A longtime Challenge rumor found legs when Aneesa revealed this season that (eons ago) Road Rules emblems Veronica and Rachel dated (and for three years). At the time, the leaked intel seemed to be inconsequential to Veronica, but on tonight’s winner reveal, V made it very clear Aneesa’s big mouth upset her, particularly in light of an episode that made it appear as though Veronica and Aneesa had hooked up (relive it below).

Veronica made it clear during a chat with Aneesa and segment host Mike “The Miz” Mizanin that she wasn’t ashamed of her relationship with Rachel and wasn’t actively trying to hide it from anyone in her life.

“The media has put some weird spin on this and made it seem like it was a secretive relationship when the relationship wasn’t secretive — it was [only] secretive for the show,” Veronica said. “Production knew, my friends knew, family knew, our communities knew…so for Aneesa to come out and talk about it when it’s not really her place, I was pissed. I still am…I think that you were trying to make it a storyline.”

Veronica added that Aneesa’s choice method of reveal drummed up old trust issues that plagued their relationship earlier on in the series (Veronica and Aneesa first met on 2002’s Battle of the Sexes, and were…less than friendly).

“I went in not really having positive feelings about her,” V said. “I had a lot of distrust, [but] as veterans of the game…we gravitated toward each other…This brought me back to me not trusting you.”

But Aneesa fired back.

“I didn’t trust you either,” she said. “You were a bully and a mean person when we did these shows before, and that’s why we never got along.”

And that’s when Veronica cut deep.

“Because you didn’t like the fact that I was hooking up with Rachel,” she said.

And there was another point of contention — though editing of Episode 7 seemed to indicate Veronica and Aneesa hooked up, they both insisted it didn’t happen (though they also admitted to being a little bit fuzzy on specifics due to the effects of alcohol).

“That whole thing — we did not hook up,” Veronica said. “When I watch back that episode, it’s probably one of the most painful scenes that I’m watching back in all of the shows that I’ve done, because I look very vulnerable, and it sucks.”

And while it seemed like Veronica and Aneesa’s relationship might have been damaged beyond repair, they both agreed they’d come too far to go back. They concurred that previous issues were conditions of being young and explosive personalities and resolved to not let their new, matured connection wane.

“I didn’t come on here to hurt anybody’s feelings or do anything intentionally,” Aneesa insisted. “If you really had an issue, we could have talked about it, we could have hashed it out, but no, we wait until we’re here…it’s just annoying."

“I did care about you, you took care of me when no one else had my f-----g back,” she added. “And the fact that this f----d everything up, that sucks…It’s just a matter of understanding that there are more pieces to this puzzle than me just doing that.”

Finally, Veronica accepted Aneesa’s apologies.

“Yeah, we’re fine,” V said. “We can get past it. It’s a trust issue at the end of the day.”

Do you think Veronica and Aneesa will be able to let go of old demons, or is their argument a clear indication they’re back on shaky ground? Watch the exchange below and share your thoughts in the comments.