Sticks and stones may break bones, but words will also hurt Nastia Liukin.
During the Jan. 11 episode of Special Forces: World's Toughest Test, the Olympic gymnast decided to step away from the competition show after some co-stars, including Gus Kenworthy, questioned if she received special treatment during a task.
According to Nastia, ignoring the chatter was easier said than done.
"I definitely did let somebody's words get to me," she told E! News in an exclusive interview. "I let someone else's thoughts about me dictate my worth and dictate the internal progress and the breakthroughs and that mental strength that I thought I had found and made to that point."
Looking back, Nastia wishes she didn't let any comments from co-stars impact her state of mind.
"I do believe that I did leave because my integrity was at stake and I don't take that lightly," she said. "I didn't win the Olympics with special treatment and I didn't want to receive any special treatment. Now, I do realize I allowed my own perception of myself to be impacted by other people's words."
In the show, cast members were faced with an emergency escape drill. Each participant had to hold their breath underwater as they were buckled into a car for 20 seconds. While Nastia completed the task by herself, she was able to have a staff member sit besides her in the vehicle.
While Gus questioned if his co-star was getting special treatment during the episode, Nastia said she didn't ask for any additional resources. "I was pretty persistent on saying no because that's not fair," she explained. "Nobody else got that."
Regardless of the claims, Nastia isn't holding grudges against any cast members.
"That person didn't probably mean it in the moment," Nastia said when discussing Gus' comments. "We were all laughing about no sleep, poor nutrition. I don't blame anybody for what they said. I just hold myself accountable to how I reacted to the words."
Nastia is also the first to admit that she wonders what her experience would have been like if she stayed just a little longer.
"After months of thinking about this, obviously, I think it's a lesson I've learned," she said. "We can't go back in time and we can't change anything."
Special Forces: World's Toughest Test airs Wednesday nights at 9 p.m. on Fox.