"Bursting down in tears" — The Challenge's Cara Maria shares behind-the-scenes scoop about  Derek and Michele

The Challenge: Battle of the Eras (Season 40) aired Episode 17 on December 18, 2024, and saw Cara Maria Sorbello's journey end ahead of the season finale.

After being sent home by Tori Deal, the cast member took to Instagram to share "fun" behind-the-scenes scoop about several of her cast members. In an Instagram post, the cast member opened up about the cast members celebrating her birthday "in the middle of nowhere" and revealed they managed to get a message for her from her boyfriend, Pauly, who had been eliminated earlier in the season.

She revealed that since her appearance on Rivals 2, she had carried Horseback Tarot cards with her on set, and as part of her birthday surprise, Tori Deal, Derek Chavez, and Michele Fitzgerald made Cara her own set of birthday special Tarot cards with messages on them.

"Absolutely had me just bursting down in tears. Derek and Mich spent all night to make me my very own horse card reading," Cara said.

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"Saddle up" — The Challenge star Cara Maria shares snippets of the tarot cards her cast members made for her on her birthday

Cara Maria's co-stars made her birthday special while on The Challenge: Battle of the Eras. The cast members got together to celebrate her birthday and some even made gifts for her as she shared on Instagram.

Cara Maria captioned her post "STORY TIME and SPOILER ALERT bts from The Challenge" and detailed how the Season 40 cast celebrated her birthday. She saw that as viewers saw in the episode, Tori, Derek, and Michele set up an "emo happy birthday" for her and called it the "sweetest thing."

She added that they had managed to arrange a cake for her. She praised the MTV production team and everyone else involved for pulling it off. Cara added that they found her a cake, red and black balloons, roses, and a note from her boyfriend, Paulie.

She added that every season she carried a bag of horse tarot cards to The Challenge house with her and that people would often ask her to do a reading for them ahead of different challenges. She explained they looked like her own garnet of photos with horses and that they were old photos she kept with the tarot cards since Rivals 2.

She added that as part of her birthday celebration, Derek and Michele gifted her DIY horse tarot cards. She went over all the different cards in her online video because she felt the gesture was "too sweet."

"The first one is saddle up," Cara said.

The Challenge Season 40 contestant read out the contents of the card. It read that there was a time to stay in the "safety of the stall" and there was a time to "saddle up" and know that she was in control of what was coming.

"In the saddle, horse and rider are one — it is where both are comfortable, Know now you're able to overcome any obstacle ahead as you are safely grounded in your seat. Enjoy the wind in your hair and trust that you are safe," the card further said.

The next card was the "Garnet Spirit," which was a gift. The card embodied the bond created through hard work, perseverance, and love. It read that it was a reminder that when Cara Maria had a goal, and if she worked towards it "fervently" she would reap the rewards.

While addressing the fans, The Challenge Season 40 star thanked them for their support and said that although she didn't win the show, she walked away a "real winner" after Battle of the Eras.

Tune in next week on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, to watch the season finale of The Challenge Season 40 on MTV.