Amanda Garcia has seemingly turned over a new leaf upon her arrival for The Challenge: Battle of the Eras.
Her returns come after a brief hiatus of a few MTV seasons, as she last appeared on Spies, Lies & Allies and got eliminated by rival Tori Deal.
In a Season 40 Launch Special, Amanda is among the featured cast members presented as part of the Era 3 team. However, that team also features Tori.
From the start, Amanda reiterates that she’ll never be able to like or be friends with Tori on or away from the show.
However, a few interesting segments and storylines featured The Challenge’s “devil” Amanda.
That included confessing her admiration for two of her OG castmates, Tina Barta and Rachel Robinson. She considered them the original mean girls on The Challenge who paved the way for her.
She also seemed to patch things up with another castmate she may have previously despised during their time on The Challenge.
Amanda delivers apology to Season 40 castmate
MTV released their Battle of the Eras Launch Special on Wednesday evening to get viewers reacquainted with all of The Challenge stars of the past and present participating in the 40-person cast.
They also uploaded the full video on YouTube for viewers who may have missed the special. It also features The Challenge host TJ Lavin, and MTV’s Official Challenge Podcast hosts Da’Vonne Rogers and Devyn Simone, who discuss the upcoming season.
As mentioned, Amanda pops up several times during the special, and in one scene, she converses with a longtime foe, Cara Maria Sorbello. Interestingly, Amanda sincerely apologized to Cara for previous hurtful comments on the show.
She mentioned a conversation with Cara’s boyfriend, Paulie Calafiore, on the bus to The Challenge house and how he talked about his deep love for Cara and wanting to have children with her.
“No matter what we’ve had in the past, I give you respect for that,” Amanda told Cara in the Launch Special scene.
“What in the Black Mirror episode of The Challenge is this?” Cara asked in a confessional interview, adding, “Amanda, the little demon herself, reveals herself to me.”
“I was a b***h. I feel like now, seeing you all these years later, things feel different, and I’m sorry for saying, ‘I wish your horse died,’ OK? Because I know he eventually did die, and I’m sorry for that,” Amanda said to Cara in the Launch Special.
A flashback showed Amanda’s hurtful comments about Cara’s horse dying arrived during Season 32, aka Final Reckoning. That was also the season Paulie and Cara met one another.
At the time, Amanda partnered with Zach Nichols, whom she still seems to detest, while Cara teamed up with her rival, Marie Roda.
Amanda and Cara were castmates again for War of the Worlds but had fewer issues between them as Amanda was an early elimination.
According to a Reddit post, Cara’s horse, Garnett, died four years ago.
Despite Amanda and Paulie being castmates within the past year for USA 2, Season 40 will mark the first time Cara and Amanda appear on The Challenge together in six years.
Amanda revealed another possible motive for her apology to Cara
In a Launch Special confessional interview, Amanda explained that she now has a “softer side, ” prompting her to apologize to Cara several years later in person. She also told Cara she got to know Paulie during The Challenge: USA 2 and realized his love for Cara is unmatched.
“Amanda!” Cara said, seeming surprised by how nice she was to her years later.
“At the end of the day, Cara is a strong competitor, and she also doesn’t like Tori,” Amanda said in her confessional, adding, “So Cara buried her horse, and I think it’s time we buried the hatchet.”
On Battle of the Eras, they’ll be on opposing teams, as Cara is part of Era 2 along with castmates, including Johnny Bananas, Brandon Nelson, KellyAnne Judd, and Laurel Stucky.
Amanda has Tori on her Era 3 team, along with Tony Raines, Devin Walker, Nia Moore, Averey Tressler, Jordan Wiseley, and others. It’s yet to play out if Cara and Amanda team up to make moves in Season 40, but at the very least, they seem to have patched things up.
The Challenge: Battle of the Eras premieres Wednesday, August 14, at 8/7c on MTV.
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