After falling short on season 35 of Survivor and season 1 of The Challenge: USA, Desiree “Desi” Williams is back on our television screens for the third time, serving as one of the strongest competitors on season 2 of The Challenge: USA.
In a video titled “Meet The Cast: Survivor” on The Challenge’s official YouTube channel, Desi shared what she planned to do differently going into her second season of The Challenge: USA, and it clearly has been working out for her so far — she has already made it to the individual portion of the game!
“I’m not really good at like lying to people. I’m not a great backstabber. I hate to say like I’m working on backstabbing, but I’m working on being a better backstabber,” she dished.
With Desi serving as a force to be reckoned with on season two of The Challenge: USA (and potentially bringing home the win), what is she all about beyond our television screens?
Keep scrolling to learn everything you need to know about the one and only Desi Williams, deeper than her journeys on Survivor and The Challenge: USA.
Who is Desi Williams?
As for who she is beyond Survivor and The Challenge: USA, Desi’s accolades are truly as impressive as can be.
We know that the 34-year-old has been a force to be reckoned with within the reality TV world since Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers back in 2017. However, she has also competed in beauty pageants, earned a doctorate degree, worked as a physical therapist, worked as a yoga instructor, published a book, and starred in a movie — is there anything she can’t do?
From Miss Virginia USA to assistant professor, there’s nothing Desi can’t do
As for her history within the beauty pageant world, Desi served as Miss Virginia USA in 2016. Aside from that monumental victory, she won several other titles, including Miss Virginia in 2013 (competing in the 2014 Miss America Pageant), National Sweetheart 2012, and Miss Hampton University 2011. With a face like that, we are not surprised that Desi has received so much recognition for her undeniable beauty!
With her good looks aside, Desi is also a brainiac, contrary to popular belief. When asked about her personal claim to fame in her biography for Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, she shared that she “became an assistant professor at the age of 26 and a program director at the age of 27. They don’t just hand out those titles to anyone.”
To top it all off, Desi is a proud Black woman, supporting the Black Lives Matter movement on her various social media platforms, as well as being involved in quite a few other projects. The Georgia native wrote a book with Heather A. Worthy titled Love Affair With My Hair: Why Black Women Cheat On Health, ultimately adding the words published author to her resume. In addition to this, Desi acted in a film titled Blindfire, which tackled the issue of racism within law enforcement.
Desi’s love life and social media updates
With her various accomplishments aside, Desi uses her Instagram account (which has amassed nearly 30k followers) to share aspects of her personal life, including her relationship with her oh-so handsome fiancé, Jeremy Laney.
“He brought me to my favorite place 📍 to do my favorite thing 🍷 and then bribed me with a diamond 💍 Obviously, YES 🥰🥰🥰,” she wrote in an Instagram post announcing their engagement.
“One year later and we still want to get married, so I’d say that’s something to celebrate… About 30 minutes before Jeremy proposed, I figured out the plan, location, etc. based upon some ‘casual conversation’ our driver and Jeremy were having. So when Jeremy dropped down to one knee to propose, I knew he had jumped the gun and proposed in the wrong location 😬 Of course, I said yes, but of course I also made him propose a second time, in the correct location, just for the footage 💁🏾♀️ So if you wait until the end of this video, you will see the actual proposal and location, and the actual YES! Anyways, Happy Engagement-versary Jeremy,” she wrote in an Instagram post one year later.
To top it all off, Desi uses her Instagram account to share highlights from her journey on The Challenge: USA, which is airing as we speak.
Will she take home the victory? Tune into CBS from 10 pm to 11 pm ET/PT every Thursday to find out…