MAFS' Adrienne Naylor breaks silence on cracking America on TV show The Challenge after painful injury

The Sun

3 days ago

MAFS star Adrienne Naylor has broken her silence on taking part on The Challenge US after she sustained an injury early on but bravely carried on.
The reality star made history as the first MAFS contestant to appear on an American TV show.
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Adrienne, who starred on the E4 dating show in 2023, was treated by paramedics in the back of an ambulance in a preview clip on last night's episode.
Speaking exclusively to The Sun, Adrienne said: "That was one thing I didn't anticipate was being injured and going into an ambulance, there's a preview of it in the first episode.
"And you'll get to see what fully happens and what comes out, and then what it also leads to as well. So there's a lot to it.
"In a foreign country going into an ambulance, not knowing where your fate then lies for the rest of the show, because, you know, I did not pack four suitcases, travel 24 hours to be sent home."
The show sees competitors face grueling physical and mental challenges to win $500,000 in prize money in MTV's longest-running series.
Adrienne, who regularly shows off gym videos following her fitness journey, said she nearly had to quit the process even before it had started, but was determined more than ever to not pull out.
She said: "To be honest, I was so close at one point to saying that I couldn't go on the show because I wasn't prepared enough in my eyes.
"I am very critical of myself. I've been on a huge weight loss journey, and the gym's always been there.
"But towards the back end of last year I found myself a little bit lost, and I didn't know what direction I was going in, and I just launched a business. So I was trying to manage that.
"Then I also had some really bad complications with contraception with the coil.
Married At First Sight star Adrienne shows off her 'real body' in tiny bikini on holiday in Antigua
"So I was on antibiotics for like two weeks before actually going, and I was like, I don't know if I can actually go.
"I couldn't feel my legs. Yeah, it was really, really bad.
"And I was like, I don't know if I can go.
"But then I was like it's too much of a good experience, no matter how far I get to give this up.
"And so I was like, I'm just going to go, even though I'm not as prepared as I was."
BEATING MY FEARS
The reality favourite admitted she overcame her biggest fears during the show - including being able to deal with the unexpected.
"Every time we walked onto set we never, ever knew what it was going to be ever," Adrienne shared.
"Many times in the Challenge House, where I think you have your doubts as to why you're there, and what's my purpose. Why am I here? Is this really worth it?
"Because it is honestly one of the most demanding and hardest things, the stress on your body that it has."
And just when you thought that process was hard enough, Adrienne teased that the series is packed full of drama, tears, rows and secrecy.
"I'm not a crier, really but my god, I probably shed enough tears to fill a dam, and it was intense. It's a real emotion," she said.
"There's a lot of arguments. There's a lot of big personalities all under one roof, and it can be challenging."
But the stunning star from Cumbria admitted that she's a "social butterfly" and used that to her advantage when making alliances.
She continued: "It did become stressful because sometimes the UK and America have a different sense of humor, especially with me, I've got such a Northern accent that sometimes they couldn't understand what I was saying.
"But overall, for me I can adapt to a lot of situations, and I can adapt to people.
"But there probably are a few people in there that I probably don't really care if I ever hear your voice again.
"But then there's also a lot of love. There's a lot of people that I've made friends with from the show."
NO MEAN FEAT
Adrienne opened up about the physical and mental toll the gruelling yet rewarding show took on her.
The fitness enthusiast said she prepared for the show with boxing training and building mental resilience after MAFS, following cruel trolling online.
She said: "Even though I wasn't where I wanted to be physically, I felt like I still deserved to be there.
"I'm so proud of myself for what I did accomplish on the show, and I think I've made a really good impact, and I would love to be reinvited back, and this time to be fitter and stronger.
"Since I've been home I've literally been working my bum off in the gym. I've been running. I've been back boxing and just preparing myself when that call comes around because we're manifesting it."
She also teased that some contestants will put their foot in it, while she had her own clever game plan when it came to the competition.
"I wanted to kind of sit back, see how everything unraveled and play my cards from there, and I didn't want to overspill, " Adrienne said.
"There's a lot of people that put their foot in things from having too much alcohol on the plate, and I was not going to be one of them.
"There's so much going on you can never really be bored, because it's kind of like bam, bam, bam, bam, like every single episode, it's jam packed full of action, drama, tears, laughter, romance... there's lots of romance... every single thing is covered in one episode."
ADRIENNE'S RETURN?
Despite the gruelling process, Adrienne said she is gearing up to return to the show and will be in the best shape of her life when she does.
She added: "I think if I get the phone call to go back, I'll be answering it in two seconds and say, 'when's my flight?'
"And I've been back on my fitness journey properly, being really locked in. I've been running more, I've lived the experience, and I know what I need to do to make myself that bit better.
"I feel very lucky and very grateful that things are finally aligned to how I want them to be. I think that I would be going in there as a fresh Adrienne.
"Life's a bit more settled now, I will be able to fully focus and fully lock in and now that I've played it already and now I know how to play the game. And I would have a different mentality going in."
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