‘The Challenge’: Michele Fitzgerald Admits She Feared Laurel Stucky: ‘I Wasn’t Jealous of Her’
Many fans didn’t understand Michele Fitzgerald’s issue with Laurel Stucky during The Challenge 38’s Ride or Dies and chalked it up to a one-sided rivalry. Michele claimed she targeted Laurel in the episodes due to her double-dealing. However, she has since admitted she feared the former champ.
Laurel Stucky on her issue with Michele Fitzgerald
During The Challenge 38: Ride or Dies, champ Laurel Stucky and second-time player Michele Fitzgerald were allied by default as their teammates Jaxx Maddox and Jay Starrett had a good friendship.
However, Michele felt she couldn’t trust Laurel and nominated her twice for eviction, ultimately resulting in her early exit. Many fans didn’t understand the issue between them and chalked it up to a one-sided rivalry.
During her appearance on seven-time champ Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio’s podcast, Death, Taxes, and Bananas, Laurel explained her side. According to the Free Agents champ, the two got along fine at the beginning of the competition, and Laurel considered her friendly.
However, she saw Michele corner Faysal “Fessy” Shafaat and later found out the second-time player asked him for a showmance. It rubbed Laurel the wrong way because she felt Michele didn’t have genuine intentions or actually wanted to compete. The veteran admitted the Survivor star might have picked up on that energy, causing Michele to target her.
Michele admitted she feared Laurel
During Michele’s appearance on Death, Taxes, and Bananas, she owned up to pushing Fessy against the wall but denied wanting a relationship with him to boost ratings.
The Survivor champ pointed out she and Fessy had a history as they previously dated but wanted to continue working with him in the game. Additionally, she denied the rumors that her rivalry with Laurel had anything to do with Fessy, insisting, “I wasn’t jealous of her.” Instead, Michele admitted she feared the former champion.
The two-time player also responded to Laurel’s claims that she uses tears to manipulate people, pointing out that The Challenge star gave several reasons for not wanting to work with Michele, including her gameplay and cornering Fessy against the wall. She explained that the two connected at the beginning of the game but noticed a shift in how Laurel began treating her.
According to the Survivor champ, they bonded over “nerdy” things before the Free Agents winner started giving off the vibe that she didn’t like her. Michele admitted the switch bothered her because she’s a “people pleaser,” so she shut down. Additionally, the New Jersey native claimed someone else told her that Laurel didn’t vibe with her, which she believed “validated” her feelings.
Michele and Laurel were eliminated from ‘The Challenge 38’ by episode 8
Survivor stars and teammates Jay and Michele played a messy game during season 38’s Ride or Dies.
When they won a daily mission, the pair nominated Laurel and Jakk without talking to them first and threw them directly into elimination. The Ex on the Beach friends returned to the house and seemed willing to put the past behind them for the game’s sake.
However, Jay and Michele nominated the pair again the next time they won power and selected strong competitors for the draw, hoping they would eliminate the duo. It worked as Aneesa Ferreira and Jordan Wiseley eliminated the couple, but the veterans set their sights on Jay and Michele.
They avenged the pair a couple of episodes later and sent them into elimination. The two were sent home as most of the cast rooted against the Survivor stars and loudly advised their competitors, Horacio Gutiérrez and Olivia Kaiser. The Challenge airs Wednesdays on MTV.
