Olympian Shawn Johnson East is offering insight into her dynamics with fellow Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test recruits.
“Let me just say this in general as a whole — so this has nothing to do with Kody [Brown], but there were so many different personalities and styles,” Johnson East, 33, said during an Instagram Story Q&A session on Friday, October 24, when she was asked whether Brown, 56, ever annoyed her during their onscreen challenges. “A lot of us probably wouldn’t have gotten along outside of the show, but I will say there was not a single person casted on that show that I would not have trusted with my life in the middle of a challenge.”
Johnson East and the Sister Wives star are two of the contestants on season 4 of Fox’s Special Forces, where they tackle military-style training challenges from a crew of actual special ops veterans.
“We got mixed up into different teams so much, I truly got to interact with every single person,” Johnson East explained on Friday. “When it came to being really vulnerable and scared, every single person had my back and vice versa. So, even if we all got annoyed with each other based on different styles, I still would put them on my team.”
The retired gymnast also appeared on the grueling reality TV competition alongside her husband, Andrew East.
“I would say [the show impacted our marriage] in a great way,” Johnson East, who shares three children with her spouse, said in another upload on Friday. “We each got to see each other’s competitive side and see each other grow.”
She added, “I feel more in love with my husband, seeing how wonderful of a leader he was and how much he took care of everybody. It was the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen. He was literally like everybody’s rock. Everyone knew if Andrew was on their team, they were going to do well. He was checking in on everyone and knew everyone’s life story.”
Many of the other stars have been vocal about the season 4 environment, including Brown.
“I was so ashamed because I just made huge mistakes in leadership. It was all just training, [but] it was embarrassing and sad,” Brown exclusively told Us Weekly last month of failing a task while paired with Johnson East on. “In reality, if that would have been a combat situation, both of us might have been dead.”
In addition to working alongside Johnson East, Brown also clashed with fellow recruit Gia Giudice.
“People had some issues with him,” Giudice, 24, told Us in September. “There were just scenarios — which you guys will see on Special Forces — where, maybe, he wasn’t being the best team player and he wasn’t looking out for the people who were on his team and more so just looking out for himself and the end goal to win. When you have other people on your team, we’re trying our best and we’re struggling a little bit. Let us catch our breath.”
Despite some mid-challenge hiccups, Teresa Giudice’s daughter insists that she has “no beef” with Brown.
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test airs on Fox Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
