A Less Perfect Union w/ Michaela Bradshaw

Hey everyone, I'm Devin Simone.

And I'm Tory Deal and this is MTV's official Challenge podcast.

Toy, was this like the spiciest and also most emotional episode of the season so far?

I mean it, listen, it was up there, but knowing where it goes, I cannot give it, you know, but.

It was a long I love this season.

Nuh.

It just keeps getting spicier and spicy. I love it so much. Now, something that hasn't gotten as spicy TJ's wardrobe. I just have to shout out though. I really did like the gray jacket he wore and the hat combo in this week's elimination. It really made his eyes pop. Looked beautiful, TJ. Well done. Now, usually we do a breakdown, but this is a really juicy interview. We got a

My gold star is FESSI and I'm gonna tell you why, oh please? He kept me out. He kept me out of that elimination.

Okay, I think that if he hadn't approached the conversation with Mikayla, my ass is going in, so I gotta give it to him.

Yeah, that's fair, that's absolutely fair. Who is your time out? I believe? Oh god, I don't know.

Can you go first?

I'll go with my gold Star. So it is a tie for me in gold Star. Mikayla for conquering her fear like that just a beautiful moving story, Like I love to see that so much, and I love the way everybody kind of rallied around her. Just amazing. And also Tyler, because Tyler is still holding it down with his protecting of Alyssa, even him being like, do you need space in this time? Do you want me to ask people to stay out of the room while you take space? Like that's just like a good person, a

Who was at Josh for voting in Wes.

Yes, it was Josh and his dramatics. You were right, Josh, you get the time out? What on earth? Talk it like if he doesn't sit out somewhere.

I mean that it really did make it. It felt very emotional for me. I understand, like how hard it is to have to go in there and say somebody's name, and you know we're getting closer to the end, But like.

Have you ever cried over saying somebody's name? No, that's what I thought, But I.

Think Mi Anie depressant stopped me from doing that.

Like I think if I was.

I think if I wasn't on them, I think I'd be crying more.

I mean, I don't like stand in it. Also, when he like patted West on the back literally right after he voted him. If that is not a Bible story, I don't know what is like, sirih Josh, just you voted the man in. We get it feels bad, Yatta, but get over it. But I mean, but he wouldn't be Josh if you weren't crying, So like, on one hand, you love it because that's Josh. It's on the other hand, it's like, come on now, yeah, I mean, yeah it was.

You know, it's it's a shitty situation to be put in.

Ultimately, I feel bad for Wes, like it sucks, Like it really does suck.

To see him go.

I would have loved to see him in the final I really like, yeah, I really. I hope he doesn't retire. I think he'll be back West and we need you. I think I give him some time. I think and hope that Wes will be back. But for the people that are still here, we have some dynamic personalities and one of them is a guest on today's episode. And let me tell y'all, I mean, she has thoughts, she has opinions, but she does not have a notebook. This time we are talking about Mikayla. You guys are not.

She was originally on the Challenge Spies, Eyes and Allies, and we didn't get to see enough of her there, but this season we are surely seeing a lot of her in terms of competition, gameplay and incredible confessionals.

Welcome McKayla Bradshaw.

Oh thank you.

Yeah, thanks for coming on the show, girl.

How are you feeling good so far?

I tend to do better the second time, and all I had to do was not be out first, so I'm the winner in my book.

All you had to do was not bring a notebook, Mikayla, and not let I didn't bring a pen, I didn't bring up.

I said, y'all not gonna catch me with nothing, right right, I'm literate as far as I'm so glad that you left the school's pleasant home because it's been so good watching you navigate through this game, making money moves, being sort of this powerhouse, which I think even when and to be fair, by the way, if I didn't say it on Aftermath when you came on from your first season of challenging Spies Lines and Allies, the more guests I had on afterwards because obviously you were on the

Thank you. You know, we all have learning lessons in life, but we don't get fooled twice. Dude, listen through you and you didn't.

I really think that, Like, there's not many people who go out first and make an impact that lasts the way that you have.

And then also.

Everybody already knew what they were dealing with when you came on the show. Like your first challenge Daily on Spy SI's Allies, you came in second place. You were this close to winning, so like you being the competitive force that you are, and us even seeing glimpses of you this season with you running with that box on your back when we were still in teams and being in front of literally all the guys, and then obviously we're not going to get into this daily challenge yet,

Well, thank you, I appreciate it means a lot coming from you. I couldn't tell if there were sarcasm there. We'll find out later in this episode. So, Michayla, before we get into the breakdown of what happened this episode, because there was a lot. I feel like there was a lot of emotions, a lot of feels, a lot of a lot of things. But multiple challengers who we've had on the podcast have said, and it's sort of apparent in watching you, is that you very much read people.

And then I just noticed little little things like, you know, I'll tell one person a piece of information and then you see how it travels and how it changes. And I noticed people had negative perceptions whenever Chris was a part of their chain of communication, and it's like, but you're not saying anything to me though, right noted?

So, yeah, he just do you prove? He proves how he is.

When you were like, just want to go back a challenge when we were swinging from the top of those trucks against each other, did you know did you know that Chris was the root of that plan while we were there?

I did not know that, but I figured that it wasn't. I wasn't surprised when I found out it was him. I found out it was him in the.

House, but it wasn't surprising at all. Yeah.

Yeah, And was that like a part of just adding to this because obviously this episode we really see it kind of blow up. It's yeah, you know, we get this introduction of you saying you don't trust him, and then all of a sudden, now you know, you.

Know you guys, we have this mind. It's obvious, Yeah.

Just spiraling.

Yeah, it's an obvious thing. And then for me, I think that they showed this like we had a little come to Jesus meeting after Chris one, and it's like, look, you throw people under the bus. Like now I can pull out all my receipts because I know this. Not everybody has seen it.

But if we're going to move forward, then you need to acknowledge what you did right and then move forward. He's used so many words to skirt around it, but in the confessional it was like I just I acknowledged what I did.

It's like, no, you weren't. I was a conversation. You did that. So it's it's interesting. It's like I would say liar and I would say fake. Okay, yeah, those are his What words would you use to describe FESSI? I like Betsy, what we would I describe athletic? He's very athletic. Okay.

At the end, you know what I would also say, I don't know some word that means nice on.

The inside but doesn't know how to articulate it. I kind of agree with that about fest, like he can come across a certain way, but he's actually like a low key he's a person. Yeah, yeah, I agree with you that. What about doctor Desi.

Dei, My first thought was interesting. I think there's a lot to and I'm gonna spind it this way.

I think there's a lot to Desi that people don't look into because how she presents. I think she presents in such a palatable way that it's easy for people to be like, oh, but I think there's a lot of depth two I don't know, to her her story and her personal experience, And yeah, I think, yeah, that's the that thing. I think she's interesting. I think I think it was interesting to me to know that I was in the secret Garden this whole time. I've never

Sometimes, like like I like something like extra, like a side of walk, like extra, like a side in the movie, like extra, like over the top, like a good extra bad extra.

I like, I think I think he can be a little over the top but still love fool Like.

I like me some Josh, I love me some Josh. But some of the stuff I watched, I was like, now, why are you find if you put.

The battle on, thank you, he'd be good on Real Housewives like like right, but like Mole, I agree, I adore Josh, Like yes, but everything you just said right, like you threw the man in why are you over here crying time? Giving him a kiss? Judas is scariot, Like what do you say if you don't take him? Peter and Paul behind it's down right like you did this. But to be fair, Wes was talking a whole lot

God, yes absolutely, because you see Josh telling Wes in the sand. Wes had no idea obviously, and then after we have to go do our interviews and we have to catch up an episode or two.

For sure he was talking shit after the fact, Like.

So you do you think that he was really Because that's a good point, toy, because when we see Wes on the treadmill, right, and then we see Josh like talking to Wes and sort of being like this bro thing happening, and it looks very much like like Josh is more into it than Wes, right, So it does kind of And then we cut to the confessional where Wes is like, I'll never let job never see Josh's arrival.

I think that, at least from my perspective, I think that was evident just by how Wes reacted.

It wasn't anger, it was sheer disappointment. It was sad. It was like why, It was like why.

It wasn't like fuck you, like you're never gonna So I think when he took it true.

But I feel like, but is that because Wes thinks everyone believes everything he says? Yeah, because I also get that vibe from Wes A little yea.

One thing I can say, And Wes was putting on some form of a front in the game, right to the whole Greens team.

He tried to make it appear like he was on the outs with all of its nobody had his back, you know, xyz Elep. And if he didn't believe that, then he was uncomfortable with you me.

So maybe, you know, if somebody else was in earshot of the conversation with Josh, that could have impacted how he was interacting in that one moment, But.

I didn't.

I can't remember ever seeing besides them running on a treadmill together, which they did sometimes. Beyond that, I never actually saw with my own two eyes bem hanging out together, so I didn't realize that they had a close relationship at all.

So I don't know, I.

Just well, I also think that you know, it was a long time coming for them. There were rivals for a while back there. You know, they were gunning for each other a lot in were the world's too, So I think there's.

A long history of trying to climb back up.

And I think the way Wes looked at this game obviously like everybody's in their own groups with Big Brother and then Survivor and then the Vets, and then I think Wes did kind of latch onto himself and look at Josh as this person who was.

Out of everybody there somebody that would have his back. So I think I think that's kind of the way Wes played it.

And I definitely think Wes popped over into the dungeon more often than people may be recognized, which was that like bottom bed room where Bananas stayed, and Josh said, you know, Michelle.

Would be down there, I'd be down there, like, you know, why was.

He so mad when I asked him if he's going to move to the dungeon.

Then I don't know, because I think that was a fair question. I think that was a fair question. I do. Yeah, yeah, I mean it was a lot for him, I think. But to this daily challenge or I do have another name before we do one more name?

Cassidy delusional. I was waiting for that one. Who Okay, please do explain. I think she just it's one of those people that is out of touch with reality, like her observations and her awareness of her own self does not match, uh, what everybody else experiences. And then she just makes those stories in her head and just run. And it's yeah, give us an example. So Michelle, Cassidy, Chris and Sebastian had a four people survivor alliance coming

So but as as as numbers start whittling down, even though all the survivors are there, all of a sudden, Cassie's on the bottom and there's a strong People alliance. But Michelle is here and and this that and the third and y'all have your four and y'all left me, Dessie and Chanelle out And now all of a sudden, because we didn't sit here on the bottom waiting to get chopped off, and we started mixing and mingling and doing what we need to do to get what we

And you have all these episodes to figure it out and to readjust and we'll see if you choose to do it or not.

I think, and I think ultimately, like I had conversations with Cassidy in our room. You know, obviously I throw her in the second week, and she was like really upset about that.

And I think that she was assuming that.

When she when the game shifted and went individual this was pivotal because she was assuming she had already gotten close with me, she had already gotten close with Michelle, and obviously Alyssa was there as well. I think she kind of assumed, girl wise, that like the hour was gonna shift, like the opportunity I had was going to be directed shots at you guys, and it was the

Kind of bitter about that.

And you know, maybe it comes off as because I'm not defending her. I think I'm more just trying to understand where she could have come from.

You know, yeah, I didn't think of I didn't think of it that way.

But even thinking of it that way, how long did it take to recognize, Oh wait, that's not what's happening.

You know. It's like we all had to pivot when the game went.

Individual, like y'all had just thrown me in, and then there's a conversation like let's work together, just like please.

So I wasn't. I wasn't. I wasn't opposed to the idea.

But I'm like, I don't, look, I need some evidence before I, uh jump in this same thing. Yeah, so you know, it's just every I think everybody has to adjust in these games and figure different things out and realize, you know, every day something can shift.

And I just feel like, instead of being adaptable and shifting, she chose to play the victim and woe is me and you know, going to elimination against tiny people and then come out and then talk for three days about oh my arms and I did so much.

And it's just like, girl, it'll probably be better for you to act like it's not it doesn't bother you at all, and then change your social game a little bit instead of drawing more attention to yourself.

Every time you come back and annoying every woman. But that's just my perspective.

I've thoroughly enjoyed hearing.

Yeah, I thoroughly enjoy hearing the way you go about because you look at it very much like a game, like you really do.

It's like straight analytical over there.

Yeah yeah, and it's not it's not personal, but it's like, but I think it was as work.

And you know where I got this from. It's Casey.

So coming into my little first season of the twenty four hours of the challenge. Even though it was only one episode, it was a lot of days because it was in the heat of COVID and it was driving me crazy to be in that house because I was going in there like like I am in real life, like these are humans when I want to get to know people, and I was just picked eating on everybody's energy and seeing things happening and filling these walls.

And it was because I was approaching people.

I was approaching things like an interpersonal relationship, like how I deal with people at home. If I meet you on the street and I like you and we want to connect, That's how I was approaching it, and that that posture is what allowed me to get taken advantage of throwing into elimination. And my feelings were so hurt about it that I couldn't get my mind together.

To perform wealth and Elimination. So it's like, all right, well, I'm gonna operate as though this is work. I'm here for a check, I'm clocking in. All I need to do is see what's happening. Naviget around did stay off the way and when I have to play, what is what you're saying spieslies and allies hardened you to the game.

You can say harden you. You can just say, look, I know what it is. And there's a difference, like there's a difference between how people are or how I am with people in real life and then what I expect of them when I meet them in that environment. Like my expectation going into this season is anybody I meet in this environment they want to get themselves to a final.

They want to win, and if it ever looks like I'm in the way of that, they will turn against me and just leave it there instead of commenting like, oh I like this person, we can be friends. No, so it don't matter if people be like, who do you put your ball in? I don't care.

I don't care what the fall in. I care that the ball was in. I'm gonna do something different today. You know, what do you think happened in the nomination?

Right? Do you think they nominate you? I don't care.

I care that they nominated me, and I'm gonna go in and if I do, I go in, I come back and out. If I don't go in, great that means I have to do something different. And I just didn't I didn't take anything personally.

This time, and I didn't try to make things about me. It's just like, okay, just be here tomorrow. It seems to be waiting. Is that the same thought process you had when you were having deliberations with FESSI about voting in toy because we saw just not even twenty four hours before, you guys sort of made an alliance where Tori saying, hey, I'm not gonna vote for you. Guys.

It's my thing is you have to consider all the options at all times. Right, words are cheap until there's action to back it up, and somebody not like for me, if there's a thousand.

Options of people to throw in in nine hundred you don't have connections, Well, it didn't cost anything for that person to make that decision.

Right.

Loyalty for me comes in when there's a cost, and then you still choose to do something that is an alignment with what we said, or is in my favor, then it's like bad.

So for me, it's like I didn't I tell I took words at face value with the grain of salt. A lot of people when the game switched and it said no more teams, there was a lot of conversations that happened. So if I would have been like, oh, everybody who said they want to work with me wants to work with me. The math on math like that you got to throw a ball and you have to nominate something. So that's really what it was. And I considered options all the time, and that's gonna be evident

My question is like, and you know what, listening to the way you're describing it, it makes sense. You know, of course there's a bunch of people who's willing to work with all of us when we're in there.

Words only give so much. Actions speak louder.

So knowing that, like I had power those first two weeks, was that because obviously you're going to sit at that table, you're gonna consemplate, You're going to think, was that the original reason why you eventually switched your vote to go another way? Was it because I looked out for you or was there another factor that made you kind of know myself off.

From thirty man?

It was it was Bessie's explanation, because when I sat down at the deliberation, it was like, I've never made it this far in this game before.

This is a difference that I'm not used to.

Bessy has gone far in games several times, right, so I know when I'm out of my depth. And I appreciated that he was just honest and transparent. He wasn't playing games.

And the way he broke it down because I was like, okay, tell me how people play it at this juncture, and he broke it down real simple, was like, here's the two options you can do. You can you can make waves and you can throw people in or that type of thing, or you can use this as an opportunity to build trust with certain people. And if you build trust with people that are likely to win, it protects you further than saving people that are likely to lose.

Yeah.

Yeah. But yeah, even after that, it was a day by day thing for me, because again, my experience in these games is I trust people faster than I should because I do that in real life, and then people.

Stab me in the back. And so my thing was I'm not going to I'm gonna be slow on expending trust and I'm gonna.

Just watch it out and see how people moved and then we'll just see how that goes. So yeah, but really it was Becy's explanation of things. Yeah, yeah, I think that makes sense.

I also want to go back to the reason why you had power in the first place, which was this incredible challenge.

That literally nobody wanted to do.

And I mean, Mikaylo, you and I were up there the first two times alone, I mean the first time alone, and we were like, dude, it was it was brutal. I was almost up there crying with you just because it was cold. But talk talk us through like what it was like to be scared and go through with that.

Yeah, that was so.

I didn't realize that I was afraid of heights. I know that I don't like doing things that don't make sense.

So like, don't sit waiting in a line, getting on a roller poster, letting it take me up in the air and then drop me down. That doesn't make sense. That's why I don't do it.

Like getting paying money getting in an airplane to go up and then jump out, that doesn't make sense.

So I'm don't do it. But really I don't like heights.

And I didn't know until I got up there and I was like, ooh, this is not comfortable. But in my mind, I'm like, all right, you do it once. You're just gonna do the same thing over and over. Get over it once and it'll be fine.

And that second time it was not fine, and I like, Lord, I don't know what to do because it's just it's like your mind is telling you like, hey, this is there's a purpose behind doing it. You know what you need to do, move forward, and it's physically possible, you're not going to die, but your emotions are like I

I was a little nervous about that one. But with that one, we were only about ten feet off the ground maybe, And I mean we were strapped into something so I could trust in the cloth right three three strands time?

Guess what you're on the side of a semi trust ma'am. Like you know, I was scared over cements versus you know what it was? It was a it was there was a competitive nature to that one also, like going against somebody else having a very clear like, Okay, I have a mission that I can focus on. I'm going from here to here. I'm trying to slap these things, like all the little technical parts of what you.

Needed to do, and the fact that you had opposition. It gave me something else to focus on. And once I got comfortable in my highness, you know, the second time for me, it was actually fun.

The first time was a little scary until I got used to it. The second time it was fun. But this is like, it's you and you You're choosing to run and jump off of a platform into the Croatian Ocean, which is cold, and it's already cold and rainment. So it's like, there's nothing about that that makes sense. Yeah, do you think the coldest elevated people's fear of it? Toy like? Yeah, Like it.

Was actually freezing.

They had production running over to us putting towels one in between.

I mean, we saw those jackets, y'all looked like Hogwar. It looked like the additional school of Hogwar too out with those songs like capes on basically over your eform go back with listeners, go back and check go plus clause. I'm telling you it looked like they were in Hogwart.

But I'll say one thing because Toy did help me out of that challenge with her counting strategy because that first that first jump, it was a little hard and I was like, I don't know what I said.

To you, but I was like, I'm scared. He was like, you want me to count, you know? And that got me. I am So were you guys counting and then just running? What were you doing? Were just like five, two, one go?

And you can literally hear me saying go at the very first round that we do together. But ultimately listen, like, and I'm grateful you brought that up because I wasn't going to bring it up, like not going to steal shine on your win, and you did all the work with that.

But what I will say is like, you know you don't Mikayla.

You are truly and I have said this throughout the season of this podcast, you were truly one of the best female competitors, if not the best, on this season. You have an unbelievable athletic ability. Why would I not want to try to beat you at your best? And you know, like, there's no way I'm beating you in a long jump. Weren't you like a didn't you do track? Like you're a beast and high jump like oh well, no, wonder okay, like you you know, like you don't want

I'm a competitor, like, if it's my thing, I want to shine on my thing.

Oh we saw that a couple episodes, Tory, when you snuck off and didn't give Sebastian the answers. We definitely saw. Oh my god, no, Mikayla, it's so bad. Not only is she not give the answers. When she figured out one of them, she slowly steps back into the water and tells the group nothing mind you. They had all agreed beforehand that they would tell each other. She slowly sat up and then just disappears into the way.

I guess everyone was mad at me, but I needed to win that in order to leverage to not be thrown in this week.

So literally it all happens the way I had to hope.

I will say, something I noticed, is, Mikayla, when you did uh, it wasn't when you. It was when Tory lost the round against you. So it's before you like won one and it was when you were crying the round where you were just really like, I don't want to run, and then you finally did and you got the thing. You see Tory in the water cheering with such excitement when you grabbed the baton, which is really cool those moments of.

Yeah, and I felt that way the whole time, like you know when I hesitated to jounp that one time, Dandy and Tori in the water with cheer, and then the guys on the other side were when I was hesitating, people were yelling you, yeah, TJ trying to tell me I'm at times, but no I'm not.

But yeah, I was waiting for TJ to say that time. Thing when you won, I actually cried damn you, like because there was just a moment of you pushing through that fear that was so beautiful and I know will resonate with so many people because everyone gets scared of something and so you pushing through it multiple times and then just seeing how like if they had cut out the part of you crying, we would have never known the struggle because you made it look easy.

For sure.

When you grab the baton, you made it look easy, And I feel like that is such a story for kind of life. Social media things like that, you see people achieving these great things and you kind of go, oh, well, damn, they're doing that, and they make it look easy, but you don't know the internal struggle that happened on the inside. Not that we're going to church today, but that really like it was a really special moment and a well

Answer my oh, I can't oh all things happen because we haven't seen kills back since.

But anyhow, next question, So sorry that just took my breast away for a moment. We're gonna take a quick break, but don't worry, we'll be right back after this. So everybody coming into this episode is kind of disliking Chris, right because we see Chris doing some craziness in the past episode where he's clearly again like in this episode throwing his survivor teammates under the bus, he kind of

So I do believe that at this point in the game he likely felt very alone and stuff, but that was based on his own doing, and I think it was all his little scheme and whatever he was doing in the background.

I think that was catching up to him. But I I saw so much in the first part of the game that it is difficult for me to trust the that he is the victim of something. But I can believe that. You know, it's lonely when you isolate yourself, when you stab so many people in the back and nobody wants to be around you like that, Yeah that feels lonely, and you're missing your wife and your kids or whatever. Yeah, that feels lonely. But that's called consequences

Do you think that, Like, you know, obviously Chris, your feelings on him are pretty clear, But what do you think about Michelle throwing Cassidy's ball into the hopper during this time.

That makes me wonder why Cassie is so focused on the strong girl alliance because her bestie buddy, her best body, and Michelle played that so well in her commentary. By the way, Michelle was cracking me U, I'm not gonna lie because she was like, Cassidy is focused on that strong girl liance and pretty sure I'm not. And yeah, it's those moments that flying under the radar is great. Yeah, it was always my strategy, like you're like good, Yeah, don't look at me like great. No. First of all,

I don't resonate with the way that she plays a lot of times I think sometimes she does unnecessary stuff. And again, there are times where if you're working with well, this is how I work.

If I'm working with people and the situation gets a little hairy, I want to find a way to protect my group. My first thought is not when you throw darts and cut the legs out of my own people, and I'll just fear that tomorrow. Yeah, that's yeah, that's a different style of moving and that's where me and

Michelle's alliance would Cassidy started before the game started. Okay, this let's work together thing, that was less than twenty four hours. That was words only, right, So that's the difference. And for me again, I'm going to evaluate all options.

I will talk through things.

Doesn't mean I'm sold on something just because I bring it up, like I'm bringing it up to get your thoughts and opinions. But it's not selfish for me to think through the options. It's it may be a reflection of like her fear right when she goes into when she gets nominated. Let me take the smallest person, even though it's cutting on my team and Amanda. My ball didn't go on Amanda, even though Amanda's ball with on me, right, because I saw value and Amanda staying in the game.

I don't care if she was a vet or not, right, So you know that was a at the end of the day, there's there's everybody's going to look out for their on it. To some degree, my consideration of Tory wasn't about like who she gonna go against. It was, hey, this is how the math works. On the girl's side of this chest. Somebody gonna have to go. Somebody's gonna go in. One of us gonna end up in. Whoever us is not willing it is gonna end up in.

Man.

She is, she is true, she's she's just she's built for it. You're either built for it and or you're not. And she's just one of those players that just is. Like, no matter who goes up against Mikayla and anything, it's going to be a dog fight.

Bro strategy is good. It will get it will hopefully keep you out of.

Elimination when it when it turns into a dogfight with MICHAELA, it's.

A straight up dog fight.

Like basically, if you're going to be on a challenge and you're listening to this podcast as you should be, start building an alliance with Mikayla next. I don't know what season y'all are gonna be on together, but just it's good in your best interest, build it now so then you can call back on that time you brought her a Starbucks or whatever, be like, remember girl in twenty twenty three, I did that, so please numbo me in. I'm just telling you, now, why do you think Cassidy

Like like like Josh putting the ball on West, it hurt its feeling so much you really had to.

Think about it. Contemplate people were going in on like Cassidy. You guys didn't see a bitch cat. But mckayl literally just like threw her phone like it was just a quick vote, okay, Like and that's that's what it is. And it's like, that's who did I make Castie? No made it. Listen, that's why I didn't want to nominate Cassie. Now we be in hotest because Casside the easiest person to get the balls. But if you think you said that, we think you said that then so that.

That was my thought process, Like if you you want to if you're really trying to think a step into a head and protect people that maybe are going to protect you, you just got to think about, Okay, who can my people be?

And then also like what is the house most like me to do? Curiosidy, what's the house most like to do? Tyler? Wait? Why do everybody hate Tyler? Now? At this point, by the way, and by the way, his curls were also beautiful in this episode. Just have to shout out Tyler's hair. But why why did everybody vote for Tyler? Tyler is so nice and so sweet and he is just the most chill presence him, answered Basian, I don't think anybody justliked Tyler and Sebastian those types of people.

He just got vote because he didn't really have any strategy, no connection. He was just there, you know, for a long period of time. And then next thing, you know, all the Big brother girls were gone because for whatever reason, they thought it was smart to go against the Saviva girls in the elimination.

So then they got decimated. And then it's like, oh, well, Tyla's got the least connections in the house. That's easy. He can't do anything about it. And so he just ended up in that situation because he wasn't being proactive or thoughtful in the beginning or middle of the game. But I think trying to be been his relationship Michayla. He was trying to wipe somebody out on the wrong thing, going down the wrong road. You foked on the wrong thing. You got three six, five days a year to get

Yeah, I mean it definitely distracts people.

I can say that from experience. Say, Toy, do you know anything, Well, Mickayla, what did you think about Tory and Sebastian's relationship in the house. First, Okay, I gotta be an. I was like, now, Sebastian, you didn't watch the show right these guard your heart, buddy. I know you're a little fisherman in the sea, but you don't know about that one.

But over time I would just be watching him and I'm like, wait a minute, y'all actually kind of like each other.

And then it was so cute. I just thought it was a cute at saying, so I just leave peep in and then he cuddling, and then he would tell me like we haven't kissed yet, but I'm working on it. She's making me weight, and I'm like, oh, she's got mortals, dude, he was.

I was like you said, I have been around the ring.

I was not trying to just jump in again.

And again he was really sweet, like Sebastian, Like you said, he was one of those people that has a legitimate heart of gold. Like but Michael would walk by us all the time and she'd be like, you're gonna end up barefoot and pregnant, and I.

Was like, or a bad thing. I don't know what that means.

It is not a good thing. Don't think because your ankles are swollen because you have been pregnant. Back to bag, that's what that means. I don't want swollen feet. Oh my god. I feel like I'm gonna dream about that tonight, and not by my own way. I feel like you just you got married. You married, I did, I did. You don't be barefoot and pregnant. You take that, get the away from me, Satan, Nope, absolutely not. I have a fur dog, a fair child that is fifteen, and

How are you fa good?

Good? Duh? You look lovely? What are you up to?

Just often make acts of mind jealous and have dinner with them?

I love it, I love it. I love that for you looking so fabulous, Big Tea. Our house cooking going.

It's going really well. I made seventy eight dumplings last night. I was up to like in the morning just literally just like sharping up my skulls and then hopefully going to be a personal shaft.

So that's the Oh my gosh. I love that. We are cheering for you all the way, Big Tea. Now you know that, Okay, So I know that Michaela staying at your house in London right now, right she's saying her place and so you heard. I don't know if you heard about how she is when it comes to alliances, but you have to build it early. Are you letting Michaela stay at your house now so you guys have a strong alliance for when you compete together again on a challenge. Absolutely, I mean she did it. I said

I'm also I.

Love it so much. I was looking at clips of Aftermath yesterday for something, Big T and I came across all the clips of you, including one of you just playing a grand piano and then another one of you eating snacks in the middle of the recording. So great. We love you, we miss you, We cannot wait to see you back on our challenge screens.

I miss you guys as well, and hopefully I podcast of you guys without.

So good. I love you guys. Bye.

I'll see that.

My face hurts from smiling.

I know. I'm sure that you always all laughs. Like to be a fly on the wall. I want to be at that slumber party because I am sure it is just last nonsense and really good food. Yeah yeah, Big TV cheffing it up. Sorry mcade. So does this mean you would never vote Big T in because you guys have a stronger you have an official UK alliance. I don't know what the Lord has in store. You know what.

Listen if you heard it here. Mikayla needs actions before she as so. I think that this is something that will have to wait to see. She wants to see the ruthlet. She wants the proof in the pudding.

In the pudding. Yeah, Michaela, we know what your strategy was around the voting and who you why you wanted to put vote Alyssa in so because you figured the house of built Cassidy in, but we didn't really get to sees who did you actually want to come back into the house, between both the guys and the girls to come back, I wanted she wouldn't be in a position to do anything about being thrown in, like so it's not like she would have come back with a

One girl winner and one guy winner. And at the end of the day, I think every guy's fear is getting to a fine on them being dragged down by a.

Girl if it happens to be a pair of situation. So in an end, I was happy about going to individuals instead of teams, and I had no aims on the guy side. I wanted to just make sure not to create any problems. So most of the time I let the guys pick the guys and just left it that back, you would have run a final with any of the guys, basically you be happy to yeah, yeah, you know what.

I did find interesting from from this episode and going to the last one, the last episode FESSI. This is the first time Fesse gets in power and I'm sitting with him and he has conversations in the house saying he would go big, he would put a Wes or Bananas in if he had the power.

But I was in the power with him.

But then this time around, he has the power and you're with him, and he still doesn't throw into West or Bananas. I'm like wondering when that shift happened. I'm wondering if he was the one that got in Josh's ear to.

Say Wes's name.

I'm like, what I'm wondering, Like, because you see a whole different approach his gameplay has a different approach this week, and I'm like, where where was the ship?

Very interesting?

You know, I'm like, or was he just saying that to Chris right, I think.

As a shield shield last week and be like, oh, I'm not voting big because Tory that's the only reason why this. Yeah, he had more of the power. Yeah, yeah, I think That's conversation.

With me was very genuine, And I think from how I saw people moving, Josh was the one moving sturdy from the beginning. He had some type of relationship with just about everybody, so it was just amount of time before he was going to turn on somebody because he had relationships with everybody. So I don't think his idea came from Bessie at all. I think that was genuinely Josh's idea.

And I think I don't know Josh deep deep deep, but I like the bit of Josh that I know of him outside of the game.

And I genuinely don't think his decision to vote in West was like an attack at West. I think it was him thinking, so like, this is the best chance I've got to get to a final. I want this to be my season, this is this is my focus, and it just came to a point where he did what he felt like was best for his game, right, and it hurt a personal relationship, like it was just a choice that he made. But he doesn't have to

That's fair, yeah, and that eventually is gonna start happening right where it just you get smaller and smaller, and that's really you know, yeah right, yeah, that's what I attributed to. That's just the space of the game. And all his friends left, so he got turned on somebody. Right, Do you guys think Wes is really retired? No?

Me either, And like I'm saying that hoping that he's not.

So like same, like listen, I get it go, like you know, but I feel like everybody everybody who.

Said they retired, see T had a moment. I know that there's other challengers. They always fucking come back eventually.

Like not always do not always You're back in some capacity, but then you want.

To podcast, you do the aftermath. Yeah, they were like, we'll keep her clothing. Yeah, exactly.

You're still in the world, Devin, You're still in the world.

That's true. I am still in the world. And look, I know first and private school in Kansas City is expensive. So Wes having a baby is all the more reason why he needs to come back to the challenge. But but if it is his last time, it was beautiful seeing him sort of say it's farewell and hearing TJ call him an icon and sort of like acknowledging all that Wes has contributed to the game, which is great.

Mm hmmm, becquired, it's a requirements to close your mouth. But that's just it's just a it's just a reflection of not reading the room. It sounds good on TV, but we gonna we y'all saw the preview the next y'all saw the preview, say coming home next time on y'all.

We had to do that in my first season the challenge. Actually pretty sure that wind still smells like olive oil to this day. It was a hot ass mess. It definitely got my ass kicked in it. So yes, I know that's gonna be fun to watch, not fun to do.

Yeah so so so, probably you won't be making speeches before you got to get.

Feel you have to have a lot to bat. I feel like the speeches really only work well for two types of people, and correct me if I'm wrong, ladies. I feel like the speeches work well for people who really don't care if they win or lose, like kind of almost have no expect there's no expectations on them, you know what I mean, Like they're just kind of talking because they know whatever's gonna happen is gonna happen.

Well, Also to give to Ca Cassidy some credit, she just came out of her second elimination with you know.

She did, but it involved patchwork and not saying it wasn't hard. But as someone who personally doesn't like eliminations and didn't ever want to go in and has never actually had to really compete in an elimination, out of that record, you know, I always go would I walk away from that or would I be like, all right, you know what, like I'm gonna give it a go. Now. I was worried about people touching people's faces because that was my first thought, Oh, they're going to claw somebody's

Like when yeah, I mean it wasn't it like they tried. There was moments of like straight up beard gripping though. I mean, yeah, I thought Wes's face was going to be pulled off. I was nervous.

Yes, we heard that, but you know, like the cat claws in the face, like I was somebody gonna get caught out. But otherwise that that particular elimination looked fun. But I mean I was like, okay, that all right, two rounds, Like all right, like let's we can do that. So, yes, she's coming off an elimination. And not to take away from that.

But like yeah, and I would say, I get what you're saying to because like a win is a win, and I believe that a win is a win.

But I get what you're saying to Devin.

It's like like me, I won against Tiffany in basketball.

Yes, yeah, like a win was a win. But you can't really come out of it, right, No, you got to humble yourself be like a whole right, it's not like you came or the thing that who was even let Manty and Tyler right where he still has the scars on his body from the harness so long from holding onto that or like some of these old school ones, like when it was what Naya and Carl Maria and she there, that was like a two hours long digging in the sand, Like that is something where you could

I think that, and I think that the rest of the season.

I mean, I think this season's been the best season I've been a part of it a long time, just entertainment wise, Like there's so many great characters on it, like so many just great personalities, so much great competition.

So I'm excited.

I think that next week is definitely going to be brutal and from here on out, like it's just gonna it's just gonna get stickier and stickier, like it's an epic season. But Mikayla, is there anything else you want to leave the podcast with before we let you go? We don't want to take up too much more of your time. And uh, where can we follow you on social media?

Uh?

You can follow me at the michaela Be. My profile is private because I have a job, but as long as you're not a hater, I might and I don't know. I will say I've enjoyed this season. It's been very interesting to like watch things back and see how things are going. But I'm I'm very happy also because.

I feel like I was myself the whole time, and I think it can be so unnerving doing this type of stuff because you are playing a game, but you also are a human who has a life outside of the show, and it's like it's very easy to lose yourself in these environments.

So I just appreciate that, you know, we're able to have our little I didn't have no paper, but I have a little religious books and I was able to get my Bible reading on and just having that center was very helpful for me. But also just being able to have a second chance and do this again, particularly at this point in life, was very helpful because the first time I played, I was physically in the most amazing shape, mentally a hot mess, and actually watching myself

Yes, hopefully we get season three from mikaylat.

I gotta ask Corey how he's missed the Weekly because somebody need to pay my bills. No, no, Devin, you a matchmaker. I am. That's my last note, Devin. Now you know my personality a little bit in the free database. No, I need more than that. Wait, I'll get you. I'll give you my number.

I'll give you my number, girl, I need more than that.

We'll get you in the free yes, girl, because we're in doubt. You're in Dallas, right, Yeah, plenty. I just need the right one, all right, right line, thank you, all right, we'll work all right, thank thank you have that in London. I yaill bye. Oh girl, that was hot. I knew it would be.

I mean, I really respect the way she just just she just goes for it.

Yeah, I love that. I think I'm i she has the makings of one of those like future unstoppable challengers. I think she is the one. Uh huh for sure. You better get on that alliance, Tory. I'm trying. I'm working on it a little, yes girl, yes girl. All right. So while you're working on your Mikayla alliance, where can others follow you and see everything else you're working on? Including your children's book? Where can they find you on social? Thank you?

You guys can follow me at Tory Underscore Deal. Just click the link in my bio. We'll connect you to everything that I'm working on, all my little fun projects. And yeah, obviously you can see us on the challenge and listen to us on the podcast.

But Devin, where can they follow you?

You guys can go to my website, Devin Simone. That's Den with y Simone with an i dot com. Scroll to the bottom. You will see my socials there. You can also follow me on my Amazon store and then when we go live, we can chat back and forth in real time. We can shop and have fun together. You can just google Devin Simone Amazon, it'll come up the stores called Devinsmone's Gift Closet. I should know that or IG. I'm most active on IG. Shout out to those who DM me their thoughts on TJ's wardrobe and

Yeah, tell all your friends, and also make sure you catch new episodes of The Challenge USA airing on CBS.

And then you already know, We'll see you right back here right after that for a brand new episode of MTV's official Challenge podcast, WAZ Don't Retire