Reality TV
Ashley Mitchell Reveals Why She’s No Longer on ‘The Challenge’ After Breaking ‘Rules’
Ashley Mitchell has revealed why she was unexpectedly eliminated from The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies after host TJ Lavin revealed that the fan-favorite had been disqualified for breaking “one of [their] rules.”
“Rules are rules and I respect [MTV] and TJs call,” Ashley, 34, tweeted after the episode aired on Wednesday, November 10. “The best apology is changed behavior. See you next time [The Challenge.]”
“As you’ve seen, Ashley is no longer at headquarters. Ashley has broken one of our rules,” TJ, 44, said during the episode, shocking fans. “Because of that, Ashley is no longer able to stay in the game. She has been deactivated. She is no longer able to continue in this game for the rest of the season.”
Ashley has long been a staple on the competition show, having competed in nine seasons and winning twice during the 2017 season, Invasion of the Champions, and the 2018 season, Final Reckoning.
While it is unknown what “rule” Ashley broke, she revealed that she has enrolled in anger management classes in a follow-up tweet.
“I just want to thank everyone whose stuck with me through out this all. Everyone knows I’m only mad at myself and it has been so hard to shake off the depression and anxiety since getting home,” she tweeted just over two hours after her initial tweet. “I have been taking anger management and reflecting alot. I love you yall so much.”
The reality TV star, who first joined the show in 2016, also took to her Instagram Stories to address the incident, albeit vaguely.
“Thank you all and [The Challenge] for the rough season,” she wrote, adding a laughing emoji. “I’ve definitely grown and learned [a lot] though.”
This isn’t the first time a contestant has been unceremoniously booted from this season, however. During an episode filmed in August, contestant Josh Martinez found he had no partner as Lauren Coogan exited the game. She was ultimately replaced by Amber Borzotra. MTV also did not provide an explanation for her exit.
“All jokes aside, I got gaslit and scapegoated on two major networks within the same month. My anxiety skyrocketed, my mental health was literally in shambles and this led me to an identity crisis of sorts,” the Love Island alum tweeted on Thursday, August 12. “Reality TV is supposed to be a source of entertainment and fun. To break the monotony of real life for the audience. We didn’t sign up to be role models or politicians. We are just people figuring it out (in front of millions) both brave and crazy enough to put our lives out there for the pure amusement of whoever chooses to watch.”
How big are reality star salaries? Jason Tartick breaks it down with Us Weekly editors.
“With that being said, we are still sharing parts of our real lives. Your comedy can be our tragedy and [vice versa],” she added. “So just a reminder, don’t believe everything you hear/ watch… And treat people with kindness.”
The model responded to a fan who asked why she was edited from the show during an Instagram Stories’ Q&A in August, stating, “I don’t really want to answer because it was so traumatic and led me into a lot of therapy, and counseling and the worst time of my life.”
“I think that the people who’ve been on the show for a long time know that certain things aren’t gonna get shown which protects them and they know that they can say and do certain things or act in a certain ways and it’s not gonna get shown,” she added. “There’s a lot of secrets and a lot of s—t that is going on.”
