Johnny Devenanzio sat with an acoustic guitar and played “Pink Skies” as old photos began moving across the screen.

The faces in the montage were younger at first. There were snapshots from reality TV, years when Devenanzio and Tyler Duckworth were roommates, competitors and eventually teammates. Then came images from the years after, tracing a friendship that had lasted two decades.

On Aug. 16, five days after Duckworth died at 44, Devenanzio used those pictures to say goodbye.

“You were more than a friend. More than a roommate,” he wrote. “You were the brother I never had.”

Devenanzio, 44, and Duckworth met in 2006 as cast members of MTV’s The Real World: Key West. Their relationship later became part of The Challenge, where rivalry eventually gave way to partnership and a championship.

It Started With Seven Roommates in Key West

Back then, neither man knew how long reality television would remain part of his life.

The Real World: Key West, the show’s 17th season, introduced both Duckworth and Devenanzio to viewers. They shared the cast with Paula Meronek, Janelle Casanave, Svetlana Shusterman, Zach Mann and Jose Tapia.

The connection between Duckworth and Devenanzio wasn’t always easy.

Later in 2006, both joined The Challenge: The Duel. They crossed paths again on The Gauntlet III and then on Cutthroat in 2010, building a history that included clashes as well as years of knowing one another.

Reality TV had made them rivals.

Then the format of one season forced them to rely on each other.

For 2011’s The Challenge: Rivals, former opponents were paired together. Devenanzio and Duckworth became teammates, and the two men who had spent years competing against each other ended the season as winners.

That victory became one of the clearest markers in their long shared history.

It also changed the way their relationship would be remembered.

The Rival Became “the Brother I Never Had”

Duckworth eventually appeared on six seasons of The Challenge: The Duel, The Gauntlet III, Cutthroat, Rivals, All Stars 2 and All Stars 3. His 2022 run on All Stars 3 was his final appearance in the franchise.

By then, the connection that began in a television house had stretched far beyond one season.

That was the history Devenanzio chose to show in his Aug. 16 tribute.

Rather than post only a written message, he created a montage of photographs spanning the years and accompanied it himself on guitar, playing Zach Bryan’s “Pink Skies.”

The caption made clear how he saw Duckworth by the end of those years.

“You were the brother I never had,” Devenanzio wrote.

He ended with another short message: “Rest easy, Tyler. You’ll always be family.”

At the bottom, Devenanzio added “147:3,” referring to a Bible verse about healing the brokenhearted and binding their wounds.

The post landed after several days in which friends, family and longtime viewers had been learning the details of Duckworth’s death.

His Death Came Only Weeks After a Reunion

Duckworth was found dead inside his apartment in Grand Forks, North Dakota, on Aug. 11.

His mother, Joni, confirmed his death on Aug. 13. Police told PEOPLE that officers went to the apartment after downstairs neighbors reported water coming through their ceiling.

Authorities traced the water to Duckworth’s bathtub.

That was where they found him.

Police said Duckworth had been seen the previous day, though they could not say how long he had been dead. His cause of death had not been determined at the time of PEOPLE’s Aug. 16 report, and authorities said there were no apparent signs of foul play.

The timing added another detail to the story.

Only weeks earlier, on July 31, Duckworth had reunited with other veterans of the franchise at a Challenge Mania event in Minneapolis. Afterward, he posted about the gathering on Instagram, saying he was “so proud” to represent his hometown and thanking fans who had continued supporting The Challenge.

That event became one of his final public links to the show that had introduced him to Devenanzio 20 years before.

Twenty Years Fit Into One Montage

For viewers who knew the men first through MTV, their story had been preserved in seasons and competition results.

There was Key West in 2006.

Then came The Duel, more seasons, arguments, another pairing and finally the Rivals win in 2011. Years later, both remained connected to a franchise that had followed them from their 20s into middle age.

Devenanzio’s tribute stripped that history down to something more personal.

The competition clips were no longer the point. Neither was the fact that they had once been cast as rivals.

The photos showed the time between those television milestones: two men aging through the same 20 years.

Duckworth’s final Challenge appearance came in 2022. His last franchise reunion came this summer in Minneapolis. Then, on Aug. 16, Devenanzio looked back through the photographs they had accumulated since meeting as roommates in Key West.

His guitar carried “Pink Skies” beneath them.

At the end of the caption, Devenanzio returned to the word that no reality show had assigned them.

Family.

“Rest easy, Tyler,” he wrote. “You’ll always be family.”