Ariarne Titmus quits extreme Nine show Shark! day before finale
Olympic legend Ariarne Titmus had just one more episode of Nine’s extreme new celeb reality show to go when she told the hosts she was done.
One of the celebrities on Nine’s extreme reality series Shark! quit the show in Monday’s episode, a day out from tonight’s finale.
The six-part series sees a group of Aussie celebs – among them The Block host Scott Cam, former Home and Away star Lynne McGranger and Olympic swimmer Ariarne Titmus – facing their fears in a series of increasingly extreme dives with wild sharks.
Titmus had struggled most out of the group, and in Monday’s episode, she confessed she was questioning whether she could go through with the final challenge, a dive with Tiger sharks at Tiger Beach, a dive site in the Bahamas where there have been several fatal shark attacks in the past.
“I’ve never been someone to give up. You don’t win Olympic gold to give up. But you have limits … I have to think about what’s realistic for me, and if Tiger Beach is a bit too far out of my reach …” she said.
Ariarne announces she’s quitting the show. Picture: Nine
The other contestants reel from the bombshell news. Picture: Nine.
Sitting down with her fellow contestants and the show’s hosts, shark attack survivor Paul de Gelder and shark conservationist Annie Guttridge, Titmus made an announcement that came as a surprise to all.
“I’ve thought a lot about this dive and ultimately, I’ve decided not to do the Tiger shark dive,” she began.
“I’ve also made another decision, and I’ve actually decided to go home today.”
Her fellow contestants appeared overcome with emotion that Titmus would be leaving, as Guttridge said it was a “big shock” and de Gelder asked if there was anything they could do to convince her to stay.
“I’m emotionally exhausted … this has been really tough for me. I just want these guys to jump into it and enjoy it, and I don’t want them to have my fear as a distraction,” Titmus explained.
In tonight’s finale, the remaining celebs will tackle their most extreme shark dive yet.
Shark! airs as shark attacks are once again in the news, after a woman critically injured after being attacked by a shark off Coogee Beach on Saturday has had her arm amputated.
Leah Stewart, 35, was mauled by what is believed to have been a 3.5m great white shark.
She remains in a critical but stable condition at St Vincent’s Hospital.
Just weeks ago, Nine pulled the premiere of Shark! in Western Australia following a fatal shark attack at one of the state’s beaches.
Daniel Turpin, 35, was spearfishing with his family at Michaelmas Island near Albany – about 420km southeast of Perth – when he was attacked by a 4.5m shark.
“Given recent events, we have made the decision to postpone the Perth broadcast premiere of Shark!” a spokesperson said at the time.
Source: https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/tv/reality-tv/ariarne-titmus-quits-extreme-nine-show-shark-day-before-finale/news-story/aa62fd65cffe1e1c00564ae59922d51c
Olympic swimming legend Ariarne Titmus quits extreme Nine show Shark! just one day before finale
Olympian Ariarne Titmus has quit Nine reality series Shark! just one episode before the grand finale.
The retired swimmer, 25, admitted that she couldn’t go through with the final challenge, which would see her facing her fear and diving with Tiger sharks at Tiger Beach in the Bahamas where there have been several fatal shark attacks in the past.
‘I’ve never been someone to give up. You don’t win Olympic gold to give up. But you have limits… I have to think about what’s realistic for me, and if Tiger Beach is a bit too far out of my reach…’ she said.
Surprising her fellow celebrity co-stars, Titmus admitted that there was no way she could complete the challenge.
‘I’ve thought a lot about this dive and ultimately, I’ve decided not to do the Tiger shark dive,’ she began.
‘I’ve also made another decision, and I’ve actually decided to go home today.’
Olympian Ariarne Titmus (pictured) has quit Nine reality series Shark! just one episode before the grand finale
The retired swimmer, 25, admitted that she couldn’t go through with the final challenge. Pictured right: Co-star Tammy Hembrow
Her fellow contestants appeared overcome with emotion that Titmus would be leaving, as Guttridge said it was a ‘big shock’ and de Gelder asked if there was anything they could do to convince her to stay.
‘I’m emotionally exhausted … this has been really tough for me. I just want these guys to jump into it and enjoy it, and I don’t want them to have my fear as a distraction,’ Titmus explained.
Shark! follows six household-name celebrities facing their fears and diving into the ocean with the end goal to swim with sharks without any safety equipment.
Ariarne dropped a career bombshell last year when she quit her swimming career with the vague explanation that ‘some things in my life that have always been important to me are just a little bit more important to me now.’
She later clarified exactly what those things are: her new love Mac, and her family.
‘In my personal life – and this was really the crux of the decision – you have to be quite a selfish person to be an athlete,’ Titmus told News Corp.
‘I’ve lived my life not caring that I never got to spend birthdays with friends or never being able to go to family events. But I wasn’t willing to go back to the life where I made the decision to put my family second.’
She continued: ‘I also met my partner right after the [Paris] Olympics. I wasn’t willing to put that on the backburner.
Surprising her fellow celebrity co-stars, Titmus admitted that there was no way she could complete the challenge. Pictured alongside co-stars Tammy Hembrow and Lynne McGranger
Ariarne dropped a career bombshell last year when she quit her swimming career
‘If I hadn’t been Olympic champion or world record holder, this wouldn’t be the decision I’m making.
‘But because I can look at myself and know I’ve absolutely done everything you can in the sport, and winning more medals wasn’t going to change the way I feel, it felt like the right time to step away.’
Titmus last year revealed that she has moved to the Victorian capital to be with her man.
‘It just happened this week, new beginnings, a fresh start, a new chapter,’ she said.
‘Mac and I are living together. It was hard to leave Queensland, but I do have family in Melbourne and a lot of friends here who have moved from Tasmania.’
Titmus has found work in television and is excited about her new career direction.
‘I’m enjoying life and I really love working in the TV space… and hope to do that more,’ she said.
