The Challenge stars Paulie Calafiore and Cara Maria Sorbello are still pursuing their connection.
“It’s kind of like Cara and Paulie are meeting and dating for the first time again,” a source exclusively tells Us Weekly. “They’re taking things slow and being very private.”
The insider adds that Sorbello is “seeing growth” in Calafiore that she’s “always wanted to see.”
Calafiore and Sorbello were spotted together in Paris for the first time since split rumors surfaced. The source notes that the twosome were filming a new project surrounding the Olympics with other reality stars and Olympians, which is hosted by Lolo Jones.
“Paulie and Cara aren’t labeling anything right now,” their rep tells Us, adding that they’re “in an era of healing.”
The reality TV stars sparked split speculation in June when Sorbello unfollowed Calafiore on Instagram and removed several snaps of them from her page.
At the time, their rep told Us that Calafiore and Sorbello “are working through something privately.” An insider also revealed that the twosome were “taking a little space from each other while working things out.”
Calafiore and Sorbello met while filming The Challenge: Final Reckoning in 2018 and continued their romance outside of the show. Years later, the duo revealed that they were in an open relationship.
“We’re open and people are confused about that. They’re like, ‘Well, they’ve got to be f–king everybody and cheating,’” Sorbello told Us in 2021. “We’ve come to such a good place. Me, mentally to where I am now and us together. We’ve been with each other through the worst of the worst. We still get excited to see each other … The sex is good. The love is good. The friendship is good. This is my person.”
Despite their ups and downs, Sorbello and Calafiore — who came out as bisexual after his exit from The Challenge: USA in August 2023 — shared that they were gearing up to tie the knot.
“We definitely want kids and we want marriage,” Calafiore told Us in June 2023. “I think everybody kind of looks at us, even in our families, where it’s like, ‘They’re kind of unconventional children.’ I think they expect us to randomly last minute be like, ‘Hey guys, we just got married.’”
During their joint interview, Sorbello had a sweet message for Calafiore. “I absolutely would love to marry [Paulie]. I’ve never said that before, but [Paulie is] the person that I see for the rest of my life,” Sorbello said before addressing Calafiore. “I f—king love you. I 1,000 percent would marry you. Like, this is my best friend.”
The Challenge: Battle of the Eras airs on MTV Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET.
With reporting by Andrea Simpson.
