‘The Challenge’: Michele Admits ‘There Wasn’t a Lot of Self-Growth’ Between ‘USA’ & ‘Battle for a New Champion’

Michele Fitzgerald lucked out, for the most part, in playing both the Survivor and vets side in The Challenge: USA Season 2… until she didn’t.

After doing what was best for her game with the previous vote and not putting Tori Deal‘s name in the hopper (but rather Chris Underwood‘s) and lying to Desi Williams and Chanelle Howell, Michele was one of the players nominated for elimination this week. (Chris and Desi won the daily.) Cassidy Clark, with seven votes, was the one whose name came out of the hopper, and she beat Michele in Hot Wheel: They had to use a steering wheel to light their color targets.

Here, Michele talks about her time on The Challenge: USA, why you shouldn’t expect to see much different about her when she competes in Battle for a New Champion (premiering October 25 on MTV), and more.

Do you regret doing what was best for you and not voting for Tori, considering where it ended?

Michele Fitzgerald: No, I don’t regret not voting for Tori. I regret not telling Chanelle and Desi that I was voting for Chris. I wouldn’t have changed it. He’s the only person who said my name in the game. I felt Tori never betrayed me. Chris actually did. So I don’t regret the vote. I regret the way I went about it.

You were in the middle of Survivor and the vets. Looking back on that, how do you feel about how you played that this season? Do you think you should have picked a side or, considering how far you made it, was it your best strategy?

Everybody knew that I was playing both sides. It was no secret. I was pretty transparent about it. And for a very long time, it was sort of in everybody’s best interest. I was able to keep a lot of the vets’ names out of the mouth of Survivors and the Survivors’ names out of the mouth of the vets. So I think everybody was okay with it until they weren’t. People started, as we were nearing the end, [telling me], “You gotta pick a side.” Specifically, the vets were like, “You gotta pick a side, show us that you’re loyal to us. Show us, show us.” I was like, I don’t need to do that yet. I don’t need to choose a side yet. And then when I did, obviously, it all crumbled. But that’s the problem with playing the middle. Sometimes the people in the middle get run over.

It started with vets versus rookies, then switched to Survivor versus Big Brother. That benefited you, right?

Yes. The game moved in a very convenient way for me, I’ll say, because obviously, I went into the first elimination and in the beginning, I very much wanted to dwindle the vets’ numbers, but keep the vets that I was working with. All of the people who voted for me — Jonna [Mannion], Amanda [Garcia], Luis [Colon] — obviously weren’t working with me, so my priority was target them in the beginning; every single person who said my name had to go. And once that was [done], I was like, OK, well, now all the vets that aren’t working with me are out, time to pivot. And when the vet threat was lowered enough, then it was like, OK, now let’s target the Big Brother people. We take the heat off the vets and that protects [the ones] that I’m working with. And so yeah, the game shifted in a very convenient way for my needs. I don’t know if that was me and Josh [Martinez] maybe shifting it, or if it just so happened that it worked in our favor just by luck.

Jonne Roriz, courtesy of Paramount

You had a nice moment with the vets after your elimination.

I was really down and out this episode, obviously. I knew it was going to be a girls day, and I just knew I was going in from the time that Chris and Desi had won. So it was an emotional day for me. I was very unwell. Luckily, they all boosted my spirits, and it was a humanizing moment that they came up to me and had my back in that because I felt very alone.

Talk about that elimination. Is there anything you could have done differently to be Cassidy? Because it looked like once someone had the strategy down, that was it.

Yeah, I probably could have gotten in the gym a bit before this season, probably should have practiced my jumps, probably should have lifted some weights. I definitely spent more time in the bar than in the gym, so that’s probably where I went wrong this season. But also emotionally, I just was checked out of the game. I was exhausted. I was on Team Red Flags, which means we only won one. I’ve only been safe one time this entire season. Otherwise, Blue Team had a lot of opportunities to sit back and rest, and I didn’t. I was exhausted at this point, and by the time that it all fell apart, I was just like, I don’t even know how to regroup. So I feel like emotionally, I was kind of checked out in that elimination, sadly.

Is there anything that didn’t air that you think fans know about?

There was a fight that went down between Josh and Fessy [Shafaat] that didn’t air, and I just cannot believe it didn’t because it was kind of hilarious. But it was just a drunken fight, so I guess there was really no purpose. It didn’t really have anything to do with the game, and they’re still besties, but it was just a funny fight. I thought it would air. But yeah, honestly, it was a fun season. I think the cast was incredible. There was a lot of big personalities, a lot of gamers, and I thought it was a great season, so I loved being part of it. There’s always going to be drama and stuff that isn’t shown, but maybe it’s best left on the cutting room floor.

Anything else to share about that fight?

Chairs were thrown, tables were flipped. It was a lot, but it’s fun.

Jonne Roriz, courtesy of Paramount

How did your time on USA prepare you for Battle for a New Champion? Because we are going to see you on The Challenge again very soon.

I would say there was not a lot of self-growth between the two seasons. I literally packed my bags, went home, had two weeks, went to a Taylor Swift concert, and went right back. I think I washed my clothes and just repacked them. I lived in the same exact house. I made it to almost the end of this season [of USA], then had to just start right over with a whole new cast right at the beginning — it was Groundhog Day — so I didn’t have a whole hell of a lot of time to reflect or prepare. So I’m going into Season 39 playing like I just left this season [of USA]. So I think we can expect more meltdowns, more Micheltdowns, more drama. It’s going to be a good season. It’s exciting.

Would you do another season of The Challenge: USA?

Yeah, I actually prefer, I think, The Challenge: USA in a lot of ways. I love the way that CBS people play. It’s more my roots. I think that they’re just a little bit more game. They play more game than drama. And I love my CBS people, I love my Survivors. That’s my heart and my origin. So I like the CBS version probably better than MTV, honestly.

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When you look back at this season of USA, how do you feel about how you did compared to past seasons of The Challenge?

Well, I’m always a mess on every season — I think that’s the one thing that’s consistent — but I was very proud of my game this season, and I think it’s a little bit of a shame for me that the takeaway is that I had this Micheltdown and that’s the lasting impression that I’m leaving everybody with. But I was really proud that I went into the first elimination, everybody who voted for me went home in succession, and even though I was vulnerable every single week, I didn’t have a ball in the hopper until now. So I’m really proud of the way I played. I felt like I kept everybody who I was working with also safe. I was really proud of my game overall, honestly.

What would you do differently for another season of The Challenge in the future, whether it’s preparation or in-season? Would it be the self-growth and more time in the gym you talked about earlier?

Yeah, I should probably work out. I think that’s the overarching issue for me.

Those physical eliminations look so tough.

They’re so exhausting. The thing is I don’t really like the gym and I don’t really like anything physical at all, ever. So I never really prepare properly because I just don’t enjoy the process. But then going in unprepared is just such a bitch. I’m so tired in these eliminations and the challenges. I really would do myself a service to probably hit the gym a little bit and be a little bit more prepared. So that’s probably a big takeaway for me. [Laughs]

The Challenge: USA, Thursdays, 10/9c, CBS