The Challenge: All Stars, which premieres on April 1 on Paramount+, is bringing back all of your favorite competitors for one epic competition. Several of the franchise’s most well-known stars, including Darrell Taylor and Trishelle Cannatella, are all returning for their shot at the $500,000 prize. Recently, PopCulture.com got to chat with one of the most iconic competitors in Challenge history, Beth Stolarczyk, who is returning to the MTV series after 13 years. (She last made an appearance in The Challenge: Gauntlet 3, which aired in 2008.) It’s safe to say that Stolarczyk didn’t hold back as she spoke about her “villain” persona on the show and living amongst some of her former rivals once again.
It’s been some time since fans have gotten to hear Stolarcyzk’s iconic laugh on the show. What has she been up to since leaving the Challenge world? The former Real World star explained that she got married, welcomed two children, and started her own business called Eyelusion Lashes. But, when she got the call to join The Challenge: All Stars, she knew that she had to be a part of it. She told PopCulture.com that she was “super excited to get this call because I, like so many other moms, I spend so much time doing things for so many other people and not putting myself first.” She added, “I’m super thankful to The Challenge for bringing me back because the old Beth is back.”
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Stolarczyk explained that she wasted no time in preparing for The Challenge: All Stars, as she incorporated running, yoga, and lifting into her workout routine. According to the reality star, she knew that she needed to come to the game prepared because she “can’t rely on anybody else” to get her through to the final.
“I mean look, people don’t like me. I don’t know why, but people don’t like me and I don’t really feel like people give me a fair shake,” Stolarczyk said. “All I can do is be my authentic self and if people are going to give me a chance they are, but I can’t depend on that. So I knew that I’ve got to show up ready. I’ve got to be ready…. I’ve got to rely on myself to get me through this game, just like the past Challenges. For some reason, I don’t know why, the girls love to gang up on me and then the guys just kind of followed suit. And so I’m just hoping that that doesn’t happen to me on this one.”
Just like she said, you can always count on Stolarczyk to be authentically herself on The Challenge. Of course, she’s been quite the polarizing personality on the show, especially when it comes to her fellow competitors. In fact, that polarization has led some fans to deem Stolarczyk as the “OG villain” of the show. Although, she doesn’t necessarily see things that way.
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“I mean, honestly, I don’t really understand it because if you go back and watch these shows, I’m not a villain,” she admitted. “I stand up for myself and I set boundaries. I stand up for myself. I’m not afraid of anybody. I can look at a challenge and even though I’m afraid of it, I’m going to do my best and I’m going to be confident. And I think because I’m so confident that it pisses other people off maybe.” Even though that “villain” persona doesn’t exactly ring true to Stolarczyk, she’s going to continue doing things her way, and she’s going to have a blast while doing it. She added, “Well look, I’m going to have my own fun and if people want to have fun with me, that’s great. But honestly, I can have fun by myself. I can really have fun by myself or with everybody, but that’s their choice. And we’ll see what happens.”
To catch Stolarczyk and a slew of your favorite Real World and Road Rules competitors tackle this new Challenge, you can catch The Challenge: All Stars on Paramount+ on April 1. If you want to follow along with all of the action yourself, check out this link to obtain your Paramount+ subscription (new users can try the service with a free trial). Disclosure: PopCulture is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of ViacomCBS.