‘The Challenge USA’: Alyssa Snider Talks Tyler Romance, Being the Last ‘Big Brother’ Woman Standing

Alyssa Snider was the last, female Big Brother alum standing on The Challenge USA. With her Big Brother allies leaving the game week after week, the target on Alyssa’s back grew even larger. Eventually, she was voted into elimination and lost a hard-fought battle to Survivor alum Cassidy Clark. 

Following her time on the show, Alyssa spoke with PopCulture.com about her Challenge USA journey. Not only did she open up about her gameplay and her showmance with fellow Big Brother alum Tyler Crispen, but she also shared some details on a project close to her heart — her dog rescue, Olive Branch. Read on to see what Alyssa had to say about both her time on reality TV and her animal advocacy endeavors. (This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.)

PopCulture.com: We have a lot to talk about here with your experience on The Challenge USA. I wanted to point out, first and foremost, you were the last Big Brother girl standing. How awesome!

Alyssa: Thank you so much. I know. I’m like, how does this keep happening? How do I weasel my way to the end of these things? Not quite the end, but really I made it to the last Big Brother girl, and that’s an accomplishment.

PC: So close to the end here. We were almost at the finals. So what was it like throughout this experience on the Challenge here to go through the game, and you did see a lot of your allies like Ameerah and Monte leaving, so what was it like to play the game without them?

Alyssa: It was so hard. So going in, I knew I was like BB24 first, then BB, and then everybody else. And so going in and I’m like, “All right, Ameerah, we got this.” And then she’s gone first and I’m like, “Okay, wait, what?” I was not expecting that. So I’m like, “All right, regroup.” And I knew I had Monte and I knew from him being a Big Brother, he’s loyal to his people and I knew I was his people, so I never worried about him. And I was like, I got him. And then I had Alyssa Lopez, she was great at politicking. 

There was a scene, and I remember Desi was like, “And then there’s this secret garden, and then there’s this person, and then there’s Alyssa Lopez. And Alyssa Snyder is an extension of her.” And I’m like, “Yes, Alyssa Lopez got my back.” So it’s so nice to know those people had me, but they just started going one by one, and then at the very end, the last couple of weeks, it was just me and Tyler in there. And that was so difficult.

PC: Looking back on your experience, what was your take on it? Did you surprise yourself at all? Glad you went on it, stuff like that?

Alyssa: Absolutely. So going onto the Challenge, I actually didn’t watch the Challenge beforehand. I didn’t want to psych myself out. And even Tyler had said on that last episode, ‘Alyssa didn’t really know what she was signing up for, but she went out there and she did her thing.’ So coming on, I was like, all right, I know this is going to be physically challenging, but oh my God, even the first challenge carrying those statues, they were literally a hundred pounds. You’re running three miles up a mountain. It was so insane. And I pushed myself to my absolute breaking point over and over and over again. I remember each week I would just sit there and I’m like, “All right, we did hit our breaking point, but let’s just keep going.” And then I would find a new breaking point. But I think it was so beautiful to discover that inner fighter in myself that I would come back and I would do this, and I felt like I got to know a new version of myself.

PC: Of course, I have to ask you about the whole Tyler situation. What’s the status of your relationship with him? We all want to know.

Alyssa: So me and Tyler connected pretty quickly in the house. We became really good friends. It was so amazing. And then one night we had a little too much wine and a smooch happened, and then it just continued from there. And he very quickly became someone I trusted and I am just a lover as a person. I have such amazing friends I’ve had for 10 years that I love so deeply. So when it comes to platonic and romantic relationships, I just give them my whole self. And I did that again, and I wasn’t planning on it, but I did it again. He’s so irresistible.

But after the Challenge, we both got home, we were decompressing, and of course, I’m like, “Let’s get married, let’s have kids, let’s do this.” The hopeless romantic in me. And he’s like, “Whoa, you have to understand. I was in a relationship from Big Brother. I was still processing that breakup.” He was in a relationship and an engagement. He’s still processing that and the saying, hurt people, hurt people is very real, and I never want to be in that situation. So he’s like, “Why don’t we take some time to really heal and process and then we can see what happens in the future.” But as of now, we’re just friends.

PC: And as you were leaving the elimination too, Tyler was still in there. Was there anything that you guys said in that last moment there to each other? Were you like… I know you mentioned ‘win this for yourself’ and stuff like that. So what was that conversation?

Alyssa: I think the most disappointing thing that came out of it was that he kept saying, “I’ll see you soon. I’ll see you soon.” And then it didn’t really happen because he’s like, “I do need to process and I do need to kind of figure out where I’m at.” And I was like, “Okay.” To me, it feels like I get close to these people and I care about them and I love them, and then people leave. I think I have a little bit of trauma there, but he really just was saying he was proud of me, and that’s something I never really got in my life. So hearing that was just so beautiful to be like, “I’m so proud of you.” I’m like, “Wow, I don’t really get that in my day-to-day life.” So it was super sweet.

PC: And as we’re winding down here, this isn’t necessarily Challenge-related, but I asked to ask because I know you mentioned on the show you have a dog rescue, I believe it’s called the Olive Branch Rescue. Tell us a little bit about that, because that’s something that’s so close to my heart animal advocacy, and I just love hearing that you’re doing that. So I wanted to give a little bit of a spotlight on that.

Alyssa: Oh my God, thank you. I’m so glad that you love that as well. So growing up, I’ve always loved animals. My family loves animals, and I just always wanted to be a voice for the voiceless. Animals can’t speak up, they can’t speak out. And as humans, I feel like that’s our job is to protect them when we can. So my animal rescue is called Olive Branch, and it’s a foster-based rescue. So we go and get these dogs that are redlined, which basically means they’re at risk for euthanasia, which would probably happen within that week. So we’ll get a dog and they would be sent to be put down that day or the next day. And we’re able to go there and get those dogs and give them safety and give them a new life. And it is the most empowering feeling.

PC: And so what are some ways that people can help you out with Olive Branch rescue?

Alyssa: Yeah, Olive Branch Rescue. It’s on Instagram. You guys can donate. We love to get stuff from Amazon if you want to donate like puppy pads, puppy foods. So we’re able to go help more dogs, anything like that. We’re totally based off donations or even just spreading the word. If someone wants to post an Olive Branch, you want to post about animal rescues. And even if it’s not our rescue share awareness of what’s going on in the world so people know because it’s not talked about enough.