Tyler Cameron and Tom Sandoval had very different approaches to Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test — at least according to Kelly Rizzo.
Rizzo, 44, made her early exit from the Fox reality series during the Monday, October 16, episode after struggling to continue a challenge due to bodily injuries. The recruits were directed to break up into teams and carry a boat across rough terrain before sailing it across a lake. When Rizzo broke down mid-mission, her team leader, Cameron, 30, reached out a helping hand.
“Tyler, at the very end, I just remember crumpling a little,” Rizzo exclusively told Us Weekly about her final challenge. “I was a puddle of a human on the floor, and he picked me up and gave me this big hug. And I just remember sobbing into his chest because I was just so emotional, and he was just being so kind. I remember just being like, ‘Tyler, you’re amazing. Thank you.’”
Rizzo — who was married to Bob Saget for six years before his death in January 2022 — shared that Cameron, 30, “hugged” her to stop her from “convulsing” and urged her to keep pushing ahead.
“I just remember sobbing into his chest because it was this moment of kindness between teammates,” she said. “He was just really wanting to be supportive and wanting me to keep going. He didn’t want me to give up.”
Rizzo noted that while Cameron was a pillar of strength, Sandoval, 40, took the “opposite” approach. “Tom yelled at me,” she recalled. “He’s like, ‘If you quit now you’re letting your team down.’ And I was like, ‘Shut up Tom.’”
The Special Forces star admitted that while the two men took “opposite approaches,” it was a “really intense” moment for everyone — and Sandoval often got the brunt of the heat from the directing staff.
“They were being really hard on Tom [Sandoval], they were giving him zero emotional love,” she told Us of the Vanderpump Rules star who previously revealed he joined the series to “take a beating” after cheating on ex-girlfriend Ariana Madix with costar Raquel Leviss earlier this year.
Rizzo, however, felt the DS team was always “rooting” for her no matter how in her face they may have seemed. DS Jovon “Q” Quarles, in particular, came to her aid after she fell to her knees on Monday’s episode.
“I could tell, even though they were saying, ‘Come on you,’ I could feel their hearts a little bit,” she shared. “And DS Q was really kind in that moment. It was a human moment where he specifically said … He goes, ‘Your husband’s looking down on you.’ And he is like, ‘He’s rooting for you,’ or, ‘He’s pulling for you.’ Obviously, they were referring to Bob [Saget].”
While Rizzo ultimately wasn’t able to continue on Monday’s mission, quitting before her team placed their boat in the water, she thinks the staff and recruits alike all would agree she “really gave it her all.” The lifestyle blogger noted that had she known “the end point” of their challenge, she may have even been able to see it all the way through.
“I was like, ‘Where’s the damn finish line?’ If I had an idea in mind, I could keep going,” she said. But they kept moving it, and I was like, ‘All right, I’m going to go until this part of the challenge is done.’ I wanted to just leave in the middle of the field, but I’m like, ‘I’m not going to do that.’”
Rizzo is one of 14 celebs whose limits have been put to the test on season 2 of Special Forces, which premiered in September. Looking back on the experience, Rizzo told Us that she bonded most with castmates Savannah Chrisley and JoJo Siwa — but there wasn’t anyone she didn’t get along with.
“[There was no one] I butted heads with, but I’m also not the drama-seeking type,” she said. “I’m a people pleaser. I just like to get along and have everyone be happy and let’s all get along.”
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 2 airs on Fox Mondays at 9 p.m. ET.
