Exclusive: Jaymes Vaughan and James Davis discuss 'The Amazing Race' (Part 2)

"Chippendales Dancers and Best Friends" Jaymes Vaughan and James Davis finished The Amazing Race's 21st season in second place during Sunday night's two-hour finale broadcast of the CBS reality competition.


"Goat Farmers and Life Partners" Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge were crowned the champions when they were the first team to cross the finish line in New York, NY, ultimately claiming the $1 million grand prize.

"Dating Couple" Trey Wier and Alexis "Lexi" Beerman finished in third. "Twin Sisters" Natalie Anderson and Nadiya Anderson finished the Race in fourth place, as they had been eliminated just shy of making it to the Final 3. They had arrived at the eleventh leg's Pit Stop in Loire Valley, France, in last place.
 
In an exclusive interview on Monday, Jaymes and James talked to Reality TV World about their The Amazing Race experience. Below is the concluding portion of their interview. Click here to read the first half. 

Also, to read our interview with Josh and Brent, click here and here. Begin reading Natalie and Nadiya's interview here. For Trey and Lexi's entire interview with Reality TV World, click here and here.

Reality TV World: Your Final 3 alliance with Natalie and Nadiya and Trey and Lexi had conspired to get Abbie Ginsberg and Ryan Danz out, and it clearly worked when you guys decided to U-Turn them. And when I talked to Abbie and Ryan earlier this season, they said they thought you two had backstabbed them because they believed they had formed a real genuine friendship with you guys rather than just an alliance in the Race. So could you talk about the turn of events when you guys decided to dishonor that alliance with Abbie and Ryan and then form a new one with the twins and Texas? What was the strategy or thinking there?


Jaymes Vaughan: We had an amazing time on The Amazing Race. We met some amazing couples. [Daniel Gale and Amy Purdy] are such a wonderful couple. They were so inspiring... amazing. Trey and Lexi, they were such a beautiful couple. To see them out there -- Trey last night encouraging Lexi when [she was crying], it was so amazing to see that love.

And Josh and Brent, to see the love between them -- I mean, there were some amazing and wonderful people we raced with. I feel like we left with 11 teams that are now a part of The Amazing Race family. We're so glad we had that experience with every single one of them.

Reality TV World: When you guys decided to target Abbie and Ryan though -- and you guys became very set on getting rid of them at one point -- was it because you didn't want them to win the $2 million since they were the only team eligible to claim that large prize or was it just because you saw them as a huge threat?

Jaymes Vaughan: We went on the Race to make a difference for our families' lives and we got James' mom a car. Unfortunately, we didn't win the million dollars. And so, we're doing everything we can right now to raise money to help out our families, and you can go to www.forgetcancernow.com, and log on there. And you can help donate to my dad and help us out with medical expenses.

Reality TV World: Okay, well going back to Abbie and Ryan, they told me you guys had said at one point you'd have their back and wouldn't let anything happen to them. I just wanted to get your side on that -- were you really that close with them or were you just being extra friendly from a strategy standpoint?


Jaymes Vaughan: We came back to work and we went straight to work as soon as we got back.

Reality TV World: How long do you think it took you guys to complete the "Plow" Detour task, and Jaymes, how about that mushroom Roadblock task? How long did that take you?

Jaymes Vaughan: First of all, the plow challenge, I have to hand it to James Davis. He is a freaking monster. He's awesome.

James Davis: We tilled that soil!

Jaymes Vaughan: We did that thing so fast! That thing was impossible to maneuver. It was so heavy. And James knows I can talk to a horse. I'm like the animal whisperer... and James can move heavy stuff.


We created our own lane. It was amazing how awesome -- I mean, this horse would just take off and James was just like owning it. He managed to make this thing work. It must've taken him five minutes -- if that. And that was all thanks to James. He was amazing at it, absolutely amazing.

James Davis: We did a surprisingly good job and when you walk up to this huge horse -- this horse was pretty much going to do whatever it wants. I mean, you're not going to tell it "stop" if it wants to keep going. It's going to take off regardless of what you're saying. But regardless, we controlled this huge animal and were able to create this lane.

Jaymes Vaughan: It was amazing. It was so sweet. Having animals on the Race is so frickin awesome. It was so cool

James Davis: So cool.

Jaymes Vaughan: We plowed through that thing. We literally plowed through the "Plow" challenge. And the mushroom thing, that was actually super cool... James was so jealous he didn't get to do it.


James Davis: I didn't get to see any of what he experienced until I saw the show last night. So seeing it, I was like, "Wow, that was so cool." But when the lights went out, I was like, "Oh my God."

Jaymes Vaughan: ... I couldn't see nothing when the lights went out. But I mean, it was one of those things -- you get in there, there's a million twists and turns, the lights are going out, there's all these mushrooms to look at, they look identical -- it was just absolutely crazy.

That's why when I went in the first time, I was like, "Ohh, I don't really know if this is the right area. Let's see if it's these, and then we can do the process of elimination and go back." So the lights go off but I ran back in there, and it was a cool thing. There were workers down there doing their jobs and they were so friendly and talking to ya.

It was an amazing thing, to step into that culture. Everyday was seriously like a new culture. We got to step in and experience what they do everyday. They work down there, grilling those mushrooms. I certainly will appreciate those mushrooms on my pizza a lot more now.

James Davis: No kidding!


Jaymes Vaughan: It was such a cool experience.

Reality TV World: How concerned were you guys with Josh and Brent's home court advantage? How much of a role do you think it played in Josh and Brent's victory?

Jaymes Vaughan: We were terrified of their home court advantage, are you kidding me?!

James Davis: They would be like, "Don't take this road at this time of day. There's traffic." So we were concerned but all we could really do was just focus on the challenges and crush the challenges as fast as we could to hopefully get a lead on them.

Jaymes Vaughan: That's the thing. When we were in taxi cabs, we didn't know whether we were going the right way or the wrong way. We are not New York City boys. We're Vegas [boys].

James Davis: I come from a town with one stop light and it took them 15 years to put it in.


Jaymes Vaughan: I went into New York for a chorus competition when I was 16, but I wasn't like taking notes on how to get around the city. So, we were definitely scared of the home court, but we knew someone was going to have the home court advantage. Either Natalie and Nadiya would have it, because they live in New York, or Josh and Brent, because they live in New York.

It just turned out that the guys who have been there for 20 years and work there everyday of the week were the ones who got there! (Laughs) And you know what? Everything happens for a reason, and obviously, they were supposed to win this thing. And that's why it happened as it did, and I firmly believe that. And so, congratulations to Josh and Brent. It went exactly how it was supposed to go.

Reality TV World: Earlier in the Race, Natalie and Nadiya found $100 and knew it was James LoMenzo and "Abba" Mark Abbattista's but they decided to steal it and then split the money with Trey and Lexi -- who had agreed to keep the incident a secret. What was your reaction when you found that out, and would you have done the same thing if you were in their shoes? Also, do you think they should've received a penalty or something?

Jaymes Vaughan: Well, we got stuck back on the Race. We weren't there for it. We just only see what comes on TV, and that's how it was broadcast. We have no idea what happened. I mean, we weren't there. I think we were still looking for a challenge.

James Davis: Like I said before, you don't see some teams for a real long period of time. All of this stuff, we see it as the viewers are seeing it. I mean, we didn't realize that even happened or took place until it aired on TV.

Jaymes Vaughan: Yeah, I think in that situation, you don't know what you'd do until you're actually put in that situation. I can't tell you what I would do. I just know that those people, in that country, God bless them. I wanted to give them all my money anyway. I wanted to give them everything I had, but we had to race this Race. I wanted to go out and buy everybody a nice meal!


Reality TV World: How were you cast on The Amazing Race and would you ever consider doing an all-stars edition if given the opportunity?

Jaymes Vaughan: Facebook and absolutely. (Laughs) Yeah, Facebook. To make a long story short, they said, "You've got to pick somebody to go with." And I said, "You get my best friend or you get nobody." So they said "yes" to us. And also, we had to go help my dad with the hopes of winning a million dollars. And you know what? We didn't do it. And so, that's why there's second chances right?!

We had the time of our lives, you've gotta be kidding me. I think you saw we had the time of our lives. I was with my buddy and we had a great time, so why wouldn't we want to do it again? -- and again, and again, and again. They should just let us come back every season. We'll be like the team who tests everything out. We'll go back beforehand and just hang out with [The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan].

Above is the concluding portion of Jaymes and James' interview. Click here to read the first half. 

Also, to read our interview with Josh and Brent, click here and here. Begin reading Natalie and Nadiya's interview here. For Trey and Lexi's entire interview with Reality TV World, click here and here.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski