Tyler Duckworth, known for MTV series “The Real World” and “The Challenge,” has passed away at age 44.
The reality TV star’s mother, Joni Duckworth, has confirmed the sad news via social media, with The Sun first to report on his passing.
“My son, Tyler, passed away earlier this week,” she wrote in a Facebook post (via People). “Cause of death has yet to be determined. I will post on Facebook about services as soon as his dad and I figure it out.”
Found Unresponsive
GettyAs The Sun reports, Duckworth was found unresponsive in the bathroom of his North Dakota home,
Local officials had reportedly classified Duckworth’s death as “unattended,” in that it hadn’t been witnessed by anyone.
An “insider” told the outlet that Duckworth had recently undergone surgery; at the moment, his cause of death is unknown, as is whether that surgery played a role in his passing.
A Recent Public Appearance
By all outward appearances, there had been no indication that Duckworth had been experiencing any health issues.
In fact, his final Instagram post was issued on August 2. In it, he thanked fans who attended what would sadly be his last public appearance, when he and some other stars of “The Challenge” were featured at the Challenge Mania Event in Minneapolis on July 31.
At that event, he appeared alongside fellow “Challenge” alums Rachel Robinson, Tina Barta, Mark Long and Brad Fiorenza.
“So proud to represent my hometown of Minneapolis along with these other challenge legends,” he wrote in the caption. “The fans are what keep us coming out.”
A ‘Challenge’ Veteran
Duckworth’s first television exposure came in 2006 with “The Real World: Key West,” and he quickly established himself as a fan favorite.
That was evident when he was subsequently selected to compete on “The Challenge.”
He ultimately competed on four different seasons of “The Challenge” — “The Duel,” “The Gauntlet III,” “Cutthroat” and “Rivals.” He wound up winning the latter two, emerging victorious in both the “Cutthroat” and “Rivals” seasons.
Duckworth was also featured in two “Challenge” spinoffs, “All Stars 2” in 2021 and “All Stars 3” in 2022.
A Co-Star Pays Tribute
As the sad news sinks in, among the first to pay tribute to Duckworth was fellow “Challenge” veteran Tina Barta, who’d competed alongside him numerous times over the years.
“It’s hard to find the right words when someone who was part of such a meaningful chapter of your life is suddenly gone,” she wrote in the caption of a video of them together, which she shared via 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 continued.
“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,” she added, concluding, “We never do. I love you.”
Representing His Community
In a 2014 interview with Entertainment Weekly, Duckworth — who was openly gay — said that representing his community on “The Challenge” was not something that he took lightly.
“It’s no secret that the gay guys are always voted in first. And I take it very seriously that I’m going to represent the gay community, and there’s a lot of expectations because not only am I gay, but I can win these things and I’ve proven that I can,” he explained.
“But at the same time, there’s a lot of pressure. Like RuPaul says, “Don’t [expletive] it up.” If I [expletive] it up, it’s like I’m ruining it for the gay community. So I put a lot of pressure on myself and feel like I have to carry the torch.”
Duckworth added: “But at the same time, you have to just let go of that pressure and be yourself because otherwise you’re going to beat yourself up. You have to remember that this is just a game, and the big joke this season is when people started getting serious, I would always put my hand on my hip and then turn around and say, ‘It’s just the game.’ And that kind of de-escalated situations for people that were getting upset.”
