Why did Natalie leave The Challenge? Explained

Survivor winner Natalie Anderson raised viewers' expectations when she participated in the 36th season of The Challenge, Double Agents, in 2020. During her stint on the show, she had already won a gold skull, meaning she secured a spot in the finale. However, what came as a shocker for fans was her sudden departure from the competition.

Natalie was initially paired with co-star Wes Bergmann but was voted into elimination in episode 1. She defeated her opponent, Ashley Mitchell, and made her way back into the task-based reality TV show. It was host TJ Lavin who officially announced that The Challenge: Double Agents is losing one of its strongest competitors as Natalie decided to quit the show.

The confirmation left her fellow contestants and fans surprised. The reality star stated “a personal matter” as her reason for exit, but it was later revealed she was pregnant.

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Natalie Anderson’s unexpected exit from The Challenge: Double Agents

Natalie was asked to take a pregnancy test after she told her sister about missing her period on FaceTime. Although she wasn’t trying to conceive at the time, the production team insisted she take the test as a precautionary measure. She told People it wasn’t out of the ordinary to miss her period:

“On all my reality TV shows I'm always really irregular, especially on Survivor, because I'm starving. I never got my period the entire time I was out there. So I just chalked up the differences in my body to the stress of the situation."

When she took the test, Natalie did not expect it to be positive. However, upon learning the result, she suggested:

“I literally said, 'I think I can do this pregnant. Let me stay and compete.’”

The production team of The Challenge thought she was crazy, but Natalie believed:

“I know my body and I would've put myself in that. If I could have signed some waiver and competed pregnant, trust me, I would have done it. But there was really no way from a liability perspective they would ever allow me to compete pregnant. I knew that as soon as I found out.”

After accepting her fate and exiting the show, Natalie looked forward to embracing motherhood. However, in an unexpected turn of events, the reality star suffered a miscarriage and lost her baby.

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Natalie Anderson loses Survivor: Winners At War

Before appearing on The Challenge: Double Agents, Natalie competed on Survivor 40: Winners at War, where reached the finale but faced defeat at the hands of Tony Vlachos. She lost the grand prize of $2 million before losing her baby. When reflecting on braving the curve balls life threw at her, she noted:

"Losing $2 million seemed like the hardest thing I would ever have to do until this (miscarriage) happened to me. And this was even harder because of the $2 million, I had to take responsibility for it playing out the way it did. I never thought I would lose something that would be as hard as losing $2 million. But this was even harder.”

Previously, Natalie Anderson has been crowned the sole survivor on the 29th season of the reality TV show San Juan del Sur- Blood vs. Water.

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The Challenge has returned with its 39th season, Battle for a New Champion. The new episodes of the smash-hit show air on MTV every Wednesday at 8 pm ET.