Model Eva Marcille Almost Drowns on 'Special Forces' Season 4 Prompting Backlash
"Oh God! That was so scary!!!! I’m glad you’re OK."
Published Oct. 9 2025, 1:02 p.m. ET
Fans of Season 4 of the reality competition series Special Forces: World's Toughest Test were shocked after seeing Eva Marcille nearly drown during a recent episode of the Fox show.
The terrified former America's Next Top Model winner was pulled out of the water after completing a challenge with her partner on the show, former Empire star Jussie Smollett.
The reality TV show features celebrities as they complete challenges inspired by military courses led by real special forces veterans, per USA Today.
However, viewers were not prepared to watch as the former RHOA star nearly drowned on national television. Here is everything we know about the incident, and how Eva is doing today.
Eva Marcille almost drowns in Special Forces Season 4.
During a challenge with her partner, Jussie, the duo was supposed to sit together in an airplane that was fully submerged under water for a full 20 seconds.
They were supposed to hold their breath for the duration before swimming out of the plane through a specific exit.
As she swam out of the plane and to the water's surface, she said, "I did it! Oh my god!" But as she tried to swim to the awaiting boat, she began to pass out and disappeared under the water.
One of the Special Forces instructors could be heard shouting, "Get her! Get her," as her head went underneath the water. "Rudy! Rudy! Get her! Rudy! Rudy! Get her," as one of the contestants exclaimed, "She's unconscious!"
The instructor in the water was Rudy Reyes, a former Marine and martial arts instructor, who was recently linked to Denise Richards.
"Get the divers in! Divers in," yelled the instructor. A terrified Eva was then pulled out of the water and into the boat. As she regained consciousness, she exclaimed, "Oh my God! I could have died!"
Viewers reacted to the scary situation on social media, calling out 'Special Forces.'
After the video of the challenge was shared on TikTok, one fan wanted to know what took Rudy so long to rescue Eva as she struggled.
"Whoever the f--k Rudy is, he needs to be fired, " exclaimed TikTok user @getemtae2.3. "What took you so long to get Eva out of this water?!"
Eva and Jussie lost their challenge due to him leaving the plane from the wrong exit, per Entertainment Weekly.
"She did everything right," he conceded. " I messed up. I went out the back. She passed. We lost 'cause of my a-s. I'm about to f--king cry, I swear."
Eva even shared a clip of the incident on social media, prompting her famous friends to comment.
"Oh God! That was so scary!!!! I’m glad you’re OK," RHOA star Kandi Burruss wrote. Rapper Da Brat added, "No mam! My heart dropped, my eyes watered, GIRL NO I DO NOT LIKE THE LOOKS OF THIS AT DAM ALL! I went from sad to worried to pissed to relieved that you're OK."
Special Forces: World's Toughest Test airs Thursdays at 9 p.m. EST on FOX.