After the Bachelor alliance had picked away at Emily's allies over the last few weeks, she was one of their last remaining targets. Paired with Marley Biyendolo on Monday night, the Bachie alliance saw a perfect opportunity to get rid of two big physical threats in the game.
Speaking to 10 Play, Emily admitted that she was already a massive fan of The Challenge franchise, having watched "a fair chunk" of the US version.
"I knew what I was going in for, that's for sure," she said, adding that the whole experience was "really surreal, being able to see The Challenge everywhere and wear the uniform. That was the most exciting part."
Having competed at four Olympic games, Emily said The Challenge was a whole other experience, with the added social elements complicating things.
"The Olympics, training, when we compete that's real serious. You go in, do your job and you're so focused. With this, it's kind of like you're half in it because the other half you're partying and getting to know these people," she explained. "You need to know these people to be able to play the game with them. "
Unfortunately, Emily found herself on the other side of a war against the majority Bachelor alliance. Trying everything that she could, she and her allies struggled to find cracks in the majority.
"No matter how hard you tried you really couldn't crack that and I knew being a part of that alliance wasn't going to get me anywhere either, so I just did what I could do," she said.
"It was always going to be an uphill battle. I think once people saw me win the first challenge and a couple of the eliminations they all knew they needed to get rid of me... and they did! They did a good job, they played a good game."
Fighting fit, Emily admitted that the physical side of The Challenge was no trouble whatsoever, but the mental toll began to chip away at her as it became clear that her neck was on the chopping block day after day.
"People were whispering about you, people wanted you to go in [to an elimination], people didn't want to run a final with you," she said. "It was constant. They don't want you there, they want to get rid of you."
Trying to put things in perspective, Emily wanted to remind herself that part of the reason her competitors wanted her out of the game was that she was such a physical threat. "But when it's constant, that they don't really want you there, it starts feeling personal.
"It's just a fact of the game, people don't want to run finals with people they know that can win because they want to win the money... [but] to be the person everyone wants to not be there, that was hard for me."
Watching the show as the episodes aired, Emily said she wasn't surprised to see who was saying one thing to her face and the opposite in their interviews.
"That was interesting, that was funny to watch... I mean, it's all part of the game, people are nice to your face and then backstabbing behind your back. That's just what The Challenge is," Emily said.
"You hope that you find really good people and I'm very lucky with the people I did find in the house," she continued. "I got along with a really good group and we tried our best to get rid of the majority, but it's pretty hard to crack some big numbers that already knew each other and already had a pact that they were going to stick together. Trying to break that was quite hard with people you had only just met."
Within her group, Emily found a bond with Ryan Gallagher and - as the show began airing - rumours swirled that the pair had begun dating. On Monday night they posted simultaneous Instagram updates confirming the rumours.
"I went in to be really focused on the game, I went there to win," Emily said, "I didn't win, but I feel like I won because I met such an amazing guy and I'm so incredibly happy. I can't complain about my run on The Challenge."
The Challenge final episodes airs Tuesday, December 13 at 8.30 on 10 Shake and 10 Play on demand
