Michele Fitzgerald is quickly becoming a household name in the ever-expanding world of The Challenge.
She’s recently appeared in the CBS spinoff, The Challenge: USA 2, following an appearance in MTV’s Ride or Dies.
Michele debuted as a rookie player on The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies, where she was targeted often due to her winning Survivor and seeming like a threat to others.
Unfortunately, her background as a CBS reality TV star on Survivor has made it difficult for her to navigate the game, often aligning herself with too many people from various sides.
That was the case on USA 2, where Michele was billed as a CBS star but also had been on MTV. Six individuals from the network joined the CBS spinoff, and Michele worked with both sides.
Based on recent reveals for Season 39 on MTV, Michele will return on Challenge viewers’ screens, competing in Battle for a New Champion. However, she shared that it will be “a mess” for her, just like USA 2.
Michele shares what to expect from her in Season 39
By now, the spoilers are officially out for USA 2, as Michele was recently eliminated from the CBS spinoff show by fellow Survivor star Cassidy Clark.
Michele was thrown into her second elimination of the season due to several of her allies realizing she’d told them one thing and done another in the prior episode’s voting. With Survivor’s Michaela Bradshaw and Chris Underwood winning the daily challenge, they agreed to put Michele as their women’s elimination pick for The Arena.
During elimination interviews, Michele admitted she knew her big mistake wasn’t how she voted in that previous episode. It was her not telling her Survivor allies what she was doing. That led to her downfall in the game and cost her a chance to run her first Challenge final.
In speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Michele shared what to expect from her when she returns for Season 39. Based on her comments, not much has changed with her gameplay due to the cast and a short turnaround between the filming of these seasons.
“You could see from the cast, I’m going to be in a similar situation. I have a lot of friends from Spies, Lies & Allies, I have friends from Ride or Dies, so it’s going to be an interesting one to see how it plays out. I get myself into love and fights — just be prepared,” Michele said.
“I had about two weeks between this one and that one, so I was already coming in a bit emotionally damaged. Expect a little bit more of the same. It’s a mess, but it’s fun,” she shared.
In another interview Michele did for Rob Has a Podcast, she revealed she has “merch in the works for 39” due to “a few things that gained traction” during the season. However, Michele didn’t elaborate on that.
Michele is already involved in online drama with Season 39 castmate
It’s unknown who Michele will have drama with or fight in Season 39, but based on recent online interactions, her castmate Tula “Big T” Fazakerley isn’t happy with her.
As Monsters and Critics reported, Big T called out Michele for her “fakeness” and lies about a particular moment in Battle For a New Champion.
That moment is the introductory toast, typically given by a veteran cast member to the rest of the cast. In the case of Season 39, Big T has the most Challenge seasons on her resume with five and appears to be the toastmaster.
However, rumors suggested some cast members weren’t happy about that. Michele indicated everyone was okay with Big T’s toast, and she’s a “vibe,” but that prompted her castmate to call her out for the fakeness.
It’s still unclear if Michele and Big T will have other altercations during the season. However, Johnny Bananas and other show winners would likely argue that you can’t become a first-time champion without making a few heated rivals and fierce enemies along the way.
The Challenge Season 39 premieres Wednesday, October 25 at 8/7c on MTV. The Challenge: USA 2 airs Thursdays at 10/9c on CBS.