Special Forces’ Brandi Glanville Addresses Exit Over Health
Season 5 of Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test got off to a dramatic start when one celebrity had to medically withdraw — and now they are speaking out about the exit.
The Thursday, September 24, premiere presented contestants with the challenge of jumping out of a helicopter headfirst into the ocean. They then had to swim back to the dock quickly, which proved to be a challenge for several recruits, and Brandi Glanville suffered lasting medical issues that led to her dismissal.
“I over-rotated. I know it felt like my head hit the water, and it was so hard,” Glanville exclusively told Us of her instant reaction. “It was like immediately I was dizzy and I thought my whole body was in the water. Then my body hits the water after that. It was just like being run over by a truck.”
Glanville recalled continuing to struggle, adding, “It was crazy, and then I came up and I’m trying to swim. My whole body is in pain. My right arm is the only thing I can use, and I have all the water kicking up from the jet skis. So I’m drinking the water and I’m thinking, ‘Parasites!’ That’s all I can think about. Like, what is happening in my mouth?”
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As soon as she got back on land, Glanville felt several injuries.
“Everyone kept touching me. And even just touching my back, it hurt. I was spinning. I couldn’t hear out of my left ear immediately. I was about to throw up, but then the camera guy was in my face, and I’m like, ‘You’re not getting this from me,’” she explained. “So I sat down, and they’re like, ‘Stand up!’ I’m like, ‘I cannot stand up. I will pass out and hit my head.’”
Glanville continued: “Of course I’m thinking all these crazy things, but everyone seemed to go through it really easily. Like, I was the second one to do it, and I’m watching all these girls go do it, and I’m like, ‘Am I just a disaster? Why can’t I do it like everyone else?’”
After departing the show, Glanville still struggled.
“It’s hard to turn [my arm]. Then my left boob is under my armpit, so that’s fun. And you’d have to fix that. But I hit the water really hard,” she noted. “We had to take boats because of my ear to the hospital, so we took three separate boats. We got to the hospital, and you cannot fly. I had a concussion and a perforated eardrum and all of these things. I had the worst headache where it just doesn’t go away.”
Glanville clarified that she was “on the mend,” adding, “I think that there are still just moments where I’m feeling like I’m an old lady to do that. We don’t recover like we used to. I mean, if I was 20, I really would have liked to dive and swim out of there.”
While Glanville didn’t make it to the end, she expressed pride in how far she got.
“I’m, like, so proud that I just didn’t give up and I just didn’t want to be the first one out. Obviously no one really wants to be,” she told Us. “I wanted to prove to my kids I could do it, but I had to go to the doctor. I was done. But I think that this still proves to the kids that I was kind of a badass.”
Glanville — who dealt with years of unrelated health issues prior to competing on Special Forces — shares two sons, Mason, 23, and Jake, 19, with her ex-husband, Eddie Cibrian.
Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 5 airs on Fox Thursdays at 9 p.m. ET.
