The reveal of The Challenge: All Stars 2 cast brought some familiar faces in the form of returning OGs from Season 1 of the spinoff series.
However, it also brought some new OGs from Real World, Road Rules, and Fresh Meat to the second season, including Ryan Kehoe, MJ Garrett, Ayanna Mackins, and Leah Gillingwater.
Many viewers are becoming reacquainted with some of the cast members ahead of the season premiere. Here are more details about Leah Gillingwater on The Challenge: All Stars 2 and where to follow her on social media.
Who is Leah Gillingwater on The Challenge: All Stars 2?
Leah is one of the 24 OG cast members from Paramount Plus’ spinoff, The Challenge: All Stars 2. The 41-year-old was part of one of the iconic Real World seasons.
Hailing from Long Island, New York, she first appeared as a 22-year-old castmate of future Challenge legend Chris “CT” Tamburello on The Real World: Paris, which aired on MTV in 2003. Other castmates on that season included Adam King, Mallory Snyder, Christina Trainor, and Simon Sherry-Wood.
Ace Amerson was also part of that RW cast, and he went on to appear on the first season of All Stars. Leah is likely hoping to avoid Ace’s fate, as he was the first one sent home for that season.
During her Real World run, Leah had a brief argument with Mallory, who took exception to Leah calling her “loud.” They eventually squashed things, but Leah and CT were at odds quite a bit on RW Paris. She won’t have him to worry about for All Stars 2.
As far as her Challenge experience, she’s been on just one season of the show, with The Inferno. It was the eighth season of MTV’s series and aired in 2004.
Leah was there with her castmates CT, Mallory, and Ace and made it up until Episode 14. Kendal Sheppard, who also will be part of the All Stars 2 cast, eliminated Leah from that Inferno season.
Leah’s family and career details
Leah was part of a lengthy interview on the Mike Lewis Podcast (below) in which she gives details on her Real World and Challenge seasons. In addition, she talks about what she’s been up to since those shows.
During the chat, Leah mentioned how much she disliked seeing herself on reality TV and that it gave her a “massive body complex.”
Leah said she’s still close with her RW castmate Mallory and has grown a lot since being on the show. In addition, she said she’d loved to hear from her former castmate CT and possibly even do a Real World reunion series.
As far as family, Leah revealed she is currently living in Los Angeles and isn’t married. She also had a child since being away from reality TV. Her son, Griffin, is 11 years old based on comments Leah made in the interview.
While reality TV can bring some negatives with it, it also helped Leah find her career. She told Mike Lewis she’s worked as a producer and stage manager for the last 16 years, so she knows there’s always a storyboard and people that are typecast for shows.
Is Leah Gillingwater on Instagram and other social media?
Just as The Challenge: All Stars 2 teaser trailer and cast details arrived, various cast members posted on their social media about the show. That included Leah, who shared a promotional image of herself on an All Stars-themed sports card.
“I’m back! Long flight from Paris! And I’m ready to win the title of The Challenge: All Stars CHAMPION! #TheChallengeAllStars2 premieres THURS, NOV. 11TH on @paramountplus! @ChallengeMTV,” Leah wrote in the IG caption.
Viewers can follow her @leahgillingwater on Instagram as she’s likely to share updates as the episodes begin to premiere. As of this report, she’s got just over 1,300 Instagram followers. That’s probably because her seasons of MTV’s shows weren’t necessarily around for social media content, and cast members weren’t building followings.
Based on Leah’s Instagram account, she’s a sports fan who has taken her son to various games, including NHL and MLB.
She also appears to be an avid Chicago Cubs fan and has a puppy named Gillibean, who often travels with them.
In addition to the Instagram account, fans can also follow Leah Gillingwater on Twitter. She doesn’t appear to be as active on the microblogging platform, with her last tweet coming back in December 2020.
Leah adds another great personality to the second season of The Challenge spinoff. Most likely, fans will be learning even more about Leah Gillingwater on The Challenge: All Stars 2 as she competes for big prize money with 23 other OG cast members!
The Challenge: All Stars 2 premieres on Thursday, November 11, on Paramount Plus.