Alexia Umansky exclusively opened up to Us about the support she received from Next Gen NYC’s Gia Giudice before competing on Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test.
“[Gia] really inspired me to keep going and keep pushing. Her season, she was so incredible,” Alexia, 30, told Us while promoting the fifth season of the Fox reality competition. “Her telling me anything would have gotten me through. I was like, ‘Anything you say, just yes!’”
Gia, 25, and Alexia share a bond not just because their respective moms, Teresa Giudice and Kyle Richards, are Real Housewives OGs but also because they both competed on Special Forces with a parent. In season 4, Gia took on the grueling Special Forces selection course alongside Teresa, 54, whereas Alexia is competing in the Malaysian jungle in season 5 with her dad, Mauricio Umansky.
“[Gia] was just so reassuring. I wanted to call her since she won,” Alexia explained to Us. “I thought, ‘This is the perfect person to [ask for advice].’ We share some parts of our life. We both grew up with our moms being who they are, icons. I called her and she was so sweet, so reassuring. I was so scared. I was very, very nervous.”
She continued, “Actually, I never get homesick, but when I left my house to go to Malaysia, I cried in the car to the airport. I was not well. … Gia, when I called her … she calls me babe and it makes me feel at home. [I knew] it’s going to be OK. She seemed like she really loved the experience, and that’s what made me feel instantly relieved.”
Gia previously shared with Us some of the advice she offered Alexia before cameras rolled on Special Forces season 5.
“[Alexia] was like, ‘Give me the lowdown from start to finish,’ and I did,” Gia, 25, exclusively told Us in August. “I was like, ‘The physical aspect of it was the hardest part for me.’ I felt like my body was crumbling. But then as you keep going on, I was like, ‘Alexia, we’re young, so yes, it was really hard for me in the beginning, but each day I genuinely felt my body getting stronger and stronger.’ So then, by the end, it’s more of a mental thing than a physical thing.”
Gia wasn’t the only one offering the Umanskys guidance on Special Forces — they also had a private session with life coach Tony Robbins to get them in the right headspace for the competition.
“We had a session with Tony Robbins,” Mauricio, 56, told Us. “I called him up and I asked him to do this with us. He did a little Zoom session just to get us mentally prepared. He was amazing. He definitely helped us get mentally prepared, talked about creating mantras. …. He helped us a lot.”
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 5 premieres on Fox Thursday, September 24, at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
