Diem Brown's battle with ovarian cancer had been well-documented over the course of six seasons of MTV's The Challenge, beginning with her debut on 2006's Real World/Road Rules Challenge: Fresh Meat and culminating, sadly, with 2015's The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II.
Brown, who competed on the upcoming 26th season alongside on-again/off-again boyfriend C.T. Tamburello, discovered the disease had returned while filming and had to leave the game early. She died on Nov. 14 at the age of 32.
Throughout her eight years on The Challenge, Brown used the show as a platform to educate and inspire — and Brown's decision to remove her wig mid-competition remains one of the most powerful and enduring images in MTV history. In 2010, Brown extended her reach, founding MedGift, a charity through which medical patients can create a gift registry.
MTV has announced that The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II will be dedicated to the memory of Diem Brown and Ryan Knight, a former Real World: New Orleans houseguest who died on Nov. 28.
Additionally, The Challenge: Battle of the Exes II — which premieres Jan. 6 at 11 p.m. — will for the first time include players from another MTV franchise, dating competition series Are You The One?.
The Challenge: Battle of The Exes II premieres Jan. 6 at 11 p.m. on MTV.
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Knight was part of the Real World: Austin cast.