Athlete quits ‘Special Forces’ as reality star has panic attack

October 17, 2025

84

If Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test were a football game, former NFL quarterback Johnny Manziel just lost big.

Fox’s grueling reality competition sees famous faces like actor Jussie Smollett, America’s Next Top Model winner Eva Marcille, and Real Housewives of New Jersey star Teresa Giudice attempting to complete exercises similar to what Special Forces trainees go through in real life.

On the Oct. 16 episode, Manziel went though the grind of the course for three days, though, and it was only on the fourth that he decided not to go any further. He was working on a task with his teammates, Bravo star Gia Giudice and model Chanel Iman, that required them to crawl through narrow underground tunnels, so narrow, in fact, that Manziel declared at one point that he was stuck.

Though Giudice, who overcame a panic attack at the start of the task, urged him to simply move backwards, so they could try again, it wasn’t enough. After he extracted himself from the excruciatingly small space, he told the DS that he was out and removed his armband.

“My biggest struggle with myself is just giving up at times,” Manziel told the cameras. “You know, losing that battle mentally.”

Now, 13 celebrities remain standing.

Here’s a rundown of who else has been eliminated or quit, and who is still in the competition. Check back each week for updates.

Johnny Manziel (out)

Johnny Manziel on ‘Special Forces’.
PETE DADDS / FOX

Recruit: Johnny Manziel

Status: Quit on the fourth day, when a task required him to crawl through narrow underground tunnels.

Where you know him from: Nicknamed “Johnny Football,” Manziel was an accomplished college athlete who was briefly in the NFL.

Teresa Giudice (out)

Teresa Giudice on ‘Special Forces’.
Fox

Recruit: Teresa Giudice

Status: Quit in the second episode when her daughter, Gia, was assigned to fight a fellow contestant and she couldn’t bear to watch.

Where you know her from: One of the original stars of The Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Eva Marcille (out)

Eva Marcille on ‘Special Forces’.
Pete Dadds/FOX

Recruit: Eva Marcille

Status: Staff removed her armband in episode 2 and ordered her to leave the course “for your safety” after a medical incident during a challenge.

Where you know her from: Former America’s Next Top Model winner, who stars on BET+’s All the Queen’s Men and has appeared on House of Payne, The Young and the Restless, and The Real Housewives of Atlanta.

Brittany Cartwright (out)

Brittany Cartwright on ‘Special Forces’.
PETE DADDS/FOX

Recruit: Brittany Cartwright

Status: Quit on the first day, after saying she couldn’t go any further.

Where you know her from: Reality TV star who’s appeared on Vanderpump Rules and The Valley.

Jussie Smollett (out)

Jussie Smollett on ‘Special Forces’.
Pete Dadds/FOX

Recruit: Jussie Smollett

Status: Medically withdrawn in episode 3, after he developed a painful cough determined to be an allergy.

Where you know him from: Actor from Empire and The Mighty Ducks, who was accused of staging a hate crime, which he has denied.