‘The Challenge’ Star Opens Up About Death of His Sister in Emotional Tribute

Flowers are shown on a casket at a graveside service

Getty Flowers are shown on a casket at a graveside service

The second season of the popular spinoff show “The Challenge: All Stars” is well underway now with two episodes available on the Paramount+ streaming platform and a lot of amazing moments from the OG stars already being discussed online. Warning: This article contains spoilers for the second episode of “The Challenge: All Stars” season two, which dropped on Paramount Plus on November 18.

During the second episode, fans saw the first elimination of the season as Derek Chavez and Leah Gillingwater were voted into the arena against the losers of the first challenge, Nehemiah Clark and Ayanna Mackins. The challenge winners Derrick Kosinski and Jodi Weatherton nominated two men and two women for possible elimination and the house voted for Derek and Leah over Steve Meinke and Casey Cooper.

After the votes, the cast let loose with a prom-themed party where Derek became very emotional. He told his “Real World: Cancun” co-stars Jonna Mannion and Jasmine Fougere that he had learned right before leaving for “All Stars” 2 that his little sister, BreAna, had taken her life. He said the decision to come on the show was a very difficult one but his sister had always been his biggest fan and would have wanted him to compete.

For his elimination, Derek asked Jonna to write Bre inside a heart on his arm, and although he ultimately lost to Nehemiah and was eliminated from the game, he said in his interview afterward that he was happy he competed and he knew BreAna would be proud of him. After the episode dropped on Paramount+, he opened up further about his family’s loss.

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Derek Said His Co-Stars Provided Comfort During That Period & Opened Up About His Sister’s Funeral

After the episode aired, Derek said he was happy he’d decided to appear on “All Stars” 2 and his co-stars helped him during the difficult time. “Sometimes you choose your family and I am happy I had my family with me thru this tragedy. [Jonna] knew Bre, as did [Jasmine] and the comfort they provided helped me so much they don’t even know… I love you girls and thank you for loving me. You gave me strength when I wanted to leave.”

Nearly two months earlier, he spoke about attending his sister’s funeral. “This weekend we finally said our last goodbyes to BreAna,” he wrote on Instagram at the end of September. “We buried her with my dad. I hope she’s at peace and no longer suffering… I love you all and this meant alot to us. She was truly loved and will be missed. We love you always and forever Brat.”


After the Episode Aired, He Thanked Fans & Followers for Their Messages of Love & Support

Derek posted another thank you message after his elimination from “The Challenge: All Stars,” sharing a brief one-minute video on Instagram which he captioned, “Thank you everyone for the love and support. It means the world to me and I am glad I was able to speak about this and bring light to it because it is important. I’m hoping Bre’s story can help anyone going thru this and those involved and affected as well. I love you guys. My family and I are so grateful.”

In the video, he said, “I just wanna say thank you to everyone for reaching out and showing so much love and support to me during this hard time.” He continued:

It was crazy to have to relive this moment again, but I know that this story needed to be told just in case there’s anybody out there that feels the same way my sister may have felt at the time.

I want you guys to know that you’re never alone. I hope that if you feel like you are, that you speak out with somebody because it’ll get better if you do… I hope I made you guys proud, and I hope I made my little sister proud.

If you or someone you know is having suicidal thoughts, the toll-free National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

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