Brittany Cartwright has seen the negativity surrounding her early exit from Special Forces — and she has a message for those who questioned how hard she tried.
During the season 4 premiere, which aired on Thursday, September 25, Brittany lasted most of the day and endured three separate challenges before opting to leave.
“It was definitely complicated. It was very hard, I am not going to lie. Even when they put the bag on my head on the bus, that was hard. It was something that was scary — even though I knew that we were safe — and it was still just terrifying,” Brittany, 36, exclusively told Us Weekly about her time on the Fox show. “I felt like I couldn’t breathe. I was shaking like a leaf. It was very hot outside. It was just a different kind of sensation that I didn’t think I was going to have before I got there.”
Brittany pointed out that they were put through the wringer.
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“After rolling around in the mud and everything else, I just felt so worn out and so tired. Then I see the helicopter coming in the distance and my biggest fear is heights. I don’t like helicopters. So that was insane and I was crying and I was praying,” she recalled. “But I did it and I’m so proud of myself. Then running up and down the mountain with the heavy stuff, I was just so exhausted.”
Despite not making it far on the show, Brittany rejected the notion that she didn’t work hard, adding, “A lot of people think I didn’t try very hard. I really tried. It was just very, very, very complicated. I wasn’t physically fit at the time and I was going through different things in my life at the time.”
She continued, “I had also never been away from my son [Cruz] that long before. There were just a lot of different factors that were playing against me. I was in my own head and I’m so glad I did it. If I would do it over again, I would work out harder and be in a better place in my life. But I don’t take it for granted.”
Brittany was one of many reality TV stars making up the season 4 cast of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test. The competition also features Teresa Giudice, Gia Giudice, Jussie Smollett, Kody Brown, Eric Decker, Jessie James Decker, Johnny Manziel, Chanel Iman, Nick Young, Ravi Patel, Brianna “Chickenfry” LaPaglia, Andrew East, Shawn Johnson East, Randall Cobb, Mark Estes, Eva Marcille and Christie Pearce.
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Special Forces, which premiered in 2023, puts contestants through harsh, military-style training based on actual special forces selection processes. They face intense physical and mental challenges designed to push their limits.
“[The reaction to my early elimination] has been a mixed bag of haters and people saying, ‘You tried and you faced your biggest fear.’ So it’s been a lot of ups and downs,” Brittany admitted. “But I put myself out there and I left my comfort zone. No matter what, I’m proud of that and of the fact that I faced my biggest fear, which was heights. I did that, so I can still walk away proud. I’m still disappointed in myself that I left. I did not want to be the first person that left, but I’m also proud of myself for knowing when it was time for me to walk away, because it was a lot.”
Brittany was coming off a split from Jax Taylor when she joined Special Forces, which she thought played a role in her short-lived appearance.
“It was a lot of my worst fears. It was a lot of physical stuff that I was not really the best at. I had been away from my son seven days prior to even going to the course. The Directing Staff [DS] are doing their job. They are yelling at us, screaming at us, and putting us down to try to build us up. That’s what they’re supposed to do,” she noted. “That’s their job. But for me — coming out of a toxic relationship — it all triggered me more than it motivated me.”
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The Valley star wondered whether she would have done better at a different point in her life, adding, “I just think being in a better headspace, in a better place in my life and actually working out and, like, being physically more fit would be something I would change if I was to ever do it again. I would definitely do it again. But I’d be running every day. I’d be outside in the heat. I’d be in the pool every day swimming laps.”
While addressing the feedback she received, Brittany elaborated on the comment she made about Jax’s texts to her.
“Him telling me I wouldn’t go far in this, it definitely put me in a weird mental state that I shouldn’t have even had to experience. That shouldn’t have happened to me. I should not have been texted that I wasn’t gonna make it far. I shouldn’t have had that in the back of my mind,” she explained. “But it did happen to me, and it was something that I had to live with. But either way, I don’t care what he has to say.”
She added, “I still put myself out there and every day in my life. I do everything and I am proud of myself for the woman that I am and how strong I am every single day. So no matter what was said to me before, it doesn’t affect me anymore. Because I have grown even more since I filmed Special Forces and I am proud of the mother I am and the person I am. He’s never going to take that away from me.”
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test airs on Fox Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
