The only thing worse than competing in the first elimination of the season onThe Challenge?
Competing in the last elimination before the final.
AndCara Maria Sorbellohad the honor of doing both on season 40.
Cara Maria Sorbello on ‘The Challenge: Battle of the Eras’.Credit:MTV
Ultimately, Cara went under the water and was eliminated right before the final began.
That’s an impressive showing from you, who is… well, not so great in the water.
I was like, “Holy s—.”
Cara Maria Sorbello.MTV
I promise you, I would’ve been there until the sun came up.
So TJ had to find a way to make it end because I was not giving up.
What was it like actually competing in that elimination?
There were so many things going through my head in that moment.
So there was that.
Every girl that was left could probably outswim all of the guys except for Jordan.
Those girls are incredible top-level swimmers.
And it was my birthday.
I’m here with the best women competitors and best swimmers I’ve ever seen here.
There’s snakes, there’s things biting at me, there’s no time limit.
Am I just going to drown?
I’m not wearing a life vest, clearly.
Is it just over when somebody drowns?
How does this end?
And then I’ve come this far.
I am literally at the final.
I can see it.
I just have to get through this.
So there was so much going on.
I am a Taurus to the bone, so I was going to hold on.
“I ain’t quitting, TJ.
Get out of here.”
It was a psychological mind f—.
There were so many layers as to everything that was happening in the moment.
It was a literal fight to the death if either of you had drowned.
I wonder if I should have tried to drown Tori.
I don’t think that was allowed though.
“She went under!”
[Laughs] I don’t know, maybe ask for forgiveness and not permission.
But hindsight’s 20/20.
That would have been hilarious.
But I was too busy trying not to die myself.
I wasn’t thinking correctly.
What were the actual rules?
Originally, I thought it was treading.
So then I would try that.
I was more of a treader than a floater, but I don’t know.
It was kind of just see how long they can survive, really.
So I don’t really know what the rules were.
They said tread, and then you just kind of go with the flow.
That’s so much easier you expend a lot less energy doing that.
Maybe easier for her.
But it was a little more difficult for me.
I’ve never been one to just float in a pool before.
I am just figuring it out as I go.
But Tori, God, you’d think she was on vacation.
She did not give me one speck of hope.
She was unbreakable for sure.
Did you have any idea how she was really feeling in the moment?
No, she was a rock.
She had just won the swimming challenge.
She’s very comfortable in the water.
So I was just like, “This is me against me at this point.”
I’ve never treaded water that long.
I was trying to pretend I was on a beach waiting for my margarita.
Me and Tori finally go head-to-head in elimination, this is everything that it’s come down to.
And they throw us in the middle of the ocean and say swim.
And I’m like, “Wait, what?
Don’t die.”
So in a way, I’m happy really with how it all ended.
I feel like I gave my best effort.
I should have come in first, so it’s my fault, but I did well.
I made a lot of friends.
That elimination, I did very well until the very end.
I did everything I could do.
With that plus a popularity vote, maybe it’s good that I ended where I ended.
Honestly, I had an incredible season.
You did have such a great season, especially from the social aspect.
You became close with so many people you had previous rivalries with.
This season,once Laurel left, I was able to let my guard down.
That’s how most seasons go for me, in survival mode.
How many eliminations do I have to go into?
How many people are going to keep targeting me?
How many people are going to just make my life hell?
The girls weren’t targeting the girls.
I really, really had a good time.
I definitely feel like I won.
I didn’t feel used.
I didn’t feel like people were only around me for what they could get out of me.
I’m thankful for this experience.
With the break, I’ve really learned to separate TV from real life.
Now,The ChallengeisThe Challengeand the game is the game, and then real life is real life.
It’s a load off my shoulders and I’m just in a lot happier place.
Who are you still close with after this season ended?
I’ll always check in on Meesh and Olivia, I check in with randomly Derek.
I still check in with Brandon and Tori.
For the most part, I’ve really gotten a whole lot closer to Ryan.
He really is my soul brother.
With the karma points, we saw you give Rachel a five and then Bananas a one.
Who else got a low score from you?
Everybody else got a five.
Johnny, of course, wants to be No.
1 in my life, so I gave him the one.
But for everyone else, I didn’t want to mess with their game for whatever reason.
But Johnny, you’ll always be No.
I know that’s what you want.
So that’s what he got.
What else happened this season that wasn’t shown in the episodes?
Oh my God, bed-gate!
I’m surprised that nobody’s talked about that.
He didn’t want them on that side of the house.
So they devised a plan.
And Nehemiah was sleeping in the bed, and Aviv was sleeping in Nehemiah’s bed.
It was just the weirdest thing.
There was all this drama and we called it bed-gate, and for some reason it was never shown.
I was like, “Damnit, you blew up our spot!
We could have heard so much more.”
This season was so much fun.
We made the best of living in Satan’s a–hole.
It was very hot, but we did our best.
I never went outside voluntarily unless it was dark.
Tori was training for this s—.
She would go out there in the burning hot sun and run her laps outside.
Speaking of hot, what’s your hot take about this season?
I know maybe budget didn’t allow, but do something with those people that got sent home first.
If we weren’t going to have a redemption house, then I feel like it was a miss.
It was a waste.
And then I think the targets should have been kept secret.
I don’t believe in handouts and give-mes.
I believe in a meritocracy.
I know that’s part of the game.
I know that’sBig Brother.I know that’sSurvivor.
I know voting’s part of a game and you could’t hate the game.
But I personally [believe] that if you earn first place, you earn first place.
I just hate that s—.
So we’ll see if that comes into play.
This interview has been edited and condensed for length and clarity.
The Challenge: Battle of the Erasairs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV.
