Alyssa Lopez on What Caused the Survivor/Big Brother Rift on 'The Challenge: USA' Season 2

The Challenge: USA season 2 is here! Every week, Parade.com will speak with the CBS reality alumni who were eliminated from the all-star competition.

Alyssa Lopez vowed this season would be different. After just missing out on the final her previous season and fighting throughout as an underdog, she was ready to come in as more of a free agent, thinking she had the advantage of experience under her belt. Unfortunately, she then saw six people with vastly more experience come in on jet skis. Alyssa realized very quickly how much the MTV veterans could steamroll the game, witnessing firsthand her entire team follow Tori Deal and Cory Wharton's wishes to put her friend Luis Colon into elimination. But Alyssa was soon able to turn the tables, coming together with some of the CBS women to form the "Secret Garden" alliance.

And they started to harvest quickly, putting veterans in during the next two rounds. At the next blue team deliberation, Alyssa vowed it would be very different from the last time. And she led the charge to nominating vets Johnny "Bananas" Devanzanio and Amanda Garcia. When Tori protested, she even got to snark at the Challenge champ, "It's not always about you." Unfortunately, the winds of fate blew that remark into what would send Alyssa home episodes later. The Survivor and Big Brother factions prepared to face off, and the vets went from the underdogs to the swing votes. Tori suggested "Operation Hat Trick," a random draw amongst the veterans to leave everyone confused and avoid showing their hand. And Tori, of all people, drew Alyssa's name. Despite her being on only one of eight balls in the Hopper, it was not her lucky day. She put up an admirable fight against fellow blue team member Cassidy Clark, but once again, Alyssa fell just short in elimination.

Now out of the game, Parade.com speaks with Alyssa L. about how the Survivor/Big Brother rift started, her reaction to "Operation Hat Trick," and whether she would  ake the transition to the MTV show.

Related: Everything to Know About The Challenge: USA Season 2

I want to start with the fact that, as you mentioned multiple times, this was your second Challenge: USA season. You got cut right before the end the previous time. You know, at least on the surface, a bit more of what you're getting into this time around. Was there anything different in your prep, either physically or strategically, between your two seasons?
I didn't train at all this season. Last season, it was right after Big Brother. I had all this free time. I had a trainer; I was training. I lost a lot of weight because of Big Brother; I wanted to gain that back. And I felt how strong I was, for my size, obviously. Right before this season, I started a business. It started really taking off and it took up my entire free time. I did not train. I wasn't mentally prepared. I was still checking work emails on the way to the airport. I didn't have that time to be like, "Okay, I'm doing this." And I definitely saw the difference of my strength physically.

This past episode was really about the Survivor and Big Brother alums going after each other, which came as very sudden to us watching. Was there really contingencies developing as strong as what we saw on the show?
I definitely was very much Big Brother. I would never say Tiffany, Alyssa, or Desi. Desi is the exception for me just because she did season one with me. So I think there was a lot of people that were very much Big Brother. And Survivor was very, very tight. And I think this game is about adapting every elimination. It's like someone comes back, let's figure out how to not get a vote. You have to like always adapt.

Survivor can be really sketchy and crazy; The Challenge people can be all sketchy and crazy. But as soon as Big Brother does the exact same thing, it's like, "Oh my god, they're from Big Brother. They're sketch balls." And I think Chris coming in and saying that and stating he's after Tyler and Monte kind of started the war. And I think I started realizing like, "Wait a second. There's literally all of them still here. And we're losing numbers." They didn't show we had a Big Brother meeting about it. I don't know if Josh and Fessy were that tight about it. But I was at least for me, Tyler, Monte, Tiff, and Alyssa.

You were eliminated by Cassidy, and I was interested to hear you say that you viewed her as a sister. Talk to me about that relationship, especially considering it crossed "party lines" in the breakdown you were just talking about.
Cassidy was my roommate. It was me, Tori, Amanda, and Cassidy. So me and Cassidy talked a lot. And I feel like she definitely came to me just about adapting in the house or talking game. Me, her, Alyssa, and Michele were pretty close. And we would have our own conversations. And I was very more towards the Secret Garden and having that loyalty. But I had my little side alliance with Cassidy. And I felt like that was beneficial because it was like, "Okay, she's not in this, but I have her kind of on the outside of it, too." So I think that's why they didn't show it. But going against her was nice because it was like my friend could win her first elimination, because I know how that feels. And I was like happy to lose against her. But yeah, they didn't show me and Cassidy much.

With the Secret Garden, you seemed to be the most vocal proponent of going after the veterans. And you talk about changing your approach to deliberations after seeing Cory and Tori get their way in the first one. How did this strategy come about?
I don't even think it was a strategy. I think I just know my strengths and weaknesses going on this show. You will never see me in a confessional or an interview say that I'm this great competitor, that I can beat anyone. Look at my arms! I know I'm not big. But what I don't lack is playing the strategic part, because that's just the Big Brother person in me and speaking my mind. I didn't get a callback because I almost made the final or I'm this big competitor. If it was about being the best competitor, this would be the Olympics. I know my qualities in reality television. 

The whole Secret Garden was very much about that. But I think also, it's hard when I'm the only one other than Alyssa S. that's in the Secret Garden in the blue team. And Alyssa S. definitely relied on me a lot. I was saying, "Let's do this. Let's do that." She always would just back when I said. She's not one to stand up and speak first. So I think it's hard because I was really the only voice that Secret Garden had at that moment in that team.

To that point, you were the one seemingly to get Bananas and Amanda into elimination, even telling Tori to her face, "Maybe it's not always about you." Do you feel like the house was looking at you differently after that?
I don't know. At least people were like, "Okay, she's going to back us." I know Monte and Tyler were worried and Paulie was worried, and it was like, "She definitely had to put in some work for that." Because Monte was on the table, Luis would be on the table again. So I think people at least respected it. I do think it made maybe me, Fessy, and Cory a little stronger in that aspect too. But the vets probably hated me! [Laughs.] Rightfully so.

You said in this past episode that you'd like to make the final and ideally run it with your friends. If you had stayed, did you want to go to the end with the Secret Garden? Or were you looking to get out some bigger competitors before the final?
The only real allegiance in the Secret Garden where I will not say their name is Tiff, Alyssa, and Desi. Desi could beat me anything and do it five times before I finished my first time. But I feel like, how Desi went out last season, and we had a talk walking in, "We owe it to ourselves. We've gone through enough last season that we deserve this."  Only three people got the callback, and Desi was in the final, and I was right there. So I feel like I just had this respect for Desi that I just wouldn't want to be the reason or add a part of like a reason to her leaving. So I think I would have started trying to take shots at Survivor just to dwindle down, because there were five girls and only four or five make the final.

You got your one vote in the Hopper from Tori due to "Operation Hat Trick" from the vets. When did you find out that was the case, and what's your reaction to it?
We all talk; we all hang out. So I found out she was my vote like months after we filmed. And I was like, being the strategic person in me, that makes sense. Strategically I wanted her out; strategically I put in bananas. Then to find out if it was just pieces of paper, and it was random, I can't respect it that much. I mean strategically, did it make sense in their head? Cool. But at the same time, I mean, they got what they wanted because I was a big voice against them. So, in a way, it did help them. But I don't really understand the full strategy. It just looks scared. I feel like why don't you guys band together and vote this one person to show you guys are gonna go after us or something? I don't know.

In honor of the infamous "[expletive] They Should Have Shown" episode of the old-school days of The Challenge, what's one moment from your time on the show that you wish had made the edit?
I wish they showed me and Alyssa S. more. Because she was like my little sidekick. It was funny because I feel like last season it was me and Angela. I felt like the Angela this time around, because last season I really confided in Angela. I needed Angela to make it far; I looked up to Angela. This time around. I felt like I was the Angela. Alyssa would always come to me and ask questions. Anything I did in that game, Alyssa would back. She's not very good at lying. [Laughs.] So she'd always ask me advice. She always needed to hear what I would think and stuff. So I wish they showed that a little more.

Whenever I've talked with T.J. Lavin, he's said that he wanted you to make the crossover from CBS to the flagship MTV Challenge. Is that something you'd ever want to do?
I don't know. I feel like I'm more for the CBS one. I would never say never. I mean, that call has happened. So maybe if the stars align. But I would have to be really prepared for that one. I mean, I showed up just acting like I'm on vacation, didn't train. For that one, I would need to go on a bootcamp before.

Next, check out our interview with Luis Colon, who was eliminated on The Challenge: USA season 2 episode 4.