Lio Rush Releases Eye-Opening Statement After Leaving ‘The Challenge’

Fans were hit by a surprise departure during the last episode of The Challenge: Double Agents and the professional wrestling star has given more information about his decision to leave.

Lio Rush entered The Challenge house as a rookie with some serious athletic ability and didn’t appear to be on many peoples’ radars. He was paired up with the Love Island alum and fellow rookie, Gabby Allen.

Before the daily challenge on Wednesday’s episode, Lio packed his bags and left the game, saying that the environment was triggering for him after spending time in group homes as a kid. After the episode, Lio took to social media to post about his journey before The Challenge and the reason for leaving the show.

“April 2020 I was let go of my dream job with #WWE during the beginning of the pandemic with no real hope of what was next for me in my career,” Lio wrote. “A few weeks later I was presented with the opportunity of a lifetime by MTV and that was to compete on television for 1 million dollars. I’ve always had my dreams of becoming [a] reality TV star, so that was cool too. I was so excited for this unlike anything else.”

Lio Revealed That He Grew A lot During His Time on ‘The Challenge,’ Wants to Be a ‘Hero’ For those Suffering From PTSD, Anxiety, Depression or Other Mental Illnesses

In the post, Lio gave insight into his upbringing and how leaving The Challenge was the “hardest decision” the 26-year-old had made in his life. He wrote:

This was hands down the hardest decision I’ve ever made in my life. This was a fresh start and new beginning for me and my family. Unexpectedly I noticed that I’ve never been so vulnerable until this experience in the house. But this is what I’ve been wanting. So afraid to open up. Force to grow up very fast at a young age due to circumstances in my childhood and during that time I’ve made mistakes in my life because what kid doesn’t. Ive experienced so much growth from this experience. I was made to be the villain a few years ago and it was heartbreaking. I want to stand before you today as a hero. A hero to anyone out there that suffers from depression, anxiety, PTSD or any mental illness. A hero to the boys and girls who look like me. I came into the house knowing that it’ll be a challenge for me mentally on top of the challenge itself.

Lio Had a Final Message for ‘The Challenge’ Fans & Alum

Lio is grateful for his time on The Challenge: Double Agents, and appreciates the fans and his fellow cast members. He is currently focusing on his family and he and his wife are preparing to welcome another baby into the world.

“To my @challengemtv fans and to all of the dope people in the house,” Lio wrote. “Thank you for helping me grow. I didn’t walk away with a million dollars, but I walked away with something far much greater that I was expecting. I love you and goodluck with the rest of the season. Thank you for all of the incredible memories. I promise I will be back, but for now it’s time for me to get ready for my little one to come into this world and be here for my beautiful wife during our pregnancy. Thank you @mtv !”

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