Just days ago, The Challenge champion Cara Maria Sorbello appeared to have announced her retirement from the reality TV show with several social media posts she shared.
That sent fans into a frenzy, some of whom thought Cara, 35, might return to try to claim a third Challenge win if she received a call to come back and compete.
However, Cara recently cleared up the rumors and speculation that came with her posts, saying that she isn’t giving a farewell to the show she’s won twice just yet.
Cara Maria comments about retirement rumors
On Wednesday, two-time Challenge champ Cara Maria Sorbello sparked rumors after sharing images and comments on her Instagram Story mentioning “retirement” and passing the crown to castmate Kam Williams.
Thursday brought an exclusive report in which Cara better explained what her posts were about. In one post, Cara shared a diary entry from 2009, before she officially started on the Fresh Meat season of The Challenge. She talked about being thankful for everything the show allowed her to do.
On her passing the crown post, Cara wrote, “I didn’t get an official retirement goodbye or a chance to pass the crown.” Those particular words spurred super fan accounts on social media (including one below) to kickstart speculation and rumor reports that she was done with her appearances on the reality TV series.
“In short: I am not retiring,” Cara exclusively told E! News. “The post was sparked from visiting home and reading old diaries from the beginning of my Challenge journey. I was reminiscing and my heart was heavy over the loss of my Garnett. She was a huge part of keeping my spirit alive during my Challenge career on and off the field.”
As far as passing the crown, Cara also cleared up what she meant there, still praising who she believes is the current face of The Challenge.
“The post about passing the crown to Kam was simply me stating who I root for when I am not there (and even when I am there!). Right now, I am focusing on my photography and events company.”
Cara is a nine-time Challenge finalist in her 14 regular seasons, with two wins. That’s earned her over $600,000 in prize money. She’s also won the Champs vs. Pros spinoff, which raised $65,000 for charity.
Several of Cara’s former castmates have seemed to announce retirement, including Leroy Garrett and Theresa Gonzalez, although The Challenge: All Stars spinoff on Paramount Plus gives fans hope to see them again.
Cara last appeared on The Challenge Season 34
The last time fans saw Cara was the War of the Worlds 2 season, as she and boyfriend Paulie Calafiore orchestrated a powerful alliance for the American team.
Their alliance helped them get into the final alongside other castmates, including Ashley Mitchell, Zach Nichols, and Leroy Garrett. However, the UK team consisting of Jordan Wiseley, CT Tamburello, Rogan O’Connor, and Dee Nguyen won the final.
Part of the Americans’ loss in the final was attributed to Paulie struggling with endurance and even falling on the ground on his back. Cara Maria was shown in footage helping him along.
He’s now training for a possible spot with the bobsledding team at the Winter Olympics, set for 2022 in Beijing. Paulie has maintained that he’ll be back on the show and win multiple Challenge finals in social media posts.
He’s also opened up about castmates in an interview, saying some of them are like “snitches” as they try to tell production about things that he and Cara do or even don’t do, so they won’t get calls to return to The Challenge.
When asked by fans during Q&A sessions or podcast interviews, Cara Maria has seemed baffled by her lack of an appearance on The Challenge. She’s even asked fans on her IG Story which other reality TV she should do but indicated why she couldn’t do Big Brother or Survivor.
That said, it now appears there is still hope for Challenge fans to see the two-time champ back on some form of the show, whether it be MTV’s regular series or the new All Stars spinoff series on Paramount Plus.
The Challenge: Spies, Lies & Allies premieres Wednesday, August 11 at 8/7c on MTV.
Episodes of The Challenge are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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