While she admits she left her first season of The Challenge: All Stars spinoff feeling “devastated,” returning cast member Kendal Sheppard feels well-prepared for her second season.
The Challenge star is amongst the 24 OGs set to appear on the screen starting in mid-November as they compete for $500,000 in prize money.
Kendal, who had some stressful times during her first season, including tensions with castmates and multiple eliminations, recently revealed that it still helped her a lot, and the experience will come in handy for her return.
Kendal faced multiple eliminations, castmate feuds
With the recent announcement of The Challenge: All Stars 2 cast, several OGs who appeared on Season 1 were revealed as part of Season 2.
That included finalists Darrell Taylor, Derrick Kosinski, and Jonna Mannion, who are back to try to win the final. It also included Kendal Sheppard, a former Road Rules star, on the verge of reaching the final in All Stars 1.
Due to a twist that arrived about mid-season, a competitor voted into elimination had to choose a partner of the opposite sex to go against the opposing team. Nehemiah was voted in, and he chose Kendal, who had already been in two eliminations, winning each.
It was a smart choice based on her record, but unfortunately, they lost due to a gritty and clever performance by Eric “Big Easy” Banks and Jisela Delgado.
That ended Kendal’s time on the season, and just after the loss, host TJ Lavin revealed that all of the remaining competitors made the final.
In addition to that, there were some tense moments involving Kendal and castmates. It took quite a few episodes before The Godfather Mark Long was on the same page with Kendal, and Jisela wasn’t amongst Kendal’s fans during the season.
They all get along now, and Kendal admits she was aloof from her castmates at times while filming Season 1. However, now she’s better prepared for her return.
Kendal shares thoughts on her All Stars return
On Sunday, October 17, Kendal shared her official cast photo from The Challenge: All Stars 2, along with comments about her return.
She mentioned that despite the season leaving her “devastated,” she was also “fulfilled” and gained a lot of valuable experience. She also grew during the process.
“I left season 1 of All Stars fully devastated.. yet somehow fulfilled. I went to compete for the experience… and boy did I get the FULL experience!! Going into repeated eliminations is not exactly what I had in mind but it built my confidence and showed me I am far stronger than anyone gives me credit for- including myself!” Kendal shared in her Instagram post.
She mentions that the $500,000 prize would have been great, but the lessons she learned during the process are much more valuable.
“Now,.. with a little experience and a little more confidence, I am ready to play the game.. for real this time. To watch my journey and find out if I have what it takes to be the first female winner of Allstars 2,” Kendal said.
She’ll be vying with many other worthy competitors to win that prize, including some of her returning Season 1 castmates, as well as first-time All Stars cast members. They’ll include MJ Garrett, Brad Fiorenza, Cohutta Grindstaff, Leah Gillingwater, Melinda Collins, and Ayanna Mackins, among others.
The Challenge: All Stars 2 premieres Thursday, November 11, on Paramount Plus.
Episodes of The Challenge are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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