Kenya Moore’s recent experience in the Middle East was far from The Real Housewives of Atlanta.
In an interview this week, The Real Housewives of Atlanta star, 51, opened up about competing on the new Fox reality series Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, in which 16 celebrities go through extreme military-style training exercises in the deserts of Jordan.
“I can’t imagine anything in my life tougher than that,” Kenya said of the show, which premiers this evening, January 4.
Kenya said that while filming, the Special Forces cast – which also included Jamie Lynn Spears and Jon & Kate Plus 8 star Kate Gosselin – endured a grueling 16-hour-a-day exercise regimen and barely slept or ate.
“Basically, they starved us,” the former Miss USA told HollywoodLife.
Even “giving birth,” she added, was “probably easier” than her time on Special Forces.
Kenya Moore talks Special Forces, possible baby plans
Kenya also revealed that it was her daughter, 4-year-old Brooklyn, who inspired her to go on the show.
“I always teach my daughter to be fierce and fearless,” the reality star said, explaining that she wanted to set a positive example of living up to those ideals.
“Now she can say, ‘My mommy jumped out of a helicopter backwards into the ocean,’” Kenya added.
The Bravo star shares daughter Brooklyn with her estranged husband Marc Daly. In the past, Kenya has talked about wanting to have more children – and has said that her Special Forces experience left her feeling ready to do so.
“I had been struggling about whether or not I wanted another child,” the reality star said last month. “But as soon as I left the show, I felt strong. I was like, ‘I can do it.’”
RHOA’s Kenya Moore on ‘grueling’ Special Forces experience
It sounds like having another baby will be a piece of cake compared to what Kenya endured during her time on Special Forces.
The star revealed that while filming the show, the cast was “physically working… probably 16 hours in a day” – and all while on a diet of just 800 calories per day.
For the duration of the show, the cast members slept on cots in the desert, which Kenya said reached temperatures of 130 degrees.
The star described her Special Forces experience as “grueling,” but also said that she had enjoyed the challenge.
Coming from a pageant and reality show background where everything seems “glitz and glamour,” Kenya said, some of her fellow cast members had been “really surprised” by how tough she proved to be.
“Honey, I’m from Detroit,” Kenya said she told the doubters. “This is Detroit tough right here.”