Michele Fitzgerald has become a regular on The Challenge, appearing in several back-to-back seasons and the USA spin-off.
During her most recent appearance, MTV’s Battle of the Eras, Michele became involved in a drama involving Johnny Bananas, whom she said she initially considered a friend until he warned her about her showmance.
Following a recent episode in which Michele confronted Bananas, the former Survivor winner announced to fans that she had “quit reality TV,” prompting many to wonder if she was serious.
Earlier this week, Michele shared an Instagram Story slide showing food she may have eaten at home or a restaurant.
On a text overlay, she wrote, “I have quit reality tv to follow my passion as a food photographer. “
“you’re welcome @mtvchallengeinsider eat your heart out,” she wrote in another overlay, tagging a known spoiler and tea account for The Challenge.
Michele confronted Bananas over Season 40 drama
During Battle of the Eras, Michele and Devin Walker’s showmance evolved and seemed to get pretty serious. However, Bananas warned Michele to “be careful” as he didn’t want to see her hurt if Devin only manipulated her as part of his game strategy.
Devin was eliminated by Kyland Young in the last double-elimination for teams before the game turned solo. Devin’s friend and ally Tori Deal targeted Bananas for him, ultimately putting Bananas into elimination.
However, Bananas was victorious and selected Michele, with her close friends and allies, Olivia Kaiser and Nia Moore, as his three women’s targets to potentially go into elimination.
During Episode 11, viewers watched Michele get emotional as she confronted Bananas about how his comments about her showmance with Devin hurt her.
Bananas accused Michele of causing things to blow up by telling Devin about how he warned her about him.
The episode included a confessional where Michele said she once considered Bananas a friend, as photos showed them hanging out away from The Challenge. However, she confessed that their relationship might no longer be worth her effort.
Michele won her elimination at the end of the episode, sending her friend Nia home for the season. She then threw a target back onto Bananas, making him one of her three choices for the men to face potential elimination.
Fans speculate about Michele’s retirement
Reactions to @challengeteaa’s post about Michele saying she was retiring from reality TV included some fans who didn’t believe it and others who said they hoped it was true.
“I think she’s trolling, it looks like she loves a good vacation with her friends and a possibility to win money a.k.a the challenge,” one commenter wrote.
“Good riddance! Now if she take Josh [Martinez] with her we’d be golden…,” another individual commented.
Another commenter posted, “Send her back to the survivor franchise please.”
Others commented, “It was clearly a joke,” and “We can only hope it’s true. “
Based on the original Instagram post above, spoiler and tea account @GamerVev on X indicated that Michele told her she wasn’t joking about her retirement from reality TV.
Fans don’t seem convinced until she makes a more official announcement about retiring, as Michele seems to love the competition and continued reality TV time.
The Challenge: Battle of the Eras airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on MTV.
Episodes of The Challenge are now streaming on Paramount+. Try it FREE!
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