Janelle Casanave and her partner, Darrell Taylor, have been fierce competition on season two of The Challenge: All Stars. However, in this EXCLUSIVE sneak peek at the upcoming Jan. 6 episode, Janelle opens up to Brad Fiorenza about a potential setback. “[I’m] in excruciating pain,” she told him. “In 2014 I had a serious back injury. It took me probably until last year for my back to be back to normal. So after that last challenge where we had to jump in the water and solve that puzzle, I was badly hurt.”
Janelle said she was “in so much pain every single day” since competing in the previous challenge, and admitted that she can “hardly sleep” because of the pain. In a confessional, she further explained the situation. “I have been dealing with a very bad back injury since jumping the 30 feet [into the water],” she revealed. “I’ve been keeping it from the house and Darrell.”
Earlier this season, Cohutta Grindstaff was sent home due to his partner, Casey Cooper, finding out she was pregnant and no longer being able to compete. Janelle feared that if she left the game due to her injury that Darrell would suffer the same fate, and she did not want to put him in that position. However, the fear of making the injury worse was starting to set in.
“I have a huge concern about us doing something very physical that can only make my back even worse,” she admitted. “I’ve been trying to manage my pain as quietly as possible because I don’t want to be a target. If I was not in a partner situation, I probably would’ve just pulled myself from the game.”
Brad commended Janelle for how she’d been handling the situation so far. “You did such a good job being strong and pushing through this because I would’ve never even known,” he told her. “It was hard to notice, to be honest.” Despite her bravery, though, Janelle was clearly starting to worry. “I have two little kids [at home] that I have to chase after,” she said. “There’s too much for me to lose right now.”
The Jan. 6 episode of The Challenge: All Stars will be the last challenge and elimination before the final. New episodes drop on Thursdays on Paramount+.