'The Challenge' Stars Paulie Calafiore and Cara Maria Sorbello Prove Love Conquers All

Although there are reality TV shows dedicated solely to romance, such as The Bachelor and Love Island, few couples forged in those environments stay together. Interestingly, popular reality competition shows like Big Brother and The Challenge often outshine these dating shows with a higher rate of successful love stories.

Among the success stories are Paulie Calafiore and Cara Maria Sorbello, who met during 2018's The Challenge: Final Reckoning. Since then, their relationship has been marked by various ups and downs, leaving plenty of diehard fans wondering: Are Paulie and Cara Maria still together? Read on to find out!

As of April 2024, it appears that Paulie and Cara Maria are still going strong in their relationship! Their most recent Instagram post together dates back to February 21, commemorating the wedding of Paulie's brother, Cody.

In the sweet photo, Paulie, clad in a tuxedo, tenderly holds Cara Maria's hand while planting a kiss on her hair. Cara Maria, who stuns in an off-the-shoulder red gown, beams at the ground.

As they near their sixth anniversary, many fans are dying to know: Will Paulie and Cara Maria take the next step in their relationship and get engaged? Only time will tell, but in June 2023, the couple shed light on their aspirations during an interview with Us Weekly.

"We definitely want kids and we want marriage," Paulie told the outlet. Cara Maria echoed his sentiments, though confessing that getting married wasn't always her dream, especially when she first started dating Paulie in 2018.

"[During] these five years, like, I've come back to who I am. I feel like a whole different person," Cara Maria stated, explaining that before Paulie, she was in some "unhealthy and toxic relationships," which influenced her stance on marriage. "I've always been like, 'I'm never gonna get married. I'm never having kids.'"

Cara Maria admitted, "Even when I started [seeing] him, [I said], 'Just so you know … if you wanna get married, I'll be your mistress. But, like, I'm never gonna get married.'"

However, the two-time Challenge champion emphasized a significant shift in her perspective, declaring, "I absolutely would love to marry [Paulie]. I've never said that before, but [Paulie is] the person that I see for the rest of my life."

In a heartfelt moment directed at Paulie, she professed, "I f--king love you. I 1,000 percent would marry you."

They first crossed paths while filming The Challenge: Final Reckoning, while Paulie was still in a relationship with The Bachelorette alum Danielle Maltby. Although they didn't hook up during the show, Paulie and Cara Maria developed a close bond before he could end things once and for all with Danielle.

This led to a public and messy split, after which Paulie and Cara Maria started dating.

But later in the year, Cara found out that Paulie had cheated on her with his ex. Even though Cara initially defended him against the rumor, he took to his Instagram Live to announce the next day that the couple had broken up.

However, in a subsequent Instagram Live that the couple filmed together, they admitted that their "breakup" had been a planned social experiment — their way of "trolling the trolls." The two wanted to highlight the negativity that comes when people on the internet speculate about things when they don't have all the information.

Stream The Challenge on Paramount Plus.