Jumping out of a helicopter into water below, rappelling down a 22-story building, enduring chemical warfare gas exposure — if you’ve never seen Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test, these are just a few of the tasks that must be completed.
It’s a reality TV show in which celebrities do physical challenges from the actual Special Forces selection process playbook. It’s like a competition show, but there are no eliminations, and no one gets voted off.
To leave, participants must voluntarily withdraw, be medically withdrawn by a DS (directing staff) due to injury or be dismissed for refusing a direct order. During the final test, the DS ejects those who fail the interrogation or selection test.
Season 5 is set in the Malaysian jungle. It features Candace Cameron Bure, Brandi Glanville, Oliver Hudson, Ruby Rose, George Santos, Bre Tiesi, Matt Barnes, and Mauricio and Alexia Umansky, among others.
At the time that this article was published, Alexia was still in the competition. Mauricio voluntarily withdrew after a rib injury sustained during a hand-to-hand fighting challenge with former NBA player Matt Barnes. Mauricio said the injury took two or three months to heal.
The following challenge involved gas, and Mauricio didn’t think his ribs could take it. He said he feared having a bad lung injury in the Malaysian jungle. Alexia agreed with the decision, saying the gas was the “most painful thing” she’d ever experienced in her life.
Inman spoke to Mauricio and Alexia midway through the season about the experience, the latest industry news and what’s next for The Agency.
What follows is the conversation, edited for length and clarity.
Let’s talk Special Forces. You are well-traveled. Had you ever been to Malaysia before?
Mauricio: Never.
Alexia: Never.
And what was the most surprising thing about going there?
I think for me, 100 percent, the heat. I think I anticipated intense heat and intense humidity, but you don’t know what it’s like until you really feel it … It was so unbearably hot, and in our barracks that we slept in, there was no windows, and when you were inside, you actually couldn’t tell like what was even happening out there. But it was almost like … “Good, let me be locked in this metal box because the outside is crazy.”
Mauricio: I think for me, it was just the intensity of what a jungle really is. The first day we got there … when we were all showering and waiting to shower, there was a scorpion crawling on my leg, about to go in my boot, which I felt it and took it off just in the nick of time. Because if it went in my boot, it would have stung me, no question, right?
You had close quarters, lots of characters, tough challenges, mental and physical wear and tear. What was the hardest part?
Alexia: It’s so hard to choose because literally every single thing was hard. Part of me wanted to say the car rides leading up to each challenge, because we didn’t know what was coming, and it was always so intense in the car. My heart would start pounding … the bottom line is the hardest part is just making sure that your mindset is correct [in] doing all these things and waking up each day and moving forward because that’s really what gets going is just moving forward and choosing to keep on going.
Mauricio: Yeah, I think Alexia nailed it. I mean, for me, it was really all about the little victories. The only way to survive is by looking at small victories, small steps … we used to say just make it to the next meal, just make it to the next day, just make it to tonight.
For me, the hardest part was leaving, was having to voluntarily withdraw. I did not want to have a medical withdrawal, so I didn’t want to go see the doctor and have them withdraw me.
Was anything easier than you thought it’d be?
Mauricio: Not one thing for me. What about you, Alexia?
Alexia: No. There’s nothing about this that’s easy.
You had such a great cast. Who surprised you the most?
Alexia: We loved everybody so much. I mean, we still talk all the time, and we still love each other so much. The words of affirmation we all told each other to this day are so special … But I think my first answer would have to be Candace [Cameron] Bure … she’s so strong, and we got looped together for a bunch of things because of our height similarities.
Mauricio: Well, I have to say that the person who surprised me the most was Alexia … the strength of her mind, her strength and what she did was extraordinary.
Alexia, did you watch Full House growing up?
Alexia: Oh my god, yeah. Are you kidding me? All the time.
So when they were like, ‘Go fistfight DJ Tanner,’ what was going through your mind?
Alexia: Definitely thought it was pretty cool. It was an honor to be punched in the chest by DJ Tanner … I actually appreciated very much that she didn’t hold back because I just felt like I was treated like an equal, an individual.
And that was your first fight ever?
Alexia: I’ve never punched anyone or anything … the second she threw the first punch, I knew she was so much stronger than me. But my goal was to just not fall down. I really didn’t want to fall down, so I was just trying to stay up the entire time. It felt like a fight went on for so long.
Pete Dadds / FOX. ©2026 FOX Media LLC.as
Alexia, you got really vulnerable about a past sexual assault that you’d never spoken about publicly. What made you decide to share your story?
Alexia: I had zero plans on talking about that while we were there. Before we go into the course, they make you talk to some psychologists … they do ask you before the show, “What’s the worst thing that you’ve ever been through?”
And I remember thinking, like, “Are we gonna go there? … That would be so inappropriate. Everything’s in my power, and I’m not gonna go there” … Once I was finally in there, I understood why they asked … you’re stripped down to the very core of you, and you’re tired, and you’re pushing yourself, and you’re emotional, you’re exhausted … And Bre Tiesi, she got emotional, and [she said to me] ”I haven’t cried in years. I hate crying.”
It was really about discovering and repurposing the strength that I always felt that I had, but there was a time that I had felt that I had lost that.
And each night, as I was going to sleep, I just remember thinking to myself, “This is so rewarding, and this is so empowering, and this is so incredible for someone that has gone through what I have” … some people [feel like they] get their voice back. I always felt like I had my voice, but I feel like I got to discover a strength I always knew I had that someone had pushed me to question, and feeling that was just incredibly healing.
And you had never shared this with your family prior?
Alexia: No, not my parents. I had told two of my sisters before, and then, obviously, I told my dad on the course, and then, before the show aired, I ended up calling my mom and [sister] Portia to tell them because I obviously did not want that to be the first time they read it. And even though I spoke about it on the course, I’m still very, very afraid to tell them afterward, too.
Mauricio, what was it like for you to hear that revelation?
Mauricio: It was extremely difficult … I was just proud of Alexia every single day, every single moment … hearing that story was just another revelation of her conquering and finally talking about something that I wish she never held back … I just wanted to reach out and just hug her. But by the same token, I also wanted to give her space and let her be her in that moment that she was sharing with everybody. So there was like a lot of stuff going through my mind.
There was anger toward this kid that did this … But [watching her let go of it] was beautiful to watch … from my perspective, it was like, “Do I reach over and become a dad and just give her a big hug, or do I let her go through this moment, psychologically speaking, of letting it all come out?”
And I was just proud of her all the way around.
In hindsight, I love that she was able to share that, get it off her chest with us, with everybody, with the world. I think it’s super powerful.
Alexia, do you feel lighter now that it’s out?
Alexia: Yeah, I do actually.
Pete Dadds / FOX. ©2026 FOX Media LLC.as
Mauricio, one of the things you said to Alexia before a big scary challenge was ‘Momentum is the cure of all fear.’ Is that a guiding principle for you in your life and business?
Yes, I live by a lot of different small philosophies. Certainty versus doubt. Momentum is the cure of all fears. All of these are the different things where you just have to move forward, right? In order to accomplish something, you kind of just have to move forward, right? … the moment that I went from being an agent to opening up a brokerage, you jump off the cliff; you hope the parachute catches.
To today … here we are in a really difficult real estate market. I mean, it is not fun out there right now whatsoever. Yet [The Agency is] still growing. We’re still putting money out there. We’re still doing things right. So yeah, to me that’s just a philosophy that I always live by.
Now, Mauricio, you’ve done Dancing with the Stars and Special Forces. What’s next?
Mauricio: I don’t know. We’ll just keep going. I really like that show Traitors. I would love to be on that show. That could be a fun one for me, so I’m putting that out into the universe.
OK, if you did Traitors, would you want to be a traitor or a faithful?
Mauricio: A traitor.
How about you, Alexia? What’s next for you?
Alexia: My dream would be to do a reality TV show with my family … We did Buying Beverly Hills, and we’ve done Real Housewives for like [16] years now. But we’ve never done something all of us together, just us, and I think that’ll be really cool.
Mauricio, are you planning to run for mayor of LA?
Mauricio: I’m going to leave that one on the table. If anything, it’s for 2030. There’s still plenty of time to do that and make that decision. But I love LA, and I think I can help LA a lot. I think we live in an amazing city, and if the moment comes, and I’m set up in the right position in the business and I feel like I can actually win, I might do it. But I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t feel like I could actually win.
Switching gears to the industry. Compass is suing CRMLS, and vice versa. What’s your take on that?
Mauricio: It’s an absolute mess, what’s going on in our in our in our industry right now, particularly with the listings. My take is, it’s quite simple. I think that there’s a lot of change that’s happening. I believe that it’s somewhere in the middle. Like I do everything.
I believe sellers should have choice, but I believe that we should be sharing those private listings amongst everybody — every agent, every brokerage firm, not just keeping it for themselves. I feel like there’s a lot happening right now in the industry where everybody’s really looking out for themselves: the MLSs, NAR, Compass.
Actually, Compass, I think, wants to collaborate, wants to share, but they’re in a big, big fight. But in the meantime, this Clear Cooperation Policy is what is allowing them to keep all the listings to themselves and not share them … The PLS is exactly what that was, and I still think that if Clear Cooperation Policy didn’t pass, it would have been an amazing business to have right now.
What are you most excited about for The Agency in 2027? Anything big on the horizon?
Mauricio: We are really positioned as the premier luxury brokerage firm outside of Compass right now. They’ve got Sotheby’s, they’ve got Christie’s, they’ve got all of those different brands, and we’re the only independent luxury brokerage firm out there right now.
So I’m excited to be in that position. Competitors make you better every single day … I’m excited in terms of where we sit, where we stand in a very difficult time; I’m not excited about the market. We really need to do some things to improve it. We’ve had three years of very, very difficult conditions, and it’s going to be very difficult for people to survive. And those that do survive will come out better.
I think we’re in a good position to survive, but we’ve got our work cut out for us over the next year, year and a half. But we’ll continue to grow. We’ll continue to expand, and I’m excited to just be a part of this industry. But man, it’s hard out there right now.
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