Mark Long Had Almost 10 Years Off In Between Seasons of 'The Challenge'

While many fans think of Johnny "Bananas" Devenanzio or CT Tamburello when they think of the top contestants to ever compete on The Challenge, Mark Long was one of the first to win the show. 

The MTV star got his start on the first season of Road Rules in 1995, and he went on to compete on several seasons of The Challenge. He won two times, and he gained a reputation as a fierce athlete.

His last appearance was on the Battle of the Exes season in 2012, when he was 41. A lot of viewers assumed that Mark had retired from the competition for good. 

But, in the summer of 2020, he began campaigning for a new type of season of The Challenge — one that consisted of original competitors. Soon, #WeWantOGs trended on Twitter, and the concept was ultimately greenlit for Paramount Plus. 

The Challenge: All Stars premiered in April of 2021, and Mark is back and he's hoping to put his money where his mouth is.

Keep reading to find out what Mark is up to now, and for the refresher on his showmance with Robin Hibbard.

Since Mark has been a staple on reality TV for more than two decades, it's not a total surprise that a lot has changed in his personal life over the years in front of the cameras. 

When Mark first appeared on Battle of the Sexes I in 2003, he was married and he wore a wedding ring. By the time Battle of the Sexes II premiered in 2004, he shared that he was divorced. There is no information online about his first wife, and he has not spoken about her publicly in years.

After his divorce, the infamous Challenge winner had a public relationship with Robin Hibbard. He had also previously had a romance with Kit Hoover. 

His famous exes have moved on since their respective relationships with Mark. Robin got married years ago, and she's now a mom to Raina Monroe and Ethan.

Kit, who hosts Access Live, wed Crowley Sullivan in 1999. The couple shares three children together.

Mark is not currently married, and it appears as if the 49-year-old is single. He's focused on his producing career, and he has also said that he's hoping to continue to compete on other seasons of The Challenge.  

He has a We Want OGs line of merchandise as well.

In the years since The Real World and The Challenge debuted, there have been many relationships that start and end in front of the cameras. Mark began dating The Real World: San Diego roommate and eventual Challenge finalist Robin Hibbard in 2004. 

The two competed on a few of the same seasons, and they were rumored to be living together before their eventual breakup. In 2012, they came together one last time as a team for Battle of the Exes. 

When they competed on Battle of the Exes together, they couldn't remember the exact details of their breakup, but that things were tense between them afterward. 

In 2017, Mark told The Dishmaster that people still ask him about Robin, even though they broke up more than a decade earlier. 

"We met on Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Battle of the Sexes 2  and then started dating off of the show. The problem with the challenges is that even if your relationship or showmance was three years prior, people identify you with each other [far into the future]," Mark explained about how their past romance lives on. 

"I could get stopped tomorrow by someone who says, 'Where's Robin?' It's like, 'Dude, she’s married with two kids in Florida. That's where Robin is...'" he continued.

Robin has led a more quiet life since her time on TV (her Instagram account is set to private, and her Twitter feed hasn't been updated since 2016). She is not competing on The Challenge: All Stars. 

The reality TV vet has not discussed how much money he has taken away from his various TV appearances over the years, though it is estimated that his net worth is somewhere between $1 million to $5 million. 

He did win two seasons of the show, Real World/Road Rules Challenge and Battle of the Sexes, but the prize package was much lower in earlier seasons than it is now. 

He won just over $81,000 during his time on the series, and he likely earned more for appearing on each season.

Mark also hosted The Challenge: After Show from 2009 to 2016, which added to his fortune, and he's made occasional appearances on other programs for decades. 

He's an Executive Producer for The Challenge: All Stars, and he was the one who first pitched the concept to MTV. The amount that he earned for this is publicly unknown. 

New episodes of The Challenge: All Stars debut on Thursdays on Paramount Plus.