Exclusive: Amy Purdy and Daniel Gale talk 'The Amazing Race' (Part 2)

Amy Purdy and Daniel Gale were eliminated from The Amazing Race during Sunday night's broadcast of the CBS reality competition's 21st season.


The "Dating On and Off Couple" became the second team eliminated from the around-the-world competition after they arrived at the Race's second Pit Stop at the Pasar Pabean Market in Surabaya, Indonesia in last place. The pair got lost for an extensive period of time looking for the Wijaya Motor shop while running the Race's second leg, and during the show's initial leg, unintentionally gave up a first-place finish when they shared vital information with competitors Abbie Ginsberg and Ryan Danz.

In an exclusive interview on Monday, Amy and Daniel talked to Reality TV World about their The Amazing Race experience and early ouster -- including whether they expected Abbie and Ryan to do the right thing by giving up their first-place finish in the first leg considering the couple had helped them win, what they had to say about their alleged lifelong friendship with Abbie and Ryan, and what their theory was on why many Racers have been putting good manners before executing a good strategy. 
 
Below is the concluding portion of Amy and Daniel's interview. Click here to read the first half.

Reality TV World: When Abbie and Ryan beat you two to the finish in the first leg, were you hoping out of respect or appreciation for your help that they would actually let you get ahead of them and finish in first place? Were you expecting them to do the right thing or did you understand it was a race and they kind of did what they had to do?

Amy Purdy: We understood it was a race to tell you the truth. I mean, we were a little more frustrated with ourselves because, yeah, that was our choice we made in that moment and they took advantage of it. But that's what the Race -- you're running to win the money. (Laughs)


So we took responsibility for that decision and we still do. And yeah, we really -- I think I said to Daniel at one point, I said, "I actually don't blame them." They saw an opportunity and they went for it and that's kind of what you have to do with the Race.

Reality TV World: At the end of the first leg, Ryan noted he thought Abbie and himself would be lifelong friends with the two of you going forward. Did you feel that same way? Was there a genuine friendship there or were you being nice because you didn't want to create enemies in the Race?   

Daniel Gale: We went into the Race thinking that we didn't want to make enemies of anybody and we were going to run a fair race. We would do what it took to win. We were extremely competitive.

But some competitors, like Abbie and Ryan, who would have kept us competing at a really high level and obviously, in the second round, they make you push yourselves -- competitors like that. And so, we were appreciative to have them on the Race as competitors and we respect them as amazing Racers. As far as an ongoing relationship with them, yeah. We appreciate them.

Amy Purdy: We, you know, we're able to look at it as a game. That was a game and everybody has different strategies to win the game. And then we're able to step back into real life and realize, "Now, this is real life and it's [got] different circumstances." So, because of that, we really do understand where every Racer was coming from in the Race, and we appreciate that everybody was giving it their all.


Reality TV World: You weren't the only team who put their manners before strategy. During the first leg, Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge gave up their spot in line to another team at the airport, and that team ended up getting on an earlier flight than the two guys. So watching the episode back, what was going through your minds? Do you think people were just scared to get very competitive so early on, especially with all the cameras around, or maybe they wanted to keep the door open for possible alliances later on?

Daniel Gale: I think it's a mixture of both.

Amy Purdy: Yeah, it's smart.

Daniel Gale: You want to be aligned with other teams, and at the same time, it does take a certain amount of time to get your stride...

Amy Purdy: To get your strategy.


Daniel Gale: And really get your bearings and your strategy and understand how the Race works and how it moves along. It takes that first leg.

Amy Purdy: It does. It really does. I think, yeah, you think you're prepared because you've watched the Race a million times on TV, but when you're actually in it, you really have to just feel it out and you start to develop a strategy as you go.

Because yeah, you certainly don't want to jump in hardcore aggressive, where you're going to turn everybody off and suddenly you've found yourself in a situation where you've separated yourself from the other great Racers. So, it takes a little bit of time to get your strategy, and I think that's what that first leg of the Race is about.

And to tell you the truth, that was such a bummer about [Sheila Castle] and [Rob Scheer] -- the lumberjacks -- going home on the first leg. They were extremely strong competitors, and at first, you're just trying to wrap your head around how everything works. It kind of takes you until that second leg to really get your stride.

Reality TV World: While you were racing, besides Abbie and Ryan, who did you think were going to be your biggest competition? Did any other teams stand out to you for being very competitive or strategic?


Amy Purdy: You know, everybody brought something different to the table to tell you the truth. We realized right away that it's not necessarily the physically strongest people that are going to be the ones that win or that beat you -- or, they may be. You just don't know. You realize everybody brings something different to the table.

So, of course if you kind of size up the other teams -- which I'm sure they did to us, and I'm sure people looked at us and the other teams looked at us and thought, "Well she has prosthetic legs, so we're going to be stronger than her."

And I think they were probably pretty surprised to see that we were coming out of the challenges as one of the top teams. So, you just don't know what people are going to bring to the table and that's why it really ends up being anybody's game.

Reality TV World: How were you two cast on The Amazing Race? How did you end up on the show?

Amy Purdy: We had been big fans since the Race started, honestly. And to tell you the truth, we applied back in 2006 -- I think it was 2006. Yeah, it was. [In] 2006 we applied, and we made it through casting to the end but then ultimately weren't chosen. And all of a sudden, seven years later, it kind of came back around for us.


We were just really excited to jump in and it was perfect timing to take this opportunity, and especially now, I've had a lot more competition under my belt and we both had a lot more travel under our belts. So we just felt it was the perfect time to jump in and finally kind of follow through with this kind of goal of ours to be on the Race, and we went in knowing that we were capable of winning it.

Reality TV World: What's the status of your relationship now? Are you still together, and if so, are things going well?

Daniel Gale: We are very much on. (Laughs) We're a very happy couple. We live in Frisco, CO and we're excited for the future of the organization and Amy's ambition to go compete in the Olympics in Russia in 2014. We're very much on and very much happy.

Above is the concluding portion of Amy and Daniel's interview. Click here to read the first half.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski