All right my fellow Challenge aficionados, did we ever see this coming? Jenna Compono and Zach Nichols have not only been married since February, but have now welcomed their first child, a boy named Anthony Joseph Nichols, together. It seems like we might be wrong, and these two crazy kids might actually have a shot at happily ever after.
Zach first graced our screens in the second season of Real World: San Diego (fun fact, that house was less than 4 blocks from my childhood home), as an affable goof hung up on roommate Ashley Kelsey. The real attraction however, seemed to be to the gym where they spent all their time. Jenna made her debut as the on-again, off-again, clearly too good for him, girlfriend of Jay Mitchell on the aptly titled Real World Ex-plosion.
It wasn’t until 2015 however, and The Challenge: Battle of the Exes 2, that the two met, had an instant attraction and began a rollercoaster relationship ride that has more than defined their roles in the MTV franchise. Over the years we’ve been privy to their highest of highs and lowest of lows. “Brooke,” anyone? There’s been gaslighting, rumored hookup with castmates while together (looking at you Cory Warton), and countless on camera fights.
It hasn’t all been bad though… when the two competed together on The Challenge: Champs v/s Stars we saw a sweeter side of Zach, as the two were brought back together, and (yes, this surprised me) genuine concern on his part when Jenna broke her ankle and had to be removed from the show. The two have been inseparable since then, with Jenna even ditching the East Coast to move in full time with Zach in Michigan.
The couple got engaged in 2019, had planned on having a large ceremony in 2020, and Jenna, who has been extremely vocal about her desire for a large family (last count was 7, 7! children), made no secret of the fact she was planning on popping out babies soon thereafter. However, 2020 had different plans for all of this and their wedding was postponed until 2022. Not wanting to wait on ceremony (see what I did there?), the two of them ditched the planning, got preggo, and had a small wedding in Michigan this past February.
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On September 2nd, Jenna, who had been scheduled for a induction later that afternoon, ended up in labor naturally and the duo headed for the hospital around 4am. According to an exclusive interview with Us Weekly, Jenna had been, “… walking around 5 [centimeters] dilated without contractions.” According to Jenna, “about 5 a.m. I started getting really bad contractions that I brushed off as just nervous cramps … soon to find out they were contractions and we went to the hospital. From there I did get an epidural and we were set up in our room.”
Once Compono’s water broke, things moved pretty quickly. After 45 minutes and 4 quick pushes, baby Anthony was born and ready to begin his accent to Challenge royalty. The cast for The Challenge: 2045 is starting to look stacked, y’all. Jenna went on to reminisce about the moment she first met her son, “well, Zach got to see him before me while he held my leg and watched him come out. But when he was put on my chest and we both got to see him, it was amazing. WE made this adorable little life. It’s truly the best feeling ever. We haven’t put him down once yet; we are completely obsessed.”
Not to be left out of any conversation, Zach made sure to let everyone know how he felt. “There is nothing that Jenna has done thus far in motherhood that hasn’t impressed me. She made pregnancy look easy; she barely skipped a beat. Watching her go into labor, and then deliver our son was the most impressive things I’ll ever witness, and the happiest moment of my life.” But Zack, being a caveman from way back, couldn’t leave it at that. He just had to throw in one of his signature eyeroll inducing comments, “but if you were to ask me in August 2014 if I thought that hot blonde I met in Panama with the delicious bum would one day be the one to make me a dad, I would’ve laughed in your face.” Zach, Zach, Zach, when will you learn? It’s cringe inducing comments like this that leave everyone questioning your relationship.
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Ignoring Zach’s Neanderthal speak, Jenna went on to revel in new parental bliss, “we are looking forward to bringing Anthony home and just having fun being parents. Zach is super hands-on and I can honestly say I haven’t changed one diaper yet. He continues to impress me every day and you can easily see that being a dad came so natural for him. We are super excited to have Anthony and we apologize now that Instagram will be flooded!”
Whatever you may think about Jenna and Zach as a couple, it does seem that the two are committed to being loving and attentive parents, and for this reason, I for one, can only wish them the best.
TELL US- WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT ZACK AND JENNA’S COMMENTS ABOUT BECOMING PARENTS? ARE YOU SUPRISED THEY ARE STILL TOGETHER? DO YOU THINK THEY WILL GO ON TO HAVE 6 MORE BABIES?
[Photo Credit: MTV]
