What Really Happened During Cara Maria Argument With Laurel?

If you’ve seen previews for Battle of the Eras, you know Laurel and Cara Maria’s long history continues with another argument this season — and it looks like that fight is coming on episode 5. Based on a clip shared by the official Challenge instagram, it seems that Michele is going to be central to this argument, and it also seems the episode probably isn’t going to tell us the full story.

From the clip, we see Michele trying to talk to Laurel, but Laurel doesn’t feel compelled to be friendly. This stems back to Ride or Dies when Laurel was trying to form a perception of Michele, then Michele threw her into elimination.

While this conversation is slightly tense, both girls are trying not to be overly emotional. Still they don’t seem to be walking away from the discussion as friends.

Then, we see Cara Maria observing the conversation and she chimes in to tell Michele that she’ll be a friend. From Cara Maria’s perspective, she’s known Laurel for a long time. She sees parallels between her early communication with Laurel and the way Laurel is currently treating Michele. So, she wants to help Michele navigate this argument.

Meanwhile, Laurel sees Cara Maria trying to form a bond with Michele. She’s coming in to comfort Michele and turn her against Laurel right in front of Laurel’s eyes.

Viewers might be able to see both sides of this argument, but Cara Maria responded with more context. She stated that Michele felt like she was walking on eggshells around Laurel, but Laurel would yell at Michele. Cara claims Michele was in tears at times, and Laurel would say that she’d never be friends with Michele. Assuming this is accurate, it offers a better explanation of Cara Maria hugging Michele and offering friendship.

We also know that Laurel was quite abrasive with Cara Maria, especially early into their friendship. Viewers saw this on Cutthroat until it was addressed on Rivals.

Laurel also responded to the video, but she just thanked Michele for sharing her perspective, even though it was difficult.

Based on the responses, especially Cara Maria’s, it’s clear there are a lot of details that won’t be aired on the episode. Paulie said he’d explain the whole situation on his podcast.

So, what really happened on the show?

Spoiler accounts have reported that Laurel brought up Cara Maria’s prior relationships, specifically ones that were abusive (like Abram and Kyle). These comments severely upset Cara Maria and she was removed from the house for a few days.

It has also been reported that Cara Maria met with mental health professionals following the argument, and then she returned to the game. It doesn’t seem Laurel received any repercussions for her actions, but then again, it doesn’t seem like we will see any footage to confirm these comments ever happened.

Receipts

UPDATE:

Cara Maria went into depth about the argument on her TikTok, but she seemingly confirmed the rumors. She said Laurel brought up past abuse she endured, abuse that can’t legally be discussed on TV, while mimicking the body language and actions of the abusers.

Cara also said that Michele cried after her conversation with Laurel, and Laurel said “we’ll never be friends” before ending that discussion, hence why Cara offers Michele friendship.

According to Cara, Rachel was advised not to work with her during All Stars 4 by Laurel. Cara Maria made a comment about this to Tina, in front of Laurel’s face, and it annoyed Laurel. So, during Cara Maria and Laurel’s big fight, this may be the reason All Stars 4 is discussed.