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Image Credit: Fox
Carli Lloyd, 40, didn’t take a break from physical challenges after she retired from soccer in the Fall of 2021. The beloved athlete signed onto FOX’s Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, as one of 16 celebrity recruits who endure exhausting challenges inspired by the actual Special Forces selection process. Ahead of the show’s January 4 premiere, Carli told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY how Special Forces “came at a perfect time” for her, after saying goodbye to the sport she dominated professionally for 12 years.
“Had I been still playing, I would not be able to do this and risk injury,” Carli told us at the Special Forces red carpet event. “So for me, I think that I was just coming into this retirement phase, just kind of navigating through that and it was going to be another challenge. I challenged myself on the soccer field for so long and I wanted to see what I was made of.”
Carli Lloyd on ‘Special Forces’ (Photo: Fox)
The two-time Olympic gold medalist admitted that she “did fear” a lot of the challenges on Special Forces, but she didn’t let that stop her. “I have a bit of a height thing, but I just thought, ‘I’m just going to go for it. I’m going to tackle it head-on,’ ” Carli said. “And try to do the best that I can and I know that experience will shape me into who I am and be part of my journey.”
Carli further explained to HL how she didn’t shy away from anything on the tough-as-nails series, such as repelling out of a tower and diving out of a helicopter.
“I think the craziest thing I’ve done before this is bridge-jumping in the water and things in nature, but I haven’t gone as far as what I did on this show, so I still can’t believe some of the things that I got through,” she said. “It was pretty wild.”
Carli Lloyd (Photo: Andy Clayton-King/AP/Shutterstock)
The rest of the Special Forces recruits include other athletes like Nastia Liukin and Mike Piazza, as well as reality star Kenya Moore, actress Jamie Lynn Spears, and singer Mel B. Carli revealed that the 16 celebrities all bonded intensely over the “traumatic experiences” they faced on the reality show.
“I don’t know that I’ve ever been closer with a group of strangers in my entire life, and what we went through and what we got to experience together,” Carli said. “It was really special.” Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test will air Wednesdays on FOX.
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Sourse: hollywoodlife.com
