Chris “CT” Tamburello Grapples With Intense Family Drama Before Wedding in MTV Special

Every family has its own drama, and that was on full display on MTV’s The Challenge: CT’s Getting Married, which is a two-episode wedding special about the days leading up to Chris “CT” Tamburello‘s nuptials to Lilianet “Lili” Solares.

CT and Lili tied the knot on Sept. 8, although they had already exchanged “I Do’s” at a Coral Gables, Fla. courthouse in May. White family and friends were in attendance at the ceremony, according to MTV News, it was not an easy road to get there.

In the first part of CT’s Getting Married, the reality star had a difficult time convincing his family to attend the wedding, especially his sister Vanessa. It put CT between a rock and a hard place because he hoped his family would come, but he also wanted to support Lili and her wedding needs. Lili asked her to be a bridesmaid but Vanessa didn’t immediately accept. She later called CT’s sister “a brat” who “gets whatever she wants.”

The family tension goes back to when the couple first got engaged. CT revealed in the episode, “I proposed to Lili the night before I left for another [season of the] Challenge. I didn’t tell my family that I was engaged, but I didn’t tell Lili that I didn’t tell them.” 

CT competed on season 29 of the show called The Challenge: Invasion, which aired in 2017. 

“Everybody’s pissed off at everybody else, and I think my dad’s genuinely hurt. I almost feel like he’s under the assumption that me and Lili were going to do the wedding without them,” CT explained. “And now I’m not exactly sure who’s gonna come to this wedding. My father may or may not come, my sister, my mother.”

CT ventured back to his hometown of Boston, but the journey didn’t end with many olive branches being extended. He said he hadn’t talked to his father since he proposed to Lili and there was “a lot of animosity” going on with family members.

The 38-year-old pleaded with his wife to make amends with his family, but she kept asking why she had to “be the better person” and reach out. 

“This is my last chance to bring everybody together like it was when I was younger, when everybody was a happy family,” he appealed. 

“If my sister doesn’t come and my father doesn’t come, I don’t think I’ll ever talk to them again,” he said in another overture to Lili. “I’m asking you to be the better person for me.”

The effort seemed short-lived because Lili explained while talking to her “bestie” that she “removed [Vanessa] from the guest list” at the wedding. However, a few moments later, Lili said Vanessa was back on the guest list but under one condition: “she needs to apologize and calm down.” 

She continued, “I don’t want no drama at the wedding.”

That’s some drama Lili could perhaps prevent. When it comes to her and CT’s nearly three-year-old son CJ, however, that’s a different story. At the very end of the episode, the camera cuts to CJ, who was running around the rehearsal dinner. He went near a pool of water and apparently didn’t heed his mother’s warning of “Don’t go in the water!” 

Will the Tamburello family let bygones be byones? We’ll just have to wait until next week!