‘Claim to Fame’: Mackenzie Adkins & Hud Mellencamp Give a Big Update on Their Post-Show Relationship

[Warning: The following post contains spoilers about the Claim to Fame Season 3 finale.]

They might not have won the cash prize, but they did win the hearts of millions — including each other.

Claim to Fame Season 3’s runners-up, Mackenzie Adkins and Hud Mellencamp, made it to the very end of the game without falling victim to the guess-offs. They each had a solid chance of winning the whole thing, too, since the returning castmembers were definitely trying to help them beat rival Adam Christoferson in the finale challenge.

Alas, instead of partnering up to get Adam out, they turned focus on each other, which allowed Adam to coast to victory and set the fateful order of the final guess-off. There, Adam correctly guessed that Mackenzie was the daughter of country superstar Trace Adkins and that Hud was the son of folk-rock legend John Mellencamp.

After the events of the finale, TV Insider caught up with Mackenzie and Hud to find out where things stand between them now after a season full of crushing (fun fact: they even have their own built-in song, as Season 1 runner-up’s Logan Crosby’s song “Girl Next Door” backdrops their montage in Episode 7) and how their celebrity relatives reacted to their time in the spotlight.

(Be sure to check out other exit interviews with Bianca Roberts, Gracie Lou Hyland and Jill Kurlfink, Raphael Curtis aka Miguel, Naomi Burns, Nael Zayas aka Danny, Shane Brando, and Adam Christoferson).

So you both are related to musicians. How much were you banking on people not knowing about music and music history? 

Hud Mellencamp: I mean, that was definitely a big part of the strategy. It’s just like, “Oh, we can try and figure out who is in the music world and then trying to get those people to the side a little bit or be friends with them.”

Mackenzie Adkins: I was banking on no one knowing country for sure. And then going in with the Broadway thing, I do think people bought the Broadway act for a few episodes maybe.

But after that was after that was out, I was like, “I’m just hoping none of these people know anything about country music so well.”

How did you react when they started picking up Blake Shelton, Mackenzie?

Mackenzie: I thought that was going to happen. My dad and Blake are very similar. I’ve known Blake almost my whole life. So I was kind of preparing myself for that a little bit. And it’s very — I know a lot about him so it’s really easy to kind of like to talk about him… I was very relieved.

So, what about you Hud, with Naomi guessing Cherie Currie? Were you surprised that lasted as long as it did?

Hud: Well, I didn’t know that — I thought she had me. I was like, “There it is.” When I looked at the [cherry bomb] clue I was like, “Well, that’s obvious.” I didn’t think she went to Cherie Currie. So that’s why I was aggressive, and I threw her under the bus real quick. I was like, “Oh, she got me, I gotta burn some bridges. I might have to take some people out.” That’s part of the game.

Mackenzie: I will say with the finale that I was so excited for Naomi to come back because I was like, “I got Hud in the bag. My girl Naomi, she says, Cherie Currie.” I literally, I looked at her. I was like, “Are you kidding me?!” I was so mad because I was like, I thought that I had him.

So, yeah, that was crazy…

You guys were obviously close friends throughout the season. What made you turn on each other instead of Adam in that last challenge? 

Mackenzie: It was me. It was my fault. The reason that I targeted Hud in the finale is because I had no idea who he was related to. And I was actively trying not to figure out who he was for multiple episodes, So then the finale came around and I was like, “Oh, I have no idea who he is related to.” So I had in my mind, I had to get his board fully revealed or else I would have never known.

Hud: And I’m just too competitive.

Mackenzie: So he turned on me because he saw me going after him.

Hud: So I saw my keys filling up. I was like, “You know what? I’m gonna, I’m gonna figure this out.

Chris Willard/Disney

Well, Hud you were close to Adam in the beginning. You guys were like sparring and you kind of helped him with Naomi’s relative. What drew you guys apart?

Hud: It’s just the nature of like, everyone’s doing it all like all the time. It’s just hard to maintain constant communications like that. But there was no point that I was like — okay, there was one point I was mad at Adam — but there’s no point where I was trying to be malicious.

Were you surprised when Naomi decided to help you after you kind of took her down? 

Hud: Yeah, I was like, “I am not getting through this path over here that she’s in.” The first time, she shut me down. I was like, “Yeah, nice. I see where this is going.” Then she helped me a little bit and I was like, “Oh, okay. We can still be friends.” And that’s what I’m thankful for: After the show, it’s like we can all still be friends. We all know the nature of the beast.

Is Adam allowed in the group chat?

Mackenzie: Now we’ve got a couple.

Hud: He’s in one or two.

Mackenzie, were you surprised how many people were willing to go to bat for you? I mean, you had Gracie Lou getting in the boat with you — everybody’s going to extremes to try and help you. Were surprised by that at all? 

Mackenzie: No. It sounds really cocky to say no, but no I wasn’t. I wasn’t surprised only because like those are my girls. If it was them in the finale, I would have gotten in the boat with them even though lord knows I probably would have fallen in the water. Jill and Gracie Lou, Naomi, Bianca — those are my girls. Even Shane, helped me out a little bit, too. And I was surprised by Shane, I will say, because I did literally just get him out before then. So, but no, not for my girls.

Hud: I think everyone was teaming up against Adam, so they wanted to help us.

Mackenzie: Yeah, that’s it.

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Was there any part of you that was kind of hoping that Adam wouldn’t be allowed to come back into the competition after he got injured, or were you happy that he got to finish it out?

Hud: I’ve been a competitive athlete my whole life. So that’s, in my brain, the nightmare situation. It’s the worst way to go out — to an injury. I obviously I want him out, but not like that.

Going back to the beginning, how did your celebrity relatives react when you decided to join the show? And what kind of advice did they give you?

Mackenzie: I’ll go first. I actually didn’t tell my dad for a really long time. I actually told him the day before I left, and I mean, he was really supportive. He obviously did two seasons of Celebrity Apprentice. So he had really good advice for me. He’s really good at reality TV and game shows, I suppose. But yeah, I mean, he just told me to kind of lay low, feel everybody out.

Just kind of kind of play the game, be a little bit stealthy but also stay true to myself, of course. He wasn’t surprised that I was doing something like this, but he was definitely surprised about the quick turnaround. I was like, “Okay, so I’m leaving tomorrow…” Hud, what about you?

Hud: My dad was very supportive in this endeavor, but I had the most support from my sister [Teddi Mellencamp Arroyave] who’s been on a couple of reality things, and she gave me some good advice throughout the time… There was a couple moments in the show where I was feeling pretty down, like stabbing my friends in the back and whatnot. Then I would just think, “My sister’s been on reality TV for forever… She’s cutthroat, and I love her for that.” And I was like, “What would Teddi do? Let’s get into this.”

There are a few people who were able to keep their identity secret pretty well but went home because they guessed wrong. Of those, is there anyone you think that could have coasted through, and you would have never figured it out?

Mackenzie: Bianca. Yeah, that Bianca would have won the whole show, and I am very confident in that.

Hud: I don’t wake up early enough to see her.

Mackenzie: Yeah, me either. And she came in at the finale and figured out every single person in literally five minutes. She knew Adam, and she was like, “Oh, well, obviously that’s John Mellencamp, and obviously that’s Michael Bolton.” And I was like, “Whoa, I’ve been here for eight episodes and I didn’t know a single one.” It was infuriating.

Hud: She was like, “Oh yeah, Michael Bolton.” I was like, “This is why we got you out, huh?”

Casting calls are open for Season 4. What advice would you give people who are trying out for the show?

Hud: Be friendly. Try and do you. Play your best game, but be true to yourself. Because I think the biggest thing for me is I wanted to walk away from this happy with myself instead of just compromising. But I’m proud that I got to stick to my morals and stuff instead of trying to bend over backwards and be someone I wasn’t.

Mackenzie: I would definitely say just if you’re thinking about submitting an application or whatever, definitely do it. It was amazing. I had the best time. I met so many amazing people, and yeah, it was, it was such a fun experience.

Obviously this is a little bit uncomfortable, but Mackenzie, you were crushing on Hud. Have you guys formed a relationship outside of the game at all?

Hud: I’m actually heading down there after this interview.

Mackenzie: Yeah, he’s coming down here. So yeah, it’s gonna be great. It’s gonna be so much fun. But yeah, he’s been down here a few times. Episode 1, they did me dirty. They put me crushing on him since Episode 1 in there.

Well, I was gonna ask about that. Is it hard for you guys to form that kind of a friendship or relationship when you have to keep such an important part of your identity a secret from each other?

Hud: It’s hard to like maintain the relationship of, “You don’t know me, I don’t know you.” But it’s also nice to have someone you can kind of talk to, especially in a situation where everyone’s trying to get at each other.