The 34-year-old New Jersey native abruptly left 'The Challenge: Double Agents' after she found out that she was pregnant with her child with boyfriend Devin Perez.
- Jan 15, 2021
AceShowbiz - Natalie Anderson opens up about suffering miscarriage after leaving "The Challenge: Double Agents" in the Wednesday, January 13 episode of the show. In a new interview, Natalie detailed "a personal matter that requires me to leave the game."
The 34-year-old revealed to Us Weekly that the whole thing started after her phone call to her twin sister, Nadiya Anderson, over FaceTime while filming. "I was just joking because she's trying to get pregnant with her second child, and I was, like, 'Oh, my God, my period's late. Maybe we'll get pregnant, and we'll have babies together when I get back!' " Natalie, who is dating boyfriend Devin Perez for more than a year, shared.
"I was totally joking, but that triggered production to have me take a pregnancy test," she continued. Natalie admitted that all she could think about was the competition, noting that there was no way for her to get pregnant. She added, "For me, the money was basically in my pocket, the check was already written. This money was mine and there was nobody who was gonna come get my skull for me. I was literally just waiting for the final to get there, so I could just cross everybody else and take the money."
When she found out that she's pregnant, Natalie said that she felt this "weird wave of happiness, shock, surprise, disappointment. I didn't even process what I was actually feeling. I was just like, 'How am I pregnant? I want to win this money!' I love my boyfriend, but he's not here. It was just the most awkward way to find out you're pregnant, because it could have been an amazing feeling, but I didn't have the opportunity to feel like that because I was just so confused and torn about having to leave the game, but also was super excited and happy."
The New Jersey native revealed that even when she was home, it took time for her to embrace the fact that she was pregnant. Thankfully, her boyfriend was there to help her. "I could finally breathe and embrace the pregnancy in a way that I hadn't felt while I was out there. I was now embracing in a different light. I realized everything happens for a reason. I had to give up winning, potentially, half a million dollars. But on the flip side, I get to embrace this cool journey with somebody I love and trust to be my partner in life," she said.
"The Amazing Race" vet then shared that she then got back into her "regular routine of eating and training." However, she then felt intense cramps a week later, sharing, "I went through a miscarriage, and it was really difficult because I had just kind of come to peace with leaving the game and saying goodbye to the competition of the challenge, which I love, came back home and changed my mindset into this new journey. And that was then taken away from me. It was hard for me."
Despite the heartbreaking experience, Natalie said that she wanted to make the best out of everything. "I did everything that I could in my power to kind of make peace with my journey and I'm just really proud of where I am right now and where we are together," she said.
