Who are Jay Starrett and Michele Fitzgerald from The Challenge? Reality TV stars previously participated in Survivor

Survivor participants Jay Starrett and Michele Fitzgerald are all set to participate in MTV’s new competition series, The Challenge. The duo has teamed up in a bid to win Season 38 of the show, which airs on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, at 8 pm ET/PT on MTV.

After displaying his strength and skills on Survivor, Jay hopes to “survive long enough to make it to the final and earn his first title alongside his ex-turned-bestie, Michele,” as per his official bio on MTV.

The team is eager to break through the ceiling and become the first former US Survivors to make it to The Challenge finale.

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All about Jay Starrett and Michele Fitzgerald from The Challenge

1) Jay Starrett

33-year-old Jay from Georgia worked as a real estate agent before working on reality TV. After his stint on reality shows, Jay now spends his time traveling and exploring the world, surfing, and rock climbing.

Besides being on Survivor, Jay has appeared on two seasons of The Challenge, Total Madness and Double Agents, and Ex on the Beach 2.

He was the first US Survivor player to debut on Total Madness. On the show, he won two eliminations and was well-known for eliminating CT in the show. He even won the Mini Final of Double Agents.

He participated in the Double Agents to provide for his family. His official synopsis for Double Agents read:

"This all-time superfan of The Challenge and spunky Survivor alum became everyone's go-to target during his rookie season, finding himself voted into back-to-back-to-back eliminations to start his Challenge career.

"Now, Jay is back and hopes to use his laid-back attitude to notch some key allies who can help him make it far. With family as his key motivation, Jay is desperate to bring home some money to take care of his mother and sister and will let nothing stand in his way."

Even in Season 38 of the new series, he is “playing for his family, and when his family is at stake, there’s no move too big Jay wouldn’t consider it.”

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2) Michele Fitzgerald

Michele, 32, first appeared on Survivor as a young bartender on the Beauty Tribe. She won Survivor: Kaôh Rōng and made it to the end as a runner-up on Survivor: Winners at War.

A respected “social player,” Michele, who is terrific with 3D puzzles, also competed in The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies. Last year, she told EW about her experience on the reality show and said:

“I was like, am I actually physically prepared for this experience? Survivor is like the kiddie pool; I’m in the big pool now. It’s wild.”

Michele has participated in both Survivor and The Challenge and finds both extremely tough in some way or the other. She said:

“When I was on The Challenge, I very much felt like it was more difficult because my paranoia level was significantly higher. But when I look back at it, the mental and emotional and physical toll that Survivor takes is definitely — I came back from The Challenge, and I assimilated fairly quickly.”

Adding:

“When you get back from Survivor, it takes months to recalibrate into your regular life. And that showed me that it was probably a bit more draining, so Survivor is harder but in a different way.”

Michele has now teamed up with her “closest friends from Survivor,” Jay, for the new season of the MTV show. They have been friends for “seven, eight years now” after dating for a brief time. The besties now hope to win the competition with the support of each other.

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Don't miss the new episode as it comes out on Wednesday, October 12.