I got a chance to talk to last night’s eliminated Amazing Race team, Ari & Staella. They were very happy to offer their own perspective on their time in the race and what it meant to them to be a part of it. Here’s what we discussed:
Reality Exploits: How did it make you feel to be the first ones to go home?
Staella: It was hard because we had to relive the whole donkey incident. But still it was surreal and exciting to be watching it and think that we really did that. You know, this is us on television right now. It was a trip. Nobody wants to be the first ones to go. That was the hardest part to get over. We got a little taste of it and it was just yanked out of our hands. At least when we went out, it wasn’t my fault or Ari’s fault, it was just bad luck.
Ari: It was a donkey!
Staella: Exactly! I hate her!
(follow the jump for lots more!)
RE: If you had gotten a donkey that had cooperated, where do you think you would have come in?
Ari: We had been in that fourth or fifth place and if our donkey had just taken off, we probably would have placed in the middle. We had been in like fifth place and then after a couple of hours we saw other teams start to pass us up. We both got really worried. And that’s when every emotion started coming out. Mind you, the donkey didn’t want to move. It walked like 10 steps and just stopped on us. And after pushing and pulling for like six hours, we were dehydrated, the donkey pooped on Staella, it tried to bite us, it kicked us, it stepped on my sprained foot… It was very intense. Having to relive it all last night, it was just all mixed emotions: excited, happy, sad, disappointed…
RE: But on the bright side, you got to go to Ireland.
Ari: Yeah, we are happy that we got to experience some of the race and no one can ever take that from us. We’re happy we got to do something great. Nobody goes on the Amazing Race thinking that it’ll be ok if we get kicked off. You go there for the competition. You go there to win. On top of that, the one thing Staella and I didn’t want was to be the first to go. If worse came to worse, we didn’t want to be the first, second or third ones eliminated. And it happened to be what we didn’t want.
RE: There are those people who would think that it was a bit of a karmic payback for stealing the cab. What do you want to say about that?
Staella: See, everybody thinks that we stole the cab, and that’s not the case at all. When we arrived in Ireland, and everybody was running outside to try to get a cab, the cabs in Ireland are not obvious like the ones that we’re used to. All the cars looked the same. At one point, Ari was standing in the middle of the street and was yelling out loud, “Where the hell are the taxis?” Then a gentleman popped his head out and said, “Here! I’m over here!” So we got into the taxi and started driving and about a half hour later we started asking him how much the ride would be. And he told us that he thought we had already talked about prices on the phone. Ari & I just looked at each other and thought, “Uh-oh! We took somebody else’s taxi.” The taxi driver even said that he wasn’t going to turn around then because we had already been driving for 30-45 minutes. We came to find out that it was Ron & Chris’ cab that we took. They ended up confronting us about it. I apologized to them, Ari didn’t…
Ari: I didn’t really care, you know it was a race, and I was gloating.
Staella: I told them I was sorry, it was completely unintentional. And that was it, it was over with. They didn’t seem like they were holding a grudge or had hard feelings about it. The only people that really know what went on were me and Ari and the other people who raced with us. That’s just how it is. Nobody really knows what happened except the people involved. I mean, there are hours and hours of footage and they have to cram it into one hour. I mean, we tried our best and that’s all that matters.
RE: Going into the race, what kind of strategy did you have?
Staella: The biggest thing that Ari and I discussed was that as intense as we knew it was going to be, it was a race, but at the same time, we tried to remember that we just always have to keep our cool. Try not to rush things, take our time reading the clues because you can miss the smallest detail and that can mess you up. But of course, once the race starts, especially when you’re around other teams, and everybody’s trying to do things at the same time, you can’t help but get excited and flustered and rushed. I think that may have been what happened to us. Instead of taking time to “get to know” the donkey, maybe we scared the donkey.
RE: Or maybe you just picked the one that didn’t want to go anywhere.
Ari: Yeah, when the donkey did want to move, it only backed up and ended up smashing in to the fence thing. We just got a bad donkey, what can I say?
RE: While you were in the thick of the race, which team did you perceive as being the biggest threat to you?
Staella: You know, it’s so hard because when you’re sizing up your competitors, all you have to go on in the beginning is their physical appearance. It’s funny too because Ari surprised, me. My own partner. Like when we had to basically run halfway across the island, and run up the hill when we’re drenched and slipping in mud…people were constantly surprising us left and right. Even if somebody was our biggest competition, it turned out to be the underdog. Everybody had their moment when they would outshine and impress a lot of people.
RE: They did pick some really good teams this time. You can take a bit of comfort in the fact that you were part of a very strong cast.
Staella: I have to say, it was an amazing cast.
Ari: Very different, diverse.
Staella: They’re a great group of people too. Ari and I look at it this way, regardless of what happened, it was a good experience. It’s something we’re going to have for the rest of our lives. Only partners and the other racers really understand it. So we all have this special bond with each other and that’s something we’re going to have forever.
RE: Which teams do you think you’ll stay in touch with now?
Staella: We’ve been keeping in touch with everybody, really. We all said that we have to keep in contact with each other, by email, phone, whatever.
RE: Do you think you’d ever do reality TV again?
Staella: Ari and I have both said that if they ever have another All-Stars, we would do it in a heartbeat.
Ari: I would totally do the Race over and over again with Staella and nothing would come between us. We said ahead of time that we would never hold anything against each other that was unintentional and we just don’t want to go down that path.
Staella: And the reason The Amazing Race was so appealing to us was because it’s the most original reality show. Not only do you get to travel the world, but there’s a money prize and you meet people from all different places in the world. It’s just overall a great experience.
Ari: I wouldn’t mind doing some scripted reality shows, like MTV’s The Hills. I’d love to meet Lauren Conrad. (Chuckles.) She’s an amazing person.
RE: What did you take away from the experience as “lessons learned?”
Ari: It brought out different sides of us. Like Staella is usually the one that calms me down and it was reversed, especially with the donkey situation. It brought every emotion out of her. And I’m normally good with driving directions. But in Ireland, I had no idea where I was going. She was doing better than I ever thought she would! We wouldn’t have made it without her. And then, last night when we were driving to gather up with everybody to watch the premiere, she didn’t even know where she was going. It’s like, how did you know where to go in Ireland, but you don’t in your own home town?
Staella: I’ve never claimed to be good at directions.
RE: At least it came through when you needed it, right?
Ari: And luckily, she was the one who was driving.
Ari & Staella have given me permission to publish their MySpace sites:
And to follow the teams after they are eliminated from The Amazing Race, be sure to check out the Elimination Station on CBS.com.
the amazing race, the-amazing-race, Reality TV, reality-tv, Kynt, Vyxsin, Azaria, Hendekea
Share This
