Reality TV Star Tyler Duckworth Dies at 44

Reality TV fixture Tyler Duckworth, who rose to fame on MTV's The Real World and The Challenge, has died at 44. His mother announced his death on Facebook on Thursday, saying the cause is not yet known. Police in Grand Forks, North Dakota, say they responded Tuesday to a report of water leaking from his apartment and found Duckworth dead in the bathroom; they say there are no signs of foul play, People reports. An autopsy and toxicology tests are pending.

Duckworth, a Minneapolis native, first appeared on The Real World: Key West in 2006. He went on to compete in four seasons of The Challenge—The Duel, The Gauntlet III, Cutthroat, and Rivals—as well as in spinoffs All Stars 2 and All Stars 3, Variety reports. He won Cutthroat and Rivals. In 2022, when he was invited to take part in All Stars 2 after 11 years away from the franchise, he told EW he had been teaching high school and middle school. "I thought they lost my number because I won two Challenges in a row and then never heard from them again," he said. "It felt like I was being punished for doing so well. I love the opportunity to jump off buildings, to bungee jump, to eat crazy things."

His last public appearance was at the Challenge Mania fan event in Minneapolis on July 31. Tina Barta, who competed alongside Duckworth multiple times, shared a video from the event on Instagram. "We shared an experience that very few people will ever fully understand, and somewhere along the way, it became more than a show or an adventure. It became friendship," she wrote. "It became history. It became family. How blessed am I to be surprised by your visit to Challengemania where I got to hug and kiss you one last time. We didn't want to leave each other. We never do. I love you."

• Challenge showrunner Justin Booth was among the many others paying tribute to Duckworth, Variety reports. "The Challenge community is gutted to hear of Tyler Duckworth's remarkably untimely passing," he said. "The young man who first came into our universe as a comical and sensitive personality developed into a force who would become a two-time champion, and he will be sorely missed."