‘The Challenge’: Amber Borzotra on How the Show Has Helped Her With Mental Health
[SPOILER ALERT: This article contains spoilers from the Mar. 31 episode.]
While MTV reality competition series The Challenge usually serves as a pressure cooker for most players, rookie Amber Borzotra credited the show with making her mentally stronger.
Amber Borzotra debuted on ‘The Challenge 36’
Six years after a short-lived stint on Big Brother 16, 33-year-old California native Amber Borzotra returned to reality television for The Challenge: Double Agents.
Partnered with four-time champ Darrell Taylor and protected by the dominating Big Brother alliance, she flew under the radar for several weeks.
The two pulled out a win, and she gave BB20 winner and returning finalist Kaycee Clark a nod to compete against her choice in veteran Theresa Jones for the gold skull.
Amber ended up getting caught between playing with the rookies and staying loyal to the BB alliance, which resulted in her getting blindsided into the subsequent elimination. Ready to compete for her ticket to the finals, Are You the One? star Amber Martinez asked the house to vote her in.
She won two Hall Brawls during her rookie season
UK rookie Gabby Allen began realizing Amber B wasn’t completely working with them. Therefore, she skipped the opportunity to throw herself into elimination to send in the BB star to compete against Amber M.
The California native dominated the AYTO star, winning her gold skull. Shortly later, her partner earned his ticket to the finals, and they seemed set. However, he ended up having to face a much faster and younger Cory Wharton in a foot-race-based elimination, making Amber rogue and emotional as she enjoyed her teammate.
Following Aneesa Ferreira’s exit, she partnered with Kyle Christie, one of the only players remaining who weren’t in her alliance. Additionally, her allies knew each other longer and were closer to each other than her.
Therefore, she ended up in another Hall Brawl, this time against Big T Fazakerley. Amber overpowered her opponent again and pulled out the win.
Amber became emotional while talking about how the show helped with her mental health
When she first realized she might become the house vote, Amber got upset and couldn’t help but take the situation personally. During the Mar. 31 aftershow, she admitted she knew the others would start coming for her because she’s the only rookie remaining.
The California native noted she felt “alone” and came to terms with her mental health matters while in the house. According to the 33-year-old, she experienced a death only weeks before the competition and admitted she no longer knew or “recognized” herself.
During her time in the house, the BB star explained she went through a depression and had a hard time sleeping and finding the motivation to shower. However, she opened up to other competitors, including Darrell and therapists on set that helped her.
Amber also said she “needed” the show and admitted her participation in the show seemingly “saved” her, even though it’s mentally “draining.” In MTV’s Official Challenge Podcast, the 33-year-old noted she’s “the strongest I’ve ever been mentally” due to her experience on the series. The Challenge 36 airs Wednesdays at 8/7 Central on MTV.
