Despite a strong recent season, a former The Challenge cast member has officially made it known they won’t be returning for any more seasons of the show.
In fact, they’ve announced they’re “100 % done” with reality television as a whole but may pop up again on TV in another capacity.
The announcement comes ahead of Season 36 for the MTV show, and right after the big finale for CBS’ Big Brother 22 series.
Reality star announces retirement online
In a recent Instagram post with a lengthy caption, former The Challenge and Big Brother competitor Bayleigh Dayton let fans know she’s officially done.
Bayleigh first congratulated the recent BB All-Stars 2 winner Cody Calafiore for his amazing season, which she was also part of.
She went on to thank her reality TV fans, saying, “This has been a ride to remember and I couldn’t have made it without you all.”
Bayleigh also called the last two years “incredible” for her due to meeting her husband, Chris “Swaggy C” Williams, and said she is now living the life of her dreams.
“But, I think it’s time to join my husband and officially bow out. I’m 100% done with reality TV. The @bigbrothercbs & @challengemtv producers have been nothing but great to me but it’s time for me to grow in my career and in my life,” Bayleigh said, reiterating she’s done appearing on reality TV.
“I do believe I will be back on tv in a different capacity and I truly would love it if you all continued to support me in my future endeavors. I love you all SO MUCH!” Bayleigh said before signing off the post as Queen Bay.
She also added a PS note that she missed castmate Da’Vonne Rogers “so much” and wanted to give her a hug. Da’Vonne, also a former member of MTV’s The Challenge shows, was amongst jury members on Wednesday night’s Big Brother finale. She also received the award for America’s Favorite Houseguest, netting her a $25,000 prize.
While Bayleigh and her husband Swaggy C made their reality TV retirement known several months ago, her Instagram post on Wednesday officially confirms the decision.
Bayleigh originally appeared on Big Brother 20, finishing No. 11, and then returned for the recent Big Brother All-Stars. She’d go on to place 12th in the latest installment of CBS’ competition show.
Bayleigh’s Challenge history involved drama, big elimination
It’s unfortunate that Bayleigh didn’t continue with more seasons of The Challenge, as she looked to be a strong competitor as a rookie.
Her sole season of MTV’s show was The Challenge: Total Madness, aka Season 35, where she not only was amongst the cast members but was there with husband Swaggy C.
She had familiarity with other Challenge cast members there, as there were other Big Brother stars, including Josh Martinez and Kaycee Clark.
In fact, one of the big stories from Season 35 involved the drama between Bayleigh and Kaycee due to Kaycee’s flirty friendship with Nany Gonzalez in the bunker.
It led to hurt feelings and accusations flying between Kaycee and Bayleigh. Ultimately, Bayleigh admitted she was hurt by Kaycee doing that to her on the show.
Nonetheless, the 27-year-old Bayleigh was able to survive on her rookie season of the show as she looked to be a fierce competitor. She remained longer than her husband, Swaggy C. Bayleigh even defeated Challenge veteran Aneesa Ferreira in an elimination involving tying and undoing knots through a destroyed car.
She’d go on to compete at the Total Madness final and suffered an injury during her run. Bayleigh finished in third-place behind Kaycee and winner Jenny West. That’s impressive stuff for a rookie, but unfortunately, fans may never know if Bayleigh can capture a major Challenge win as she bids farewell to reality TV.
The Challenge Season 36 is TBA on MTV.