Challenge’s Natalie Anderson reveals the real reason for her sudden departure

Fans of “The Challenge” were shocked to see singer Natalie Anderson quit the show on Wednesday night’s episode – and now she’s opening up to the real reason she quit the show and the heartbreaking consequences.

During last night’s episode, host TJ Lavin said the “Survivor” alum was “no longer allowed” to be a part of the show, when she was simply saying that a “personal matter” was behind his departure. Speaking to PEOPLE after the episode aired, she explained that she had to leave after finding out she was pregnant – before having a miscarriage after coming out.

While she and her boyfriend Devin Perez had not tried for a child, Anderson was asked to take a pregnancy test after revealing that she missed her period. Although she said she was “always irregular” when doing reality TV due to the unique circumstances, the production wanted to “take the necessary precautionary measures” and she passed the test.

“I literally didn’t think it was going to be a positive,” she said, adding that when she found out she was waiting, she kept asking the production to let her stay and compete.

“I know my body and I would have gotten into it. If I could have signed a waiver and competed pregnant, trust me I would have,” she says. “The production just looked at me like, ‘This girl is crazy’… there really was no accountability point of view they would allow me to compete pregnant. I knew it as soon as I found out. “

Anderson wasn’t exactly thrilled with the news, calling it “a really unfortunate thing at a really bad time” because she was able to win the whole show. After leaving production, she found out she was eight weeks old and slowly came to the idea of ​​parenting with her boyfriend. But then she had a miscarriage.

“I had to digest the fact of losing my pregnancy and saying to myself, ‘Now I don’t have a victory in the challenge and I don’t have this new journey that I was looking forward to,’ she said. she declared to PEOPLE. “It was really difficult.”

Although it has been a difficult journey for her, Anderson said she has done a lot of work “to get to this space that I am in now” and added that she hopes to return to the show in the future.