11 Greatest Are You The One? cast members ever
So far, there have been 63 cast members in the history of AYTO. And because Season 7 is currently being cast, it felt like the perfect time to get people upset and reveal the 11 best AYTO cast members in the show’s history. Here is what I was looking for:
- Trend setters. People who either defined their season or defined the type of characters that would be seen on later seasons.
- What they did on the show. Nelson, Hunter, and Amanda have had good runs on the Challenge, but they were not as impactful on their original AYTO season. If you are incredible on AYTO and go on to do Challenges and represent AYTO, you get to add that to your resume. Not the other way around.
- Avoiding recency bias. Seasons 4, 5, and 6 are the most recent seasons, so their cast members will be more easily remembered, but that doesn’t necessarily make them better.
- Sometimes individuals and sometimes pairs because it’s hard to figure out whether they deserve one or two spots.
- This was waaaaaay too subjective. On a show with “competition”, like The Challenge, it is a lot easier to be objective. AYTO attracts the romantics and aesthetics, therefore, you will probably hate the list as you are probably deeply interested in your favorites. I’m sorry.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
— Hayden Weaver & Gianna Hammer (S5): Had they announced Gianna’s pregnancy before I started my drafts, they probably would have clinched the 7/8 slot.
— Nelson Thomas & Hunter Barfield (S3): Bigger on the Challenge than they were on AYTO.
— Britni Thornton & Amanda Garcia (S3): See Nelson and Hunter.
— Kam Williams & Alicia Wright (S5): Benefactors of a bad season.
— Briana LaCuesta (S2): Better on Social Media than she was on AYTO.
— Julia Rose & Stephen McHugh (S4): Drifted from the AYTO community following their season.
— Ethan Cohen (S6) & John Jacobs (S1): The Napoleon Dynamite figures were great comedic relief, but a little weird on the show.
— Chris Scali (S1) & Asaf Goren (S4): Crazy people who missed the cut.
— Cheyenne Floyd & Kiki Cooper (S3): Cheyenne had a bigger presence after the show. Meanwhile, Kiki hasn’t done any show to capitalize on her potential.— Zach Longo & Hannah Rathburn (S3): Toughest omission. Bigger couple off the show than on of it.
11 & 10. Adam Kuhn and Brittany Baldassari (S1)
The original dysfunctional AYTO couple. These two hated each other. Actually, Adam didn’t care for Brittany and actively tried to get away from her. However, due to his sexual appetite, he kept coming back to her and Brittany, still being incredibly attracted to him, allowed it. Over time, she grew to hate him, yet they still kept hooking up. This relationship was hilariously bad and always a must-watch. Adam telling Brittany to call him “daddy” in the Boom Boom Room was super cringe. Her bubbly personality and his overconfidence made for a great duo to watch.
9. Alexis Eddy (S6)
AYTO Season 6 was not good. It failed due to poor editing and half the male cast didn’t actively attempt to go for girls, while girls continued to go after the same guys. There was one major bright spot, in the form of Alexis Eddy. She came in hot on the first night; hooking up with Keith and kissing every single person in the house. When she uttered the phrase: “momma didn’t raise no bitch”, she instantly became an AYTO icon. She was always the star of the season, whether it was her up and down relationship with Keith, her hilarious and gif-able confessionals, or her consistent ability to make bad decisions that resulted in good television. We should all hope and pray that she ends up on our television screens again one day, and not for anything bad.
8 & 7. Dario Medrano and Anthony Bartolotte (S2)
They don’t cast them like they used to. While these two may be somewhat forgettable in the big picture, these two were stars of their AYTO season and also showed what you want in a guy on these shows. Anthony and Dario were good-looking guys who played the field and somehow remained loyal. Neither of them over-extended themselves, and even defended the girls on the show when the other guys in the house got into a danger zone. They stood up to Layton when he was being an asshole, and even though they were “players”, they were still real people. Dario went on do four seasons of the Challenge and is currently in a serious relationship with Ashley Kelsey (Real World San Diego). Anthony figured out all the matches for the Season 2 crew and holds the record for hooking up with the most girls in a season. Kings of AYTO.
6. Ellie Puckett (S2)
When looking at most of the cast, season two should not be a good season. However, Ellie carried a significant part of the show, comedically, in similar fashion to Alexis from Season 6, the difference is Ellie isn’t insane. She was incredibly quick with her responses and her humor was both charming and relatable. Some people play it up for the camera, and Ellie was just Ellie. She is your loud friend who you always want to hang out with, even if you need to be serious because, ultimately, she makes everything way more fun. Her relationship with Anthony was also adorable.
5 Shanley McIntee & kinda Chris Tolleson (S1)
Chris Tolleson doesn’t really deserve the slot, however, his relationship with Shanley set the standard for what would become an AYTO archetype in — the no-match couple that does not want to separate. After finding out they were a non-match in Week 1, the two maintained their relationship in the house even after Chris was sent to the Honeymoon Suite!!! He would literally sneak out of the suite to hookup with Shanley in the main house. Their relationship would later fizzle out and Chris would leave the reality television world, while Shanley appeared on AYTO Second Chances (finishing 3rd), and will appear on Ex on the Beach US (premiere date unknown), and could be doing a season of the Challenge in the future.
Remember before their was Alexis/Keith, Hayden/Gianna, Chuck/Britni, Devin/Kiki, and every other non-match couples, there was Chris/Shanley.
4. Tori Deal (S4)
Maybe this is too high or maybe it is just about right. Fans have said that Tori is “fake” and tries too hard whenever the camera is around, using others’ to grow her fame. That could be well and true — but at the end of the day the people who put in effort are always going to make a bigger presence than those who do not try at all. Tori had multiple “showmances” on her AYTO season, including Prosper, Asaf, Stephen, and Morgan, and when she was interested in them, she went all in. Tori played the game and actually got to know the people on the show. Throw in a rap battle where she destroyed Gio:
She also went on AYTO Second Chances and played up a rivalry with Devin that ended in a second place finish for her. On top of it all, she had a phenomenal rookie season on the Challenge.
3 & 2. Ethan Diamond and Amber Lee (Season 1)
THE AYTO couple. The two that started it all. They were perfect matches on the show, dated off the show, got pregnant, engaged and married, had their baby, are happily raising their baby, and now, have a second child on the way. In all AYTO seasons, they are the only perfect match couple still together, and they are the testament to why the show holds up as a “dating show”. Because a real and true relationship has grown from the show, it makes it seem doable for all future cast members.
Everyone has a couple they can strive to be.
- Devin Walker (S3)
No disrespect to Ethan and Amber, but Devin is the face of AYTO? The first two seasons were the most genuine, and the most recent three have been more or less about hot people hooking up. Season 3 was the best of both worlds and Devin represented this. He played the field, acted a villain, yet was more charismatic than any other guy on the show. Even though he was a “manipulator”, he was still funny and charming. At the end of the season, Devin’s red cup formula of figuring out the perfect matches led to the biggest comeback in AYTO history, winning them the million dollars.
Since then, Devin became the first AYTO competitor to ever make it to a Challenge final, he won AYTO Second Chances, and has been hilarious so far on Vendettas. Devin does not shy away from his AYTO past. While Tori and Dario have somewhat moved away from the AYTO beginnings when they hit the Challenge, Devin loves being the face of the franchise, and empowers other AYTOers to align.
Hopefully Devin does more Challenges and more AYTO related content in the future.
