Season 31 of MTV’s long-running series The Challenge: Vendettas has had some heavy-duty flirting and hooking up happening already and only three episodes have aired. Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio and Natalie Negrotti, a crossover contestant from Big Brother , have been quite flirtatious with one another and it looks like the sparks have continued to fly post-filming.
Us Weekly shares that Johnny Bananas and Natalie Negrotti, dubbed “Banatalie” on social media, were spotted together recently at Zuma in New York City, where they were having dinner with another couple. Sources detail that the two looked quite cozy together during what was said to be a fairly low-key evening.
Photos shared by the outlet show that things were more than friendly between Johnny and Natalie, as there was some smooching happening between them during the evening out. How serious is this Challenge: Vendettas relationship between Negrotti and Bananas?
Challenge: Vendettas fans will be anxious to see just how steamy things get between Natalie and Johnny as Season 31 progresses. It looks like the sparks will continue to fly, as in addition to their NYC outing, they’ve been flirting and bantering on social media. Negrotti recently replied to one person on Twitter about how it was good she got to “keep” Bananas, and he tweeted about her being a “Tiny Dancer” in a way that got hopeful Bantalie fans buzzing.
Exclusive: #TheChallenge ‘s Johnny Bananas and Natalie Negrotti got cozy during an NYC date night! https://t.co/6fwdAbT91f
— Us Weekly (@usweekly) January 17, 2018
Those who follow the Challenge series, but not Big Brother , may not be all that familiar with Negrotti’s previous show-related romance. After BB18 , Natalie and James Huling took their showmance into the real world. At first, they seemed to be doing well, dating long-distance for a few months, but the relationship went down in flames and things got ugly between the two after they officially split.
As for Johnny Bananas, Challenge fans haven’t seen him like this in quite a few years. Until recently, Devenanzio was dating Olympic snowboarder Hannah Teter. Johnny and Hannah were together for five years, and the Vendettas contender made it clear going into Season 31 of Challenge: Vendettas that he was ready to embrace being a single guy again. Devenanzio definitely wasn’t going to waste any time turning on the charm and Negrotti seemed instantly interested.
The best gift of all is finding out that @MTVBananas is single! ?? Check out this sneak peek from the season premiere of #TheChallengeVendettas and don’t miss the first episode, Tuesday January 2 at 9/8c! pic.twitter.com/bitS8mwqbe
— The Challenge (@TheChallenge) December 25, 2017
As word spread of Johnny and Natalie’s NYC evening out, Bananas retweeted the Us Weekly post and joked that he was simply checking out Negrotti’s dental work. Do Johnny Bananas Devenanzio and Natalie Negrotti have what it takes to go the distance as a legitimate romantic couple? Some Challenge: Vendettas fans think the two are adorable together and are hopeful this is the real deal while others think that this NYC outing screams fake romance and publicity stunt.
MTV’s The Challenge: Vendettas airs new episodes every Tuesday night and people will have to stay tuned to see what, if anything, comes of this Johnny Bananas Devenanzio and Natalie Negrotti pairing.