The Challenge 40 Battle of the Eras Player Preview: Emily Schromm
Season 40 has brought many people out of the woodwork, and for this one, it’s taken them out of the gym. Emily Schromm is back on the show for the first time Champs vs. Stars 2, and it’s her full-time season since her win on Rivals 2 with Paula a decade ago.
Statistically, Emily is one of the all-time greatest Challenge competitors; she’s done three MTV seasons, went to the Final of each, has never been eliminated, and pulled off a dominating win on Rivals 2. On top of that, Emily is one of the most fit competitors this show has ever. Emily’s entire life is devoted to fitness and nutrition. She won’t eat fast food. She won’t Little Debbies. She won’t eat chocolate but isn’t opposed to wearing it on her face. Her body is a temple.
It’s wild that Emily was the most or second most fit person for all the seasons she did, and now, a decade later, she’s in even better shape.
Emily’s Cheat Sheet (TLDR Version)
Introducing Emily:
Emily’s original show was The Real World DC. She came from a fascinating background, where her family was in a super-religious cult until she was about 14 years old. After leaving the cult, Emily adventured out into the world, and instead of devoting herself to religion, she found herself in sports, nutrition, and fitness.
She made her Challenge debut on Cutthroat, where she was part of a Blue Team that looked good on paper yet was disastrous in the daily challenges, through no fault of her own. Emily went in two physical eliminations and beat Melinda & Paula to get herself to the Cutthroat Final. In the Final, she and Jenn were simply outnumbered with no real viable chance to win. Emily didn’t rock the boat on Cutthroat, and the highlight of her season was a pretty hot makeout between her and Paula in a jacuzzi… This hilariously happened in the same episode where Laurel cussed out Big Easy.
We’d see Emily return on Exes 1, where she got partnered with Ty. It was an uphill battle for Emily as Ty was the biggest popcorn muscles competitor in Challenge history at that point in time. Ty actually held up pretty well alongside Emily, and while he wasn’t amazing in the daily challenges, neither was she. The eliminations is where the two of them shined: they took out Leroy & Naomi, Cara & Abram, and Paula & Dunbar. Emily’s drubbing of Cara in Pole Wrestle was a historic moment as it inspired Cara to take her training for the show to the next level. Emily & Ty went to the Final and came in 3rd against two stronger pairs in Bananas & Camila and CT & Diem. On this season, Emily’s athleticism and physicality shined. The only other notable thing Emily did on Exes 1 was her and Camila’s cosplay of Ty & Paula. Which continues like age milk.
Emily went back for Rivals 2, where she got Paula as a partner. This felt very unfair, as almost every other partnership that season had one stronger and one weaker player. Their partnership was two strong-ass players who really did not have any bad blood. Their only beef was that Paula was salty that Emily beat her twice in elimination. Together, they won 6 out of 10 daily challenges, never saw elimination, and won the Final. Cara & Cooke gave them a run for the money in the Final, but ultimately, it was Emily & Paula’s season the entire time. Heck, if Cara didn’t replace Naomi, Emily & Paula might’ve had the most one-sided and dominant season the show has ever seen.
Through three seasons, Emily was 5–0 in eliminations, made three Finals, won one Championship, and rode off into the sunshine with stats that ranked her as one of the Top 3 women the show has ever seen. She also grabbed another “win” on the charity spin-off Champs vs. Stars.
In the years since she’s been off the show, Emily has leaned into her fitness influencer lifestyle. She began selling her own fitness equipment, gear, and workout plans and opened a gym. Recently, she sold her gym but is still sending newsletters and remaining in the fitness influencer world.
As a personal aside, as someone who has had my own issues with nutrition, weight, and eating disorders and has committed myself in the past few years to my own fitness & health, Emily is not my cup of tea. I think much of what she preaches nutrition-wise actually borders on unhealthy (I did a couple of her nutrition plans before). At the same time, different strokes for different folks, she’s obviously successful, super healthy, and looks amazing. When it comes to Reality TV, I’m not a big fan of her either, as she doesn’t bring much drama or entertainment to the table. At the same time, different strokes for folks. Also, if you’re upset, there’s some bias in here; I don’t know what to say; I’ve been doing this shit for 8 years and I got a full-time job on top of all of this. I’m here to inform but also talk some shit for the love of the game.
I will give Emily credit for being a beast competitor. With the resume she’s already accumulated, if she wins this season, she will have a pretty strong claim for the greatest female competitor the show has ever seen.
Player Vitals & Stats
Emily Schromm: 35 Years Old, 5'8, 3 Seasons, 1x Champion, 3x Finalist, 5–0 Elimination Record, Won Rivals 2, 1 Spin-Off, Won Champs vs. Stars 2
Skills and Physical Strength:
On top of being one of the most fit women in Challenge history, Emily is an excellent mix of size and athleticism. She’s decently tall (5'8), played a ton of sports growing up, spends so much time outdoors, and has an insane muscular endurance. In any physically intensive daily challenge or in the Final itself, Emily is clearly going to be one of/if not the biggest threat.
If we have to pick some nits… Then we start with swimming. Emily’s never been an elite swimmer; still, she’s better than the average player. And as impressive as Emily has always been on the show — she’s never had the innate ability to figure out the carnival game daily challenges in the same way that Laurel or Sarah or Camila would. It’s the one gap in her game. To be frank, it’s not even a gap; it’s more like the eye of a sewing needle.
SSMP (Social, Strategic, Mental, and Political) Game:
With all her muscles and abs, people sleep on the fact that Emily is a competent puzzle player. She’s not a puzzle expert like Devin or Sarah Rice. Still, Emily took the lead on puzzles in her partnerships with Ty and Paula. If there is somewhere in Emily’s game you can beat her, it’s probably in a puzzle or mental game, though to do so, that person can’t be a puzzle slouch either.
When I saw Emily’s name on this cast, my immediate gut reaction was that she would coast as she won’t create any drama in the house socially and politically. Then you add that she’s such a strong player physically that many in the house won’t want to test her or have her as an enemy. As I think about it more now — I’m not entirely sure that Emily has a stellar social & political game. On Rivals 2, she and Paula. Except in that season, the men controlled the votes for the women. Paula was one of the most connected people in the house, and as a whole, they weren’t eligible for many eliminations due to them continually winning dailies. So even though they avoided elimination, it wasn’t due to Emily having an excellent social game.
Emily hasn’t been on the main show in a decade, and her existing connections often have higher-priority relationships. Even though Emily is friends with Bananas, Derrick, Tori, and Mark, those people come in with a gaggle of allies and deals they have to look after. I won’t be surprised if Emily ends up coasting because nobody wants to fuck with her. It wouldn’t shock me if they target her early and immediately, the same way the house went after Rachel & Cara on All Stars 4.
Something to be on the lookout for is some beef between Emily & Cara. As mentioned earlier, Emily famously destroyed Cara in a Pole Wrestle on Exes 1. Cara took the loss hard and then seriously began training for the show. While on Rivals 2 together, Emily notably excluded Cara from her cross-fit workout club. Cara carried that for some years, and back when she had Twitter, she would throw some shade in Emily’s way, and Emily had a back-and-forth with her online. Straight up, Emily’s just never liked Cara, and competitively, Emily used to own Cara. Things are much different these days for both of them and seeing their dynamic this time around will be fascinating.
Eliminations & Winning Potential:
Emily is 5–0 in eliminations and has won all of them with ease. Although it is crucial to note that all of her eliminations have been physical. We’ve never seen how Emily operates in a puzzle or carnival game elimination. My bet would be that she still does pretty well.
Now, the question is…. Who on this cast could actually stack up against Emily in a Headbanger? I think Tori would give Emily trouble in a Hall Brawl or Balls In. Laurel’s size would make her the obvious candidate to take out Emily in something physical. Among another candidates, I don’t think Rachel or Cara have enough weight to beat Emily in a headbanger, and I don’t think Jenny has the killer instinct. I could see Jodi or Kaycee being competitive with Emily in a physical, but not winning. Other than that, I don’t see anyone giving Emily trouble.
In endurance based eliminations, it’s hard to imagine anyone beating Emily either, unless it’s a Jenny or Cara.
Can Emily win? Again, she’s never been eliminated from this show, always seem to make the Final, and has the cardio & mental ability to dominate a Final. Emily is likely the odds on favorite to win. Hopefully, other people in the house realize and she’ll have to fight for the win. Which if she pulls off, we might walk away from 40 talking about her as the GOAT.
