It’s been several seasons since viewers have seen Cara Maria Sorbello and Paulie Calafiore on The Challenge, with all sorts of speculation about why they haven’t returned.
Some of that speculation involves other castmates finding ways to prevent the couple from appearing on the show, although there has been no confirmation of this.
One cast member who was thought to have issues with the couple is seven-time champion Johnny Bananas, who currently appears on MTV’s Ride or Dies season.
Since Paulie and Cara’s hiatus, they have commented about former castmates, including Bananas. A recent social media message by Paulie called out Bananas and his Ride or Dies showmance, for which Paulie later apologized.
However, a charity event took place last week which included Paulie, Cara, Bananas, and Bananas’ Ride or Dies castmate Moriah Jadea, among other reality TV stars.
That prompted a fan to bring up that Paulie and Bananas seemed good around one another, so they could also appear on The Challenge together, but Cara responded to let them know that wasn’t the case.
Cara calls out The Challenge castmate after charity event
On Instagram, The Challenge superfan account @thechallengeshaderoom recently posted an exchange involving Cara Maria and several fans talking about the recent Hearts of Reality charity event.
That event included Cara and her boyfriend Paulie, as well as Mark Long, Ayanan Mackins, Bananas, and other reality TV stars.
A fan said if Paulie and Bananas were alright being around one another for this event, “it should be ok for him to come back to the challenge,” referring to Paulie. However, Cara cleared that up.
“He’s not. He threw a tantrum with the heads of the charity to get us removed from the event. He prioritized his ego over helping sick children,” Cara commented about Bananas.
“That man really did the most to try to get us taken off the charity event that we had been signed on to and raised money for months. Priorities = ego>helping sick kids,” Cara replied to another commenter.
It’s currently unknown where Cara’s exchange (below) with the fans was screenshotted from, as the Instagram post (above) doesn’t indicate any source.
Paulie and Cara last appeared in WOTW 2 season
MTV is currently up to its 38th season with The Challenge: Ride or Dies, featuring Bananas teaming up with his longtime castmate Nany Gonzalez. Many fans felt Cara and Paulie might have made an excellent team for the show’s theme, but they were not part of the final cast.
They last appeared in the War of the Worlds 2 season, where they were part of Team USA for the season’s format, which had them teamed up with other American stars from The Challenge to take on Team UK. Among Cara and Paulie’s teammates were Laurel Stucky, Jordan Wiseley, Tori Deal, and Bananas.
Cara and Paulie became part of a mastermind alliance during the season and systematically worked to eliminate certain players. That season included an infamous handshake between Paulie and Bananas, where Paulie promised Bananas he wouldn’t say his name to put him into elimination.
However, once it came time for Paulie, Cara, and Jordan to announce which player they wanted to send in, Paulie and Cara opted for Bananas, shocking teammates. Bananas ended up losing the elimination to Team UK’s Theo Campbell.
Due to their alliance and plan, Paulie and Cara would end up evading eliminations for the season, eventually reaching the final. However, they failed to win the final, losing to Team UK featuring Americans Chris “CT” Tamburello and Jordan, along with Dee Nguyen and Rogan O’Connor.
The reason for their absence since War of the Worlds 2 is currently unknown, although speculation continues about why they haven’t returned.
Paulie popped up in MTV’s The Challenge Untold History documentary series as one of the cast members speaking about the show. He was featured in several segments, including one talking about his girlfriend, Cara, as one of the GOATs of the show. Cara did not appear at all in the cast member interviewers, though.
The Challenge: Ride or Dies airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.