Meet the Cast of “Special Forces” Season 5

Emily WeaverThu, September 24, 2026 at 12:00 PM UTC

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Candace Cameron Bure, Collin Gosselin and George Santos on ‘Special Forces’ Season 5.Credit: Pete Dadds/FOX (3) -

Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test season 5 premieres on Sept. 24 at 9 p.m. ET

The hit reality TV show will see 15 celebrities deployed to Malaysia

This season’s contestants include actress Candace Cameron Bure and Bre Tiesi of Selling Sunset

Calling all recruits! Special Forces: World’s Toughest Testis back with 15 new celebrity contestants, whose backgrounds run the gamut from retired Olympic athletes to former politicians.

The Fox reality competition, which returns for its fifth season on Sept. 24, puts recruits through grueling challenges in demanding environments — this season it’s the jungles of Malaysia — designed to test their physical, mental and emotional resilience. Inspired by the real-life training of the U.S. Special Forces, the series strips away the comforts of civilian life and pushes its contestants well beyond their comfort zone.

Among this season’s recruits are actress Candace Cameron Bure, Collin Gosselin of Jon & Kate Plus 8, Selling Sunset star Bre Tiesi and father-daughter duo Mauricio Umansky and Alexia Umansky.

Here’s everything to know about the cast of Special Forces season 5.

01 of 15

Oliver Hudson

Contestant Oliver Hudson.Credit: Pete Dadds/FOX

Oliver Hudson is a comedic actor who made his mark on the CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement.

In 2019, he teamed up with his sister, Kate Hudson, to co-host the Sibling Revelry podcast. Oliver recently appeared alongside Kate in season 2 of her hit Netflix series Running Point, in which he portrayed her archrival, Oliver McShay.

Off-screen, Oliver is married to The Cleaning Lady actress Erinn Hudson. The duo tied the knot in 2006 and share three children: sons Wilder and Bodhi and daughter Rio.

02 of 15

Candace Cameron Bure

Contestant Candace Cameron Bure.Credit: PETE DADDS / FOX

Bure rose to fame as D.J. Tanner on Full House in the ‘90s. She also reprised her role for the show’s 2016 spinoff, Fuller House.

Since then, Bure has starred in a handful of Hallmark holiday films and co-hosted The View from 2015 to 2016. She was also a contestant on season 18 of Dancing with the Stars.

The actress has been married to retired NHL star Valeri Bure since 1996. They share three kids: daughter Natasha and sons Lev and Maksim.

03 of 15

Collin Gosselin

Contestant Collin Gosselin.Credit: PETE DADDS/FOX

Gosselin first gained public attention as a child star on his family’s hit reality TV series, Jon & Kate Plus 8.

In June 2026, Collin revealed he had written a memoir, In the Shadow of Eight: Surviving the Reality of My Childhood. The book, which will be released on Oct. 13, details his childhood, including his estrangement from his mom, Kate Gosselin, who competed on season 1 of Special Forces.

Special Forces season 5 marks Collin’s return to reality TV.

04 of 15

Ruby Rose

Contestant Ruby Rose.Credit: Pete Dadds/FOX

Australian actress Ruby Rose got her start as a model and host of MTV Australia from 2007 to 2011.

In 2015, she got her big break starring as Stella Carlin on Netflix’s Orange Is the New Black. She has also appeared in The CW’s Batwoman, Pitch Perfect 3, Resident Evil: The Final Chapter and John Wick: Chapter 2.

05 of 15

David Charvet

Contestant David Charvet.Credit: Pete Dadds/FOX

Actor David Charvet is a father of two, best known for his roles on Baywatch and Melrose Place.

On Aug. 4, Charvet revealed on Instagram that he competed on Special Forces season 5, calling it “an incredible experience.”

06 of 15

Alexia Umansky

Contestant Alexia Umansky.Credit: Pete Dadds/FOX

Alexia is a real estate agent, Bravo child star and the daughter of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills original cast member Kyle Richards, who has starred in the show since 2010.

Beyond RHOBH, Alexia also appeared on her dad’s Netflix reality series, Buying Beverly Hills, which followed their family-run luxury real estate firm The Agency. She married her longtime partner, Jake Zingerman, in 2025.

On Instagram, Alexia called Special Forces her “biggest adventure yet” in the trailer for the new season.

“I have been on reality TV since I was 13 years old…I want to feel proud of something. I want to tell people that I have grit and strength and courage,” she said. “I had on my vision board for this year ‘shock everybody’ and ‘discover myself.’ I think I’m brave, but I never really had to be brave.”

07 of 15

Mauricio Umansky

Contestant Mauricio Umansky.Credit: PETE DADDS / FOX

Mauricio first gained attention as Richards’ husband on The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. The former couple, who separated in July 2023, share three daughters.

He’s also the founder of The Agency, a global real estate brokerage firm. According to Alexia, joining the cast of Special Forces together was “his idea.”

“I’m an adventurous guy. I like to do things that are completely different,” Mauricio said in the season 5 trailer. “My daughter, Alexia, she’s the most adventurous … we both have to have a little screw loose in our heads to be doing this.”

08 of 15

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Brandi Glanville

Contestant Brandi Glanville.Credit: PETE DADDS / FOX

Brandi Glanville appeared on four seasons of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills from 2011 to 2015.

In 2022, Glanville returned to the Bravoverse for the second installment of The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip. She was also cast in season 4, but was asked to leave the show early after allegedly kissing her costar Caroline Manzo multiple times “without her consent.”

Manzo subsequently sued Bravo and its affiliates in January 2024, alleging that Glanville sexually assaulted her. Glanville responded by telling Page Six that the accusations against her were “absurd.”

Glanville has also been documenting her ongoing journey with a facial disfigurement since 2023. She believes she contracted a “parasite” from her time in Morocco while filming Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip season 4.

Glanville is also a mom. She shares two sons, Mason and Jake, with her ex-husband, Eddie Cibrian.

09 of 15

Bre Tiesi

Contestant Breana Tiesi.Credit: Pete Dadds/FOX

Tiesi is a reality TV star and luxury real estate agent, who first rose to fame on Netflix’s Selling Sunset.

“I still can’t believe I did this 🤣😭😂 by far the worst / best thing I have ever endured,” Tiesi wrote on Instagram following the cast announcement of Special Forces season 5.

Off-screen, Tiesi shares a son, Legendary Love Cannon, with All That alum Nick Cannon.

10 of 15

Maxim Naumov

Contestant Maxim Naumov.Credit: Pete Dadds/FOX

Maxim Naumov is an American figure skater who captured the world’s attention with an emotional tribute to his late parents at the 2026 Winter Olympics. His parents, 1994 World Figure Skating pairs champions Evgenia “Zhenya” Shishkova and Vadim Naumov, were among the 67 passengers killed in the Washington, D.C. plane crash involving an American Airlines flight and a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter in January 2025.

On Instagram, Naumov called Special Forces “a challenge unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.”

11 of 15

Matt Barnes

Contestant Matt Barnes.Credit: Pete Dadds/FOX

Matt Barnes played in the NBA from 2002 to 2017. Today, Barnes co-hosts the sports news and pop culture podcast All the Smoke alongside fellow NBA champ Stephen Jackson.

In January 2026, he tied the knot with model Anansa Sims, with whom he shares two children, Austin and Ashton. He also shares twin sons Carter and Isaiah with his ex-wife, Gloria Govan.

In 2010, Barnes was arrested on suspicion of domestic violence with his then-fiancée, Govan, who later denied that Barnes had assaulted her, per ABC7 Eyewitness News. No charges were filed, per the Los Angeles Times.

He was arrested again in 2012 on accusations of threatening a police officer and was in custody for less than three hours before posting bail. He pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of unlicensed driving and resisting arrest and was sentenced to two years probation, per ESPN.

12 of 15

Alycia Baumgardner

Contestant Alycia Baumgardner.Credit: Pete Dadds/FOX

Professional boxer Alycia Baumgardner is the reigning world champion in the super featherweight class of women’s boxing.

Ahead of season 5, Baumgardner gave fans a glimpse of what to expect, joking on Instagram that “[it] turns out being a world champion doesn’t get you any special treatment.” In the teaser clip, she also predicted that the experience would “force me to think beyond the ring.”

13 of 15

LeSean McCoy

Contestant LeSean McCoy.Credit: Pete Dadds/FOX

LeSean “Shady” McCoy is a two-time Super Bowl champion. The retired running back won back-to-back Super Bowls with two different teams — first with the Kansas City Chiefs in 2020, then with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2021.

In 2018, he was sued by his ex-girlfriend, Delicia Cordon, who claimed he was responsible for a violent attack in her home. McCoy responded by calling the allegations “baseless.” The former couple reached a private settlement in 2019, according to PennLive.

McCoy has since founded his own sports management agency, Two5 Sports, and joined Fox Sports as an analyst.

14 of 15

George Santos

Contestant George Santos.Credit: PETE DADDS / FOX

Former U.S. Rep. George Santos is also joining the season 5 cast of Special Forces. Santos was expelled from Congress in 2023 after being indicted on 23 criminal counts, including wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. In April 2025, he was sentenced to more than seven years in prison, but was pardoned by President Donald Trump six months later.

“This was an experience out of my element and which I was absolutely not in shape for!” Santos wrote on Instagram in July 2026 of his time on Special Forces. “I’m proud of this experience. That changed how I view myself and take care of my body, soul and mind.”

15 of 15

Hannah Stocking

Contestant Hannah Stocking.Credit: Pete Dadds/FOX

Hannah Stocking is a comedian and internet personality with more than 55 million followers across Instagram and TikTok.

She has appeared in several TV shows over the years, including The Wrong Paris, Skillhouse and the 2021 revival of iCarly.

If you or someone you know has been sexually assaulted, please contact the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673) or go to rainn.org.

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