There have been many rookies to keep track of with The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies season, but one who has definitely stood out is Corey Lay.
While he came from the reality TV dating show 12 Dates of Christmas, he showed himself to be a threat to other competitors and proved he’s a force to be reckoned with in eliminations.
Unfortunately, he kept finding himself a target of the veteran alliance, and heading into Episode 4, he and partner Michele Fitzgerald wanted to change their fortunes.
The Challenge rookie gave his thoughts after the emotional episode that arrived on MTV.
Corey, Michele were rookie targets again in Episode 4
A rookie-rookie team consisting of a Survivor winner and second-biggest rookie to enter The Challenge Season 37 gave the veteran alliance good reason to keep sending Michele and Corey into elimination.
The pair hoped they could win the Undercover Comms mission in Episode 4 of Spies, Lies & Allies but had every other team in the daily challenge trying to get them out early. They ended up as the second team eliminated in their heat for the daily.
“It’s all or nothing tonight! The stakes have never been higher for me in this game,” Corey wrote in a caption with his IG post ahead of the episode.
Corey and Michele’s elimination early in the daily challenge made it easy to suggest them as the team to vote into elimination. The rookies accepted that fate, but Corey tried to work out a deal with Fessy to give him the opponents they wanted.
He ended up getting Hughie Maughan as requested, but Fessy didn’t put in rookie Bettina Buchanan as Michele seemed to want. Instead, Fessy sent Amber Borzotra into elimination. According to castmate Amanda Garcia, Fessy had his reasons for not saying Bettina’s name.
That decision by Fessy set off a chaotic chain of events at the elimination, including Josh Martinez blowing up in the stands and Amber flipping off castmates as she yelled “F*** Big Brother!” following her and Hughie’s elimination win.
The Challenge rookies had post-elimination altercation
The elimination victory also brought a lot of celebration from Hughie ran up to his castmate Corey cursing and yelling at him following the win.
Hughie called Corey “fake,” feeling Corey had betrayed him by going behind his back to make a deal with Fessy to send Hughie into elimination.
Hughie’s post-elimination outburst caused Corey to explode and give him a shove as security stepped in to intervene. The two continued shouting and cursing at each other a bit more.
Eventually, things calmed down, and the two castmates shared a moment of understanding as they talked it out following the emotional event.
Corey reacts to emotional events of Spies, Lies & Allies episode
After the elimination, Corey had a teary-eyed confessional as he was upset about his move to get Hughie as his opponent.
“I did to Hughie what the world has done to me,” Corey said, referring to him underestimating his castmate’s abilities as a gay man.
He shared the clip on his official Instagram page, along with a caption to further explain himself after the elimination explosion.
“You live and you learn. When I eventually win a season of The Challenge I want to get there without losing sight of what’s important to me,” he said.
“I messed up and underestimated a bad a** competitor. I’m so proud of you and I’m rooting for you now @hughiemaughanofficial! Do it for the gays ? ??,” Corey shared in his caption.
The two castmates also appeared on The Challenge Aftermath episode following Spies, Lies & Allies Episode 4, during which they said they’re fine with one another following their altercation.
However, the castmates gave a bit more commentary about their situation leading to elimination.
“It was ridiculous behavior. That I can admit. There was really no need for it,” Hughie told Aftermath host Devyn Simone of his antics.
He also went on to say he felt his castmate Corey was making deals behind his back after they said they’d never vote for one another, although Corey responded he didn’t tell him “never.”
“Huey, I know I f****d up in that moment. I’ve already apologized, I believe, to you, and I am sorry. I don’t think I made a promise, but if I did, I’m sorry I broke that. I do feel like s**t like I said,” Corey responded.
“I broke the thing that I wanted to not break because I wanted to work with another gay man and prove that that is something that we could do. I made a f*****g mistake,” Corey said as he broke down during the Aftermath.
Based on what both Corey and Hughie showed during their rookie season, it seems both cast members should get called again in the future, as they’ve not only been entertaining but also shown themselves as worthy competitors.
The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.