stars 3 in 2022.

“I’m not retiring because I’m not good,” he told Entertainment Weekly. “I’m not retiring because I don’t want to be there. I love the game. I love going. I love the aftermath. I love the in-between seasons. I love the fan engagements and the community. It’s strictly a scheduling and work-related thing with my real job, which I happen to find more fulfilling and more lucrative.”

Wes’ “real job” is as a startup engineer at BetaBlox, the company he founded in 2008. “We provide a versatile range of services to support entrepreneurs at any stage or scale,” the company’s website says. The Kansas City native also welcomed his first child with wife Amanda Hornick in September 2023.

“My business books things out nine months in advance. We’re in incredibly high demand,” he continued. “I would love to try and one day replace myself, but I’m just not there yet, and that’s going to be a minimum of a two-to-four-year obligation. And by that time, I’m going to be in my early 40s and who knows what kind of shape I’ll be in? I’ll be a father of a 2-to-4-year-old. And then … what … I’m going to go back on MTV and play this game? It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I’m not saying that it’s not plausible but I’d put the likelihood that I’m back at less than 10 percent.”

However, he promised fans that he will still be involved in The Challenge community and assured viewers that he’ll be keeping up with the show. Plus, he’ll be on E! when House of Villains premieres later this year. Wes’ fellow Challenge nemesis-turned-friend Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio was the runner-up on season 1 of House of Villains in 2023.