The Challenge: Battle of the Eras aired episode 17 last week on December 18, 2024. The segment was the last one ahead of the finale and it saw Cara Maria's journey coming to an end after a water-based elimination task against Tori Deal.
After the cast member was eliminated, she spoke to Entertainment Weekly about her time on the show and chimed in on several things that didn't make the final cut. She discussed drama between Johnny Bananas, Olivia Kaiser, and Theo Campbell and noted that she was surprised nobody had spoken about "bed-gate."
The cast member revealed that Olivia and Theo, whose relationship blossomed in season 40, put their beds together on Era 1's side after most of the team was eliminated. She said that they wanted privacy but other people had started sleeping in their "spot." She revealed that Johnny Bananas didn't want them on "that side of the house" and devised a plan.
She said it was the "weirdest thing" and Olivia and Theo were "so angry" because Johnny was acting like they couldn't be on "that side of the house."
"There was all this drama and we called it bed-gate," she said.
"Making a human ladder"— The Challenge: Battle of the Eras star Cara Maria recalls listening in on Johnny Bananas' "sermons"
While in conversation with Entertainment Weekly, Cara Maria reflected upon her The Challenge season 40 journey. She chimed in on some of the things that were not televised including her, Tori, and Olivia eavesdropping on Johnny Bananas' "sermons."
"We would hear him talking loud and we're like "He's talking sh*t about us." We were literally making a human ladder to go all the way up to the balcony where Johnny was talking and we were listening in," she said.
The Challenge season 40 cast member recalled Michele Fitzgerald getting "so angry" that she stormed into the room and told Bananas they could hear everything. At the time, Cara told Michele that she "blew" up their spot because they could have listened in to so much more.
Cara Maria called filming season 40 "fun" and said that the cast made the best of "living in Satan's a**hole." She said it was hot in the house but they did their best and recalled not going out until it was dark to beat the heat.
Cara Maria was further asked about her "hot take" on The Challenge season 40 and wondered why they brought 40 people to compete on the show when they were going to be "ditched" in the first episode itself. The cast member wondered if there would be a reunion for just those people or at least an after-show.
"If we weren't going to have a redemption house, then I feel like it was a miss," she added.
The Challenge season 40 star said that the post-elimination targets could have been kept secret. Cara felt it would have been "way more crazy" if contestants wrote down their targets before the elimination and nobody knew who they were. She said it would have been an "instant twist" and would have caused more paranoia in the house.
The cast member further chimed in on giving Bananas one karma point during her elimination from The Challenge: Battle of the Eras. She said that nobody else got a low number and that she gave everyone else a "five." She said she didn't want to "mess" with anyone else's game, including Jordon, despite their turbulent past.
Fans can tune in to watch the season finale of The Challenge season 40 on Wednesday, January 1, 2025, on MTV.