'The Challenge: Battle of the Exes' Recap: 'Where Did Our Love Go?'

As The Challenge: Battle of the Exes begins, the teammates are engaged in a water fight. Cara Maria notices that Abram is in a “funk” because he is not interested in talking or partying with the rest of the house. She comes to the conclusion that she and Abram have a manic relationship. Abram believes that the two have a communication issue.

Dustin smashes his knee open (literaly) as he is walking outside. He is sent to the hospital to receive stitches. Heather is worried he may not be able continue in the competition.

T.J Lavin sends the players a clue to be prepared to go in “head first” for their next challenge. At the beginning of the challenge, T.J informs the players that he has bad news. Dustin has to go home because he is not medically cleared. Since Heather is his partner, she also has to go home.

The name of their challenge is “Mental Connection.” Each player must lie down on a board. While on the board, two teams must answer trivia questions. If a player answers a question incorrectly, the player will drop into the water. The two teams with the highest number of points will compete against each other in “Mental Connection” to find the “power couple.” The team with the lowest amount of points is automatically going to “The Dome.”

Dunbar and Paula are against Abram and Cara Maria. Dunbar is asked, “Who is Brad Pitts’ ex-wife?” Dunbar answers Jennifer Aniston, which gives his team one point and saves him from falling into the water. Abram on the other hand does not know who Britney Spears’ ex-husband is, and apologizes to Cara Maria quickly before being thrown into the water. Cara Maria is asked, “Who is Madonna’s favorite ex and the star of Milk and I Am Sam? Cara answers Guy Ritchie, which is incorrect so she is sent into the water. After Dunbar falls into the water, Paula is able to score two more points for her team before she is sent flying.

Ty and Emily’s team are up next against Tyrie and Jasmine. Jasmine is knocked off first. Unable to spell S-I-G-N-I-F-I-C-A-N-C-E correctly, Ty is sent into the water. Soon after, Emily is knocked off. Tyrie is the last one standing in their round.

Johnny and Camilla play against CT and Diem. Camilla is thrown off the board first, leaving Johnny to play for their team. CT follows shortly after. Johnny and Diem are the two left standing. Johnny falls into the water leaving Diem to earn three points for her team before being knocked of the board.

Leroy and Naomi are up against Rachel and Anessa. Leroy is thrown off the board first. Naomi is the next one to go. In total the team earned no points. Rachel and Anessa are left playing. After Rachel wins one point, Aneesa falls in the water. Anessa hits the water without tucking or rolling which leaves her injured. As she swims to the dock, she is in an immense amount of pain. Medics take a look at her once everyone notices blood pouring out of her mouth. The force from the water caused her to bite open her lip, and the medics give her stitches. Meanwhile, Rachel is doing well in the game. She is able to score four points for her team before flying into the water.

Mark receives one point for his team. Robin on the other hand receives no points before going into the water. Mark follows shortly after.

In the end, Rachel and Anessa are tied with Dunbar and Paula. Both teams must compete to find the “power couple.” Since Anessa is injured, she is unable to compete in the last round. Rachel decides to continue and fight for safety. Abram and Cara Maria are tied with Leroy and Naomi for last place and must compete in one more round to determine who will enter “The Dome.”

The battle for “power couple” begins and Dunbar gets his first question wrong. Paula gets her first question correct giving the duo one point. Rachel answers her first question wrong and is dropped into the water with zero points. Dunbar and Paula win the round and are declared the “power couple.”

Abram and Cara Maria are the next competitors to compete with Leroy and Naomi. Abram, Cara Maria, and Leroy all receive one point. Naomi is the first to fall with a total of zero points, after answering the question, “What do you call a female fox?” incorrect. Cara Maria falls when she cannot answer, “What is the main ingredient in Risotto?” Leroy only has one point and has to answer the question correctly to have a chance at winning for his team. Leroy struggles at his question and rather than answering he says, “Me and Naomi will be going into ‘The Dome’!” Leroy falls in the water leaving Abram and Cara Maria safe from “The Dome.”

Dunbar and Paula must now make the decision who they want to send into “The Dome” against Leroy and Naomi. Dunbar and Paula approach Ty and Emily to question who they believe should go in. Emily believes Paula and Dunbar have no idea what they are doing as a power couple. Paula and Dunbar also talk with Abram and Cara Maria. Cara Maria asks Paula, “Who would you rather go against?” She implies that Emily is a strong competitor and has the “strength of half the men in this house.” A scared Paula believes Cara Maria has a valid point.

As everyone is relaxing, Diem talks to Abram and Cara Maria about how CT brought her back to “herself” after she was recovering from chemotherapy. Diem’s reminiscing has Abram contemplating the love between Cara Maria and himself. Abram believes Cara Maria is distancing herself from him.

T.J shows up to find out who will be competing against Leroy and Naomi in “The Dome.” Paula announces the teams pick of Ty and Emily. Emily claims Paula and Dunbar made the “stupidest” move and she does not plan on forgetting it. After T.J leaves, Emily is ready to pump up with Ty for the challenge. Ty, on the other hand, is not very interested.

At “The Dome,” the two teams are playing “Band it Together.” While rubber banded together, each team must go against each other’s resistance and make their way through the sand to a pole. Once each player reached the pole, they must hold on for a total of five seconds simultaneously to win the challenge.

Both teams struggle as they trudge through the sand to make it to the other side. After a forceful effort, Ty and Emily pull out a win, sending Leroy and Naomi home.

At the house, Abram is upset because he is not getting the respect he deserves. He feels as though he is chasing after a girl who does not want to be caught. Should Abram and Cara Maria be worried that they are the new dysfunctional couple?