Cara Maria is not one to mess with on The Challenge. Ever since her start in 2010, the fitness guru has been working her way to the top – and has taken home two W’s, including the last challenge, The Challenge: Vendettas. That said, going into Final Reckoning, she felt the pressure.
“I felt like I had nothing to prove but I also had a big target on my back and I didn’t want to make any new enemies or ruffle any new feathers that have already been ruffled. I want to defend my title,” she told Us Weekly. “I’m always hitting the ground running. I’m always trying to be better.”
However, this time around she had a partner in Marie, with whom she never got along. The two butt heads during every season they’ve been on together and are constantly coming for each other on social media. On The Final Reckoning, their the other’s only ally.
“We are the team to watch. We genuinely, truly hate each other,” Cara told Us. “We’re gonna have to work together on challenges, that’s a given, but what would cause us to finally be like, ‘I have your back, screw these people?’ That moment will come … I think.”
She also explained that her biggest struggle of the season was learning how to be a good partner to Marie.
“I’m with a girl who has made a joke out of every Challenge that she does because she’s afraid that if she tries to do well and doesn’t, then what will people think of her? She’d rather make a joke of things than actually try,” she explained. “My challenge is I’m so competitive, and I get so angry if I can’t do the best or be the best, how do I be a good partner, working with what I have, picking up the slack where I have to, showing her that she can do it, to stop being afraid to be great because then you never will be great.”
To find out Cara’s dream partner and more, watch the video above.
The Challenge: Final Reckoning premieres on MTV Tuesday, July 10, at 9 p.m. ET.
