Saying goodbye. While eliminations are fairly common in the game of The Challenge, some deactivations catch faithful viewers by surprise after various rule breaks.
During a November 2021 episode of The Challenge: Spies, Lies and Allies, host TJ Lavin shocked fans by announcing that Ashley Mitchell, a two-time champion, had exited the game.
“As you’ve seen, Ashley is no longer at headquarters. Ashley has broken one of our rules,” Lavin explained during the episode. “Because of that, Ashley is no longer able to stay in the game. She has been deactivated. She is no longer able to continue in this game for the rest of the season.”
While neither MTV nor the Challenge: Invasion of the Champions winner shared details about which rule Mitchell broke, the Real World alum has been outspoken about her exit via social media.
“Rules are rules and I respect @mtv and TJs call,” the Nevada native tweeted at the time. “The best apology is changed behavior. See you next time. I just want to thank everyone whose stuck with me through out this all. Everyone knows I’m only mad at myself and it has been so hard to shake off the depression and anxiety since getting home. I have been taking anger management and reflecting a lot. 
I love you yall so much.”
The nine-time competitor has not been the only Challenge alum to get the boot in the middle of filming. Fellow reality TV personality Nia Moore departed Battle of the Exes II after allegedly physically and verbally harassing costar Jordan Wiseley.
“There is a fine line between calling someone names and then there’s crossing that line and actually physically grabbing and touching somebody,” the Strapped founder said during a March 2015 episode of the franchise. “And I mean, let’s face it, we can’t touch you. So don’t touch me, at all.”
The flight attendant, for her part, issued a lengthy apology via social media at the time.
“Last September I sat on a dark plane alone, traveling from Norway to Atlanta, wide awake the entire flight. I couldn’t sleep. I wouldn’t eat. Every emotion imaginable flowed through me in no particular order. I was livid with myself. I was also sad, embarrassed and fearful of how my actions would be perceived later,” Moore explained via an Instagram post at the time. “How would I explain this to my friends & family? An opportunity of a lifetime — one that would not only reward me with a ton of money, but prove that I am a resilient competitor — was taken away from me. The painful part was knowing that I had robbed myself.”
She continued in her post, “I acted alone and no one else was responsible. On the very first week of filming in Panama, the producers asked me in my interview ‘What will be your biggest obstacle this season?’ My answer was getting in my own way. I was not afraid of the competition because I believed I could beat them all, regardless of what they thought. My biggest fear was exactly what ultimately came true. I got in my own way by allowing the uglier sides of my emotions destroy what I had worked so hard for. I twisted the dagger so far and so deep that @MTV and @bunimmurray had no choice but to send me packing.”
Scroll below to see who else has been let go from The Challenge over the years.