Who is Aviv Melmed from The Challenge? Details explored
Aviv Melmed is one of the memorable contestants of MTV's The Challenge franchise. The 41-year-old made her second appearance after a gap of 18 years when she appeared on The Challenge: Battle of the Eras. She still holds the record for the longest gap between the two appearances by any contestant. Aviv was born on December 12, 1983, in Columbus, Ohio.
Aviv holds a dual citizenship of Israel and the US, and was the smallest competitor in Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh Meat. She won the season along with Darrell Taylor and took home $126,500. Aviv was eliminated from The Challenge: Battle of the Eras in episode 15 when she went against Jenny West.
The Challenge star has been married to Ryan Bruno for 11 years, and share two children named Rami and Noa. She possesses a Bachelor's in Pre-Med and Hebrew Studies and a Master's in Exercise Science from The Ohio State University.
Besides appearing on reality television, Aviv's day job uses her abilities as a sales and marketing strategist with over 12 years of experience under her name.
She had graduated early and joined the Israeli Air Force to serve her country. As of this writing, she has also amassed over 12,000 followers on Instagram. She can be followed on @aviv_melmedbruno, where she keeps her fans updated about her professional and personal life.
The Challenge's Aviv Melmed opens up about 'footsie-gate' and her time on the show
As mentioned earlier, Aviv was eliminated from The Challenge: Battle of the Eras in the December 4, 2024 episode. Similar to her first appearance, she made a name for herself due to her performance on the show.
But this didn't mean there weren't other instances that brought her name into the limelight, like footsie-gate. The whole thing started when Aviv became part of "Johnny's Angels," led by Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio.
In a December 4, 2024, interview with In Touch, Aviv revealed that she formed a friendship with Jenny West early on in The Challenge: Battle of the Eras because they both didn't know many other contestants.
They bonded over their similar approach to the game and wanted to avoid drama. Aviv also became friends with Johnny while they were teammates in Era 2, growing close from spending time together.
Later, Rachel Robinson joined their alliance, as she became the last Era 1 player not to be eliminated. As the game shifted to individual competition, Aviv felt that she developed strong relationships with her alliance members. The group even laughed about being called "Johnny's Angels" after Rachel mentioned it in an interview.
“I sort of felt like I had my own relationship with each [member of the alliance]. Jenny and Johnny were already aligned and friends and then Rachel sort of came into that circle. It was really organic," stated Aviv.
A scene on the show featuring Aviv and Johnny seemingly playing "footsies" on the bus became viral due to Michele Fitzgerald calling them out. Aviv found the situation amusing and discussed it with her husband of 20 years after reaching home. She addressed the same situation in a December 4 interview with Entertainment Weekly as well.
Aviv recalled that she had a foot injury and was resting it on the bus after a challenge. Johnny sat across from her and tapped her foot when the cameras were off. Michele made a comment about them touching, and soon the cameras started filming. Aviv also mentioned that Michele and Johnny were constantly fighting at that point, and the rest of the contestants were "over it".
Aviv's appearance on The Challenge: Battle of the Eras was her second appearance in the franchise.
