Anika Rashaun Dies: ‘Real World’, ‘The Challenge’ Alum Was 34

Anika Rashaun, who appeared on MTV’s The Real World and The Challenge before building a career in dating advice and matchmaking, has died aged 34. Friends announced that she died on 1 October from breast cancer; her death has prompted tributes from people who knew her through television and her wider community.

Rashaun appeared on The Real World: Bad Blood in 2016, where she was paired with her ex-boyfriend Will, and competed on The Challenge: Invasion of the Champions the following year, leaving in the third episode. A New York City native, she later moved to Los Angeles and developed a lifestyle brand as a dating coach and podcast host, and studied to become a licensed marriage and family therapist. A friend said Rashaun had been diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer the previous summer; she married Kyle Rehn on Valentine’s Day this year.