The world of reality television competition shows is full of ups and downs, as Survivor winner and The Challenge contestant Michele Fitzgerald can attest to. Michele returned to TV to compete on The Challenge season 37. While she might not have achieved the success she has claimed in previous contests, she left her mark on the high-stakes reality series. From her rise to competitive TV stardom to her off-camera reality, here's everything there is to know about Michele.
Michele recently returned for another round of reality competition on The Challenge season 37. Unlike her previous experiences on TV, Michele was not able to evade elimination on The Challenge. In episode 4, Michele was outed from the series, along with her partner, 12 Dates of Christmas' Corey Lay. Michele didn't take the loss too hard, however, as she tweeted, "Ya win some, ya lose some" in response to the end of her journey on The Challenge season 37.
Michele was born on May 5, 1990, in Freehold, New Jersey. Michele's birthday means that she's 31 years old and has a Taurus Sun sign. Michele grew up with her sisters, Kim, her brother, Joe, and her parents, Ralph and Linda Fitzgerald. According to LinkedIn, Michele embarked on her education at Montclair State University in 2011. In addition to studying at MSU, Michele worked as a public relations specialist for the university. Michele graduated from Montclair State in 2013 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication and media studies. After college, the Survivor winner Michele worked as a sales associate in Martha's Vineyard at Island Company, a resort clothing brand. Michele also worked as a caterer in her New Jersey hometown in the years after graduation.
Just before she took on Survivor season 32, Michele was a travel consultant at Liberty Travel. In 2015, however, Michele's life changed drastically. Michele was cast as 1 of 18 cast members to star on Survivor: Kaôh Rōng. This season of the reality competition series went by the themes, "Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty," and Michele was designated the Beauty label. At first, Michele was underestimated by her Brain and Brawn competitors. Michele was seen as weak and not a threat to her competitors initially, but she developed to be a major threat to her contenders as the season unfolded. Even as she was in the top three, Michele wasn't an obvious Survivor winner. After getting kicked off of the jury by Michele, Neal Gottlieb shared he didn't think Michele had a chance to win and compared her to a "little puppy, still suckling at the teat."
Neal was swiftly proven wrong when Michele earned the most votes from the jury and became the first Survivor winner born in the 1990s. After winning Survivor: Kaôh Rōng, Michele returned for Survivor: Winners At War. Michele proved her prowess, as she was fundamental in the elimination of former Survivor victors Danni Boatwright and Ethan Zohn. Michele made it to the end of the competition with the help of her ally, Natalie Anderson, who won the final immunity challenge of the season. Ultimately, Michele didn't receive any votes to win Winners At War, as her great competitor Tony Vlachos did. Although she didn't win, Michele became the first Survivor contestant to take part in multiple seasons, win, and never get voted out.
Since Survivor, Michele has embarked on a career as a business development manager with Palace Resorts. Michele is one of the most successful reality TV competitors of all time, as exhibited by her record-breaking achievements on Survivor. Although she didn't succeed in The Challenge, it's very likely television hasn't seen the last of Michele.
The Challenge airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on MTV.
Sources: Michele Fitzgerald/LinkedIn, Michele Fitzgerald/Twitter