'The Challenge: USA's' Alyssa Lopez and Desi Williams Look Back on Unseen Alliances and Their Biggest Moves

The 'Big Brother' and 'Survivor' alums both talk about finding redemption from their previous shows and being grateful for 'The Challenge' experience.

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

Alyssa Lopez and Desi Williams both came into The Challenge: USA with something to prove. Though both had made it a decent way into their respective seasons of Big Brother and Survivor, they felt underestimated as competitors, and were looking at this as a second chance to prove themselves. And each of them got just that, as they won challenges, made moves, and made a new narrative that took them both to the finale.

For Alyssa, there was also some past drama to rehash, namely the fact she was playing with the "Cookout" alliance that was responsible for taking her out. So when she came into power, she helped craft arguably one of the biggest moves of the season when she sent in her former ally Xavier Prather. Alyssa continued that momentum, finding a new home with fellow Big Brother player Angela Rummans, as well as a late-game of alliance of them and the Survivor men. That new group kept her safe, right up until the very last minute. Domenick Abbate joined Sarah Lacina to send Alyssa into elimination against Angela. And unfortunately for Alyssa, her amount of fight couldn't overcome the size discrepancy in Pole Wrestle, pulling her chances of making the final out from her hands.

Desi was one to watch from the very beginning. Not coming in with nearly as much baggage, she proved herself as a competitor early on. She also was someone everyone seemed to get along with, putting her in a very good spot when it came to remaining safe. As the weeks went by, she had just one rule: Do not get partnered with Enzo Palumbo. And lo and behold, as the cast was welcomed into the final, only for the dreaded algorithm to give Desi her worst nightmare: Enzo in the water. Enzo panicked as their swam began, eventually pulling the plug and quitting. And devastatingly, due to the rules, that meant his partner at the time in Desi was automatically disqualified. All she could do was sit on the boat in tears, seeing a dream she had for years slip away thanks to the Meow Meow.

The day after the finale, Parade.com speaks with Desi and Alyssa about everything that went down in the finale, Desi's unseen relationships, and how Alyssa looks back on targeting her fellow Big Brother 23 players.

Related: Meet the Cast of The Challenge: USA

Desi, the last thing we heard you say last night was that you may not be able to look Enzo in the face again. Is that still the case now?
Desi Williams: I mean, after filming, we still have to spend some time together. So initially, no, I could not look Enzo in the face. And he was mostly concerned about how he was going to be portrayed on TV, and that made me even more pissed. So I probably looked him in the eye maybe once since then. And ever since we left Argentina, I don't know that I communicate with Enzo really at all.

The devastation was clear on your face when you were disqualified. Talk me through those emotions, especially having to watch it all back.
Desi: I mean, in the back of my head, I'm like, "Should I have given him a better pep talk ahead of time?" But in the moment, there was no part of me that thought Enzo was going to quit. We're five minutes into the final that we've worked for weeks to get to. You've got a life jacket on. What is the problem? So yeah, it was devastating to watch it all unfold all over again. I didn't realize Enzo even too much time to jump off the barge. So I think just our mindset about competition in life is just so different.  I would never quit anything unless I literally was dying. So yeah, hard to watch.

Alyssa, let's talk about how your game ended. You were sent in against Angela by Dom and Sarah, with the former basically giving a logic of "too little, too late." Did that surprise you at all?
Alyssa Lopez: I understood it. But also I was like, "Dom, are we making friendship bracelets in the final? Or are you trying to win it? And I'm telling you why I deserve it because of how well I performed, not because I've given you fist bumps and I've helped your ego." So I didn't know why he was doing it, especially with the alliance.

I don't know if they showed this. But when it was Ben and Angela winning, we went out that night. And I sat with Ben, and I was the one that calmed him down about wanting to put in Dom. I was the main person that was telling him to just stick with the alliance. So I felt like, "Yeah, you were partnered with Cayla when she was in power. You were Justine's first partner. But what did they do in this game to really make sure you weren't going in it was a guy's elimination?" I didn't have to help Dom, I really didn't. But I went out of my way because that's how I am when I'm in with people with alliances. I'm loyal to people. So that was upsetting because I stuck my neck out for you. But because we're not best pals, that's why I'm going in.

You end up losing to Angela in elimination, and you're both surprisingly in tears when all is said and done. How did that relationship come about?
Alyssa: It's actually funny. I'm surprised they didn't show our relationship. Angela and I were tight the whole entire season. I remember when I first met her, that was the first time meeting her at the airport. She was saying hi to everybody. And she came to me, and she had something in her teeth. And I was like, "Yo, you got something in your teeth," and she was like, "You're a real one."

And from there, we just  bonded. We both own businesses; she's in a jewelry brand and I have a swimwear brand. I really saw that she was a genuine person. Sometimes she can be a little more standoffish. But once you get to know her, she really is a great person. And that was really how the friendship happened. We're both from Big Brother We won challenges early on, so we were able to work together. So that's kind of how it developed.

Desi, I'll admit we really didn't get a sense as to a lot of your relationships on the show. Probably the biggest thing was the "Fab Five," which was proven to not really be an alliance, and Sarah being angry you didn't send in Angela or Alyssa against her. Can you fill in the blanks on your game?
Desi: So my tightest alliance was with Danny and Dom. We had the "Triple D" alliance, which we probably formed like week two in the game. We all went in "Survivor strong." But then the survivors start acting kind of funny, so we formed this sort of inner alliance within the Survivor alliance, and had each other's back.

From then on out. I also had a pretty tight relationship with Justine andCayla from the beginning. And then towards the end I also started develop a relationship with Sarah. But there was really no point in the game where I felt like I was close with Cash. But I also didn't feel like I needed to be close with Cash because I didn't feel threatened by Cash. And then, once my tightest allies Danny and Dom were working with Angela and Alyssa, I was like, "Alright, I guess I gotta work with Angela and Alyssa."
Alyssa: It works in your favor! You were working with every person.
Desi: Exactly. So at the end of the game, literally this last challenge, I was like, "As long as I don't get last place, I'm going to the final." And it was pretty comfortable to mentally know that and say that. So it worked in my favor to pair up with them. But I wasn't close with Angela or Alyssa in the game until my two allies were.

Alyssa, you came in saying you wanted "revenge" on the Cookout. And you were able to eventually get that when you and Kyland sent in Xavier. How do you look back on that decision?
Alyssa: I do want to be clear. Whenever I've used the word "revenge," it's like a team beat you in this game, and you want to watch and make sure that you win this other time. It was never deeper than that. It was never anything about not understanding or appreciating what they did. And I would have never used that term if that's how people would take it, I would that was never my or Derek's goal to be revengeful in a negative, hurtful way.

For me going in, I will say, you have interviews every week in a different outfit. And the first few episodes, I was in so many different outfits! Everyone else has the same exact outfit on. But I've got four outfits and different wardrobe changes. So I understand it's good TV, but I will say it did help that no one really trusted Big Brother. Big Brother came in really hot, especially since Tiffany was just like gaming from the get-go. Big Brother 23 was super tight. We just got off a season together. So everyone definitely saw us as the ones to get out.

And I knew out of the six, I was at the low end of that. I knew if Azah had to choose between me and Tiffany, she would choose Tiffany. You saw that with Tiffany on the second episode. Kyland would choose Tiffany over me. And I also just felt like X still saw me as his sidekick. He never really added me into conversations with game unless I brought it to him. So I just felt like I was still at the low part of that pole, and I needed to get at a high point of a pole and a different alliance and a different team.

So I felt like making the move was strategic. Because as soon as I did take out X, other people outside of Big Brother started talking game with me, wanting to work with me. And I think if I stuck with that, I probably would have gone out sooner than I did. I might, I was right there at the final elimination.
Desi: I agree, it was the best move you could have done. Everyone was like, "Big Brother 23's gotta go!"
Alyssa: Exactly. But they realized I wasn't working with them. I had so many game conversations after that. I don't think I would have had that alliance with the Survivor guys if I didn't do that. And I think they would have probably thrown me in before someone like Azah or Tiffany.

Something interstingly in common with both of you is that you felt dissatisfied with the way your game and edit panned out in your first season. Talk about whether you were able to find redemption on The Challenge: USA.
Desi: I'm eternally grateful for this experience. Because of how Survivor went for me, I also kind of came into this game with a lack of cofnidence in how I was going to do. I remember Day 3 before our first challenge. I was terrified. And Sarah pulled me aside and talked me off the ledge. Just because I came into this game without that alpha confidence that I knew how to play every reality competition show. I was like, "I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know why I'm here with Sarah and Tyson. I'm going home immediately." (Laughs.)

So I do feel like I had a really big evolution in this game. When we arrived at the final, there was no part of me that didn't think I could win. I had gained enough confidence and done enough mantras. And I truly felt like I could win the game. And I don't think there was ever a point in Survivor where I felt I had a shot at winning. So I'm grateful for the experience. If I never get to play again, I know that I've come out of this game a stronger, more confident woman. And I feel like I'm capable of doing anything I can talk myself into doing.
Alyssa: I love this experience so much more than Big Brother. Not just how it went. But I just really enjoyed it so much more, because it was so much more fulfilling. I was doing things I never thought I would be able to do. I was accomplishing things I didn't even think could be a goal of mine. So I am really proud. I mean, going into Big Brother, I wanted to play harder. But being nominated Week 1, you have to be calm and not talk too much game and go with the flow. I wish I played harder.

And I feel like I didn't hold back. I wasn't scared to make big moves. I didn't chicken out on things. And I gave it my complete all and never quit. And I literally almost made it to the final. One vote switched, and I would have been in the final. So I don't think there's a move in my head where I'm like, "I should have done something different to get me there." Maybe just being besties with Dom But other than that, I am very proud of how I did, and it was very rewarding.

Next, read our interview with The Challenge: USA winners Danny McCray and Sarah Lacina.