REALITY TV NEWSGeorge Santos Says Competing on 'Special Forces' Was 'Harder' Than Prison: 'This Challenges You'
George Santos spent less than three months in prison in 2025.
Sept. 24 2026, Published 1:40 p.m. ET
Former congressman George Santos admitted that participating in Special Forces: World’s Toughest Test was more challenging than his time in prison due to the reality show's relentless mental and physical demands.
He noted that while prison lacked active involvement, the military-style training course required ongoing adjustment and performance.
'This Was Harder'
George Santos said competing on the show 'challenged' him.'
“You know, prison was hard. This was harder,” Santos, 38, told Us Weekly. “This challenges you. I mean, prison tortures you … [but] this really demands you to actually show up all the time, whereas in our broken incarceratory system in this country, you’re just meat.”
Prison, he said, prepared him for the reality show’s rigorous demands, giving him what he called “awareness and wherewithal to be self-aware.”
He described the show, entering its fifth season, as prison-like, saying, “I remember going in, because the setup was so similar, I’m like, ‘No, not this again. I think Hannah Stocking was sleeping next to me. I think I made a comment like, ‘Oh no, not this setup again.’ And they were like, ‘What do you mean?’ I’m like, ‘I was in prison; this is how we slept.’”
After fabricating much of his personal and professional background, he pleaded guilty in August 2024 to running several criminal schemes during his 2022 midterm election campaign. He was sent to prison for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Why Did George Santos Go to Jail?
George Santos said the sleeping conditions on the show were similar to a prison's.
Santos stole donors' identities (including those of his own family members) and made unauthorized credit card charges to fund personal luxuries and his campaign.
He also filed fraudulent reports with the Federal Election Commission to inflate his fundraising numbers with fake loans and contributions. He was caught obtaining more than $24,000 in fraudulent COVID-19 unemployment benefits while he was still employed.
The former Long Island congressman was sentenced to 87 months (over seven years) in federal prison in April 2025 and began serving his sentence in July.
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The politician was sentenced to 87 months in jail forr fraud, but Donald Trump commute his sentence after three months behind bars.
However, he served less than three months before President Donald Trump commuted his sentence in October 2025, resulting in his immediate release.
Santos said he was worried about how he’d be received by the cast of the show — which included Candace Cameron Bure, Oliver Hudson, Ruby Rose, Collin Gosselin and father-daughter duo Mauricio and Alexia Umansky of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills fame — which is an intense, military-style reality competition series on FOX that puts a group of celebrities through a vigorous training course modeled after the actual U.S. Special Forces selection process.
'I'm Like a Nuclear Football'
George Santos had 'some cold initial introductions' to other contestants on the show.
“I walked in knowing it was going to be an uphill battle for me because these are celebrities, people with very public lives, and they’re trying to do the job, get the next job, and brand safety is a big thing,” he explained. “I’m like a nuclear football, so I figured nobody’s gonna want to talk to me. There were some cold initial introductions that evolved later on into the show, and I was humbled by that.”
Beyond his reality TV debut, Santos sayid he is focusing on prison reform advocacy, digital content creation, settling legacy legal issues and preparing for fatherhood.
He revealed that he and his husband, Matheus "Matt" Gerard, are actively preparing to become parents and are working through the financial and personal planning required to raise children.
