‘The Challenge: USA’: Paulie Reveals Why He Came Out On TV After Being ‘On The Fence’ About It (Exclusive)

Paulie Calafiore was eliminated connected the Aug. 17 occurrence of The Challenge: USA aft going head-to-head against seven-time champ Johnny “Bananas” Devenanzio in the elimination ring. However, earlier helium was sent home, helium had a susceptible speech with Tori Deal astir his sexuality, publically coming retired arsenic bisexual for the archetypal clip successful his world tv career. In an EXCLUSIVE interrogation with HollywoodLife, Paulie admitted that coming retired connected the amusement is thing he’d been grappling with for years.

“Season aft season, I had travel successful and I had ever been truthful connected the obstruction astir talking astir it,” Paulie shared. “I callback connected earlier seasons, producers were benignant of being like, ‘Where is this choler coming from? What is this spot connected your enarthrosis and wherefore does it look truthful assertive and passionate?’ And it’s ever been connected the extremity of my tongue, but I ever worked astir it by conscionable being like, ‘Oh, I was ace competitory and I got picked connected blah, blah blah.’ I ne'er truly deed the nail connected the head.”

However, aft “years of therapy,” Paulie said helium was acceptable to yet person that speech this play aft taking 4 years disconnected from the show. “[I realized] it’s alright to person this conversation. You tin inactive beryllium a beast and amusement a susceptible broadside due to the fact that you’re successful power of if you’re letting idiosyncratic usage a vulnerability against you astatine the extremity of the day,” helium explained. “I deliberation erstwhile I came to grips with that, it was overmuch easier for me. It was like…let’s conscionable rip the Band-Aid off. I’m gonna blurt it out.”

In the end, Paulie was blessed with however his communicative was told. “It came retired precisely the mode I wanted it to travel retired and it was delivered the mode I wanted it delivered,” helium shared. My bosom was pounding the full time, but it’s retired determination present and it’s a value lifted disconnected my backmost and chest.”

Paulie has been dating fellow Challenge vet, Cara Maria Sorbello, since 2018. While Cara wasn’t connected this season, Paulie said that she besides hopes to instrumentality successful the future. “Whether we’re connected a play solo oregon together, we’re conscionable ready,” helium shared. “We’re acceptable to travel backmost and beryllium dominant. I deliberation we’re besides some successful a spot wherever we’re not looking to fto definite things beryllium taken excessively personally connected our side. We’re truly conscionable focused connected securing ourselves arsenic 2 of the astir ascendant players to play the game, but also arsenic a couple, the astir ascendant mates to ever travel from that show.”

Read much from our interrogation with Paulie below!

On wherefore helium was acceptable to instrumentality aft 4 years off: In the clip off, I built a concern and I tried retired for the Winter Olympics, truthful from a timing standpoint, it didn’t truly enactment retired successful the second portion of the 4 years. It was conscionable a scheduling thing. Those archetypal 2 years was a small spot much of maine having to instrumentality a interruption successful presumption of immoderate things that I did to myself, essentially, to get myself removed from Total Madness and Double Agents. Then origin successful COVID spreading those seasons out…it was lone 1 play filmed per year. But I was yet capable to get everything settled and I was acceptable to travel backmost for this.

On wherefore helium was acceptable to mend fences with Josh [Martinez] and Johnny Bananas aft erstwhile rivalries: It was 4 years disconnected and adjacent though determination was a batch of animosity and hatred, it’s 1 of those things wherever you travel successful and it’s a caller start. Us being connected a team and being successful a country unneurotic decidedly helped maine mend that. You don’t truly privation to beryllium that idiosyncratic who’s holding onto excessively galore things and clouding you from that eventual goal. My eventual extremity is to win. If I’m focusing connected them, I’m not focusing connected winning.

So I came successful with that mindset and I was capable to beryllium successful that mediate presumption and benignant of recognize wherever radical were lying and beryllium capable to prime up connected things faster than I would person if I was conscionable focused connected whether Johnny and Josh were trying to get maine out. I would’ve missed definite things and not paid attraction to definite conversations if my defender was down.

On wherefore helium started moving with the vets earlier his elimination: [When it started], I was benignant of seeing wherever the chips fell. I didn’t truly cognize the radical connected the CBS side. I knew the vets, but I wasn’t allies with them connected erstwhile seasons we played. I was trying to thrust the mediate arsenic agelong arsenic I could, but the CBS radical were looking astatine maine arsenic a competitor, rightfully so. The vets…it seemed similar they needed maine a small spot more, which is wherefore I started leaning that way.

It was scary coming back. I had nary ties. It’s not similar I was backmost determination with radical I had worked with successful the past. I was benignant of connected an land alone. It was challenging, but I similar that challenge. If it wasn’t for the [random] Hopper, I was sitting successful a beauteous bully place. [I lone got] 3 votes retired of an full location and I wasn’t adjacent considered erstwhile arsenic the information to beryllium the idiosyncratic down there. So if it wasn’t for that [hopper] twist, I deliberation I could’ve truly made a run.