Michele Fitzgerald is the first to say that she played an overly emotional game on The Challenge this season. Michele was paired with her real-life friend and former Survivor contestant, Jay Starrett, for The Challenge: Ride or Dies. Michele, a Survivor winner, had an impressive showing on this season of The Challenge, winning two daily challenges, and shaking up the entire house in the process. Michele on Survivor is known for her social prowess, but in The Challenge house, it seems she made many enemies with her emotional gameplay.
Michele is considered one of the greats in Survivor, as she was one of very few contestants who have made it to the end of the game twice. In an interview with Johnny Bananas on his Death, Taxes, And Bananas Podcast, Michele explained, "There's so many intricacies on The Challenge that don't come into play on Survivor." Michele doesn't blame her game going south on these intricacies though. Instead she says, "I was just really, really overly emotional in this game, and I could not separate hurting people from my gameplay." Michele shed her fair share of tears on The Challenge, but she adds in the interview, "That's actually not necessarily always my nature. On Survivor, I don't think I cried once."
Michele Explains Why Her & Jay Made Big Moves On The Challenge
Many believed Jay and Michele had a chance to win this season, but Michele wasn't as confident, "Me and Jay were on the bottom of a lot of people's alliances." When she's asked why she didn't just adhere to the status quo, Michele asks, "Do you sit there and wait to get eaten?" Michele explains that her and Jay weren't just focused on the game in front of them. She says she was "playing for the moment, but you're also trying to figure out how to play for the future." The Challenge, unlike many other reality TV shows, has a majority of the cast as returning players with a few rookies mixed in.
Michele made a great impression on this season of The Challenge. While some of her fellow competitors may not have appreciated her cut-throat game, the fans certainly did. For many seasons now, it seems the same group of people have dominated the game. Jay and Michele fired some shots at these people and ultimately created great TV. There's something satisfying about watching contestants who think they're untouchable start to sweat a little bit, and that's exactly what Jay and Michele made them do.
The issue with making big moves on The Challenge is that you set yourself up for trouble in future seasons. Jay and Michele burned some bridges in order to advance their games, but when it comes time to return, they will likely be targeted quickly. The format on this season of The Challenge made it so the daily challenge winners had to nominate four teams to potentially go into elimination. Since Michele and Jay won multiple challenges, they had to get a lot of blood on their hands. If they are able to avoid the target by the time the next season airs, they are even better players than they've been given credit for.
The Challenge: Ride or Dies airs Wednesdays at 8PM EST on MTV.