‘The Challenge’: Where Is Three-Time Champ Evelyn Smith Now?
Three-time champ Evelyn Smith is widely considered one of the top female competitors in the history of The Challenge. However, she left the MTV franchise after her 2011 win. Where is Evelyn now?
Evelyn Smith graduated from college after competing in ‘The Challenge’
Shortly after graduating high school, New York native Evelyn “Ev” Smith, 36, joined the cast of the reality TV competition series The Challenge in its 12th season, Fresh Meat (2006), instead of attending the University of Arizona on a softball scholarship.
She went on to log an impressive seven-season career that spanned five years, appearing in four finals and winning three.
Following her exit from the franchise in 2011, Evelyn received a history degree from the University of San Diego.
During her time in college, she was elected to honor societies Phi Beta Kappa and Phi Alpha Theta and graduated summa cum laude in 2013. After graduation, Evelyn went to Cambodia for human rights work before joining Democratic campaigns.
Where is Evelyn from ‘The Challenge’ today?
According to Above the Law, she has worked on Pete Buttigieg and Kirsten Gillibrand’s 2020 presidential bids, earned a degree from Harvard Law, and the Special Assistant to the Office of the Administrator at the independent government agency United States Agency for International Development or USAID.
In an interview with the Watch With Us podcast, executive producer and veteran Mark Long explained Evelyn couldn’t participate in the first season of spinoff All Stars, which primarily consists of OGs, due to her involvement with the election.
However, depending on the timing, he claimed she expressed interest in competing in the Paramount+ hosted show.
Based on her Twitter biography, Evelyn relocated to Chicago, Illinois, and doesn’t appear to be in a relationship. In February 2022, she announced her new position as Deputy Organized Director for the Michigan Coordinated Campaign, where she’ll “fight for” Governor Gretchen Whitmer. Although she’s active on Twitter, the Challenge standout hasn’t posted on her Instagram account since 2013.
How many times has Evelyn won ‘The Challenge?’
Despite a lackluster rookie debut, as she got eliminated by the second episode, Evelyn immediately returned for The Inferno 3 as part of Team Badass, where she proved herself. After avoiding elimination for the entire season, she competed in the finals and won with her team, walking away with $40,000.
She returned for The Gauntlet 3 with the Veterans who dominated the competition, winning nearly all the daily challenges. Additionally, Evelyn earned her first elimination victory, sending home Casey Cooper. She went on to compete in the finals alongside her team and probably would have won, but Eric “Big Easy” Banks got medically disqualified due to dehydration.
Without taking any time off, Evelyn returned for The Island, where she won two solo daily challenges and two eliminations on her way to the finals, where she came out on top, winning $75,000. Following a quick exit from The Ruins, she returned for Fresh Meat 2 as a replacement and was immediately paired up with Luke Wolfe as her teammate. They won two eliminations, but their luck ran out by episode 9, sending them home before the finals.
Evelyn finally returned for Rivals alongside Paula Meronek, where she had one of her best performances, winning an elimination and four daily challenges on their way to her third victory. As she made her debut at 18, Evelyn is one of the youngest players to compete and the youngest to win a season. Additionally, she’s tied with Veronica Portillo for female players with the most flagship victories.
