Melinda Collins of The Challenge shared a heartfelt message with friends, fans, and castmates after opening up about her tough loss in a recent episode of All Stars 2.
That tough loss involved losing the daughter she’d been carrying due to a miscarriage earlier this year.
Melinda had the support of the All Stars 2 cast and crew and said she was thankful for them during that “dark time” as they helped her heal.
Melinda shares emotional story in All Stars 2
In All Stars 2, Episode 5, former Real World: Austin star Melinda Collins revealed to several castmates that she had a tough day coming up.
The next day of All Stars 2 filming was also the originally-scheduled due date for her C-section for the daughter she’d lost earlier in the year.
During an early part of the spinoff episode, she shared the emotional story with MJ Garrett and Jonna Mannion, saying she was glad the day would have a daily challenge to help possibly take her mind off things.
Melinda also spoke about it in a confessional interview, saying she lost her baby girl at five months.
“Arriving at the hospital and knowing that I was going to have to actually my baby girl and go home without her was the worst thing ever,” she said.
Jonna praised Melinda as “one of the strongest people I know” during the segment.
“You’re a strong woman for even being here right now,” MJ told her before he and Jonna hugged Melinda in the emotional segment.
Melinda and her husband, Matt Collins, suffered the devastating loss in late February, with the delivery happening in late March. She opened up about it in an Instagram post on March 24.
“I never thought that at 5 months I could’ve lost my baby. But it happens,” she said in her IG post. “I am still reeling from the past 48 hours and I honestly don’t know when I’ll be back to any sort of inkling of my normal self… but if you have gone through this just know I am with you… we can hurt together. Us women are strong,” Melinda wrote.
“She will always be loved and remembered fondly… never forgotten Mommy and Daddy love you,” she finished the emotional IG post with.
Viewers originally saw Melinda (Stolp) Collins as a cast member of MTV’s The Real World: Austin, alongside fellow Challenge alum Nehemiah Clark and Wes Bergmann. She appeared in four regular seasons of The Challenge, starting with Fresh Meat and finishing with Battle of the Seasons in 2012.
Her All Stars 2 return made it about a decade since she’d appeared on the reality competition series.
Melinda shares post about healing in ‘dark time’
Melinda shared a heartfelt post on her official Instagram page on Thursday coinciding with the arrival of the spinoff series’ episode featuring her story.
The post (below) includes a photo of Melinda holding a baby sea turtle she found in front of The Challenge house in Mexico while filming for the show.
“It’s hard to put into words all of the emotions I was feeling while filming this season, but a few reoccurring themes for me was: life, birth, growth, self love, confidence and happiness! We had the pleasure of finding these little nuggets all the time and also had the amazing opportunity to watch a mama sea turtle give birth and create a nest for her babies. It touched my soul,” Melinda shared in her IG post.
“I’ve been through a lot but for whatever reason, the universe had me on that beach, that night, to witness the beauty that is life!” she added.
In her post, Melinda expressed how thankful she is to have had the All Stars 2 castmates and crew around her during a “dark time.”
“Thank you to my cast mates for letting me be vulnerable and honest. Thank you for allowing me to share my story and being there for me when I had a tough day or just needed to vent. Not one person ever made me feel weak because of my loss. I’m grateful for each and every one of you who helped me heal in such a dark time. I will never forget those who were there,” she said in her IG caption.
In addition, she thanked The Challenge fans for allowing her to share her story and listening, offering support, and sending gifts to her.
“I love you all and am thankful for this platform. If I can help 1 woman going through this, then I won ❤️ Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!” she wrote.
The Challenge: All Stars 2 episodes arrive Thursdays on Paramount Plus.
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