Seth Tyler and Olive Beauregard were eliminated from The Amazing Race during Thursday night's broadcast of the CBS reality competition's 29th season.

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Seth, a 37-year-old police officer from Seattle, WA, and Olive, a 24-year-old firefighter from Providence, RI, paired up on the first day of the Race when they were total strangers.

Seth and Olive became the third team eliminated from the around-the-world competition after they arrived at the season's third Pit Stop on the rooftop of a hotel in Tanzania in last place out of the nine remaining couples all thanks to a Double U-Turn.

During an exclusive interview with Reality TV World via email on Friday, Seth talked about his short-lived The Amazing Race experience. Below is what he had to say.

Reality TV World: When you arrived at the Pit Stop, how far behind Shamir Arzeno and Sara Fowler -- who got there right before you -- do you think you were? And do you have any idea how long after Becca Droz and Floyd Pierce found the passport and officially checked in to the Pit Stop that you guys arrived?

Seth Tyler: We figured we were anywhere between 5 and 20 minutes behind them. We had an argument at the market with the vendors about our Brazilian currency, during which time our camera guy fell and injured his ankle, which wasn't shown on the episode.

Reality TV World: What went through your mind when you realized you had been U-Turned? And did you know for sure, or at least have an idea, Tara Carr and Joey Covino were the ones behind it?

Seth Tyler: We were expecting to be U-Turned. When we got off the ferry there were several teams in front of us, and we were a strong team so we definitely saw it coming. We were pretty sure Joey and Tara were the ones that did it, because they were really the only team that we hadn't talked to at all.

Reality TV World: You two seemed to fly through the building Detour task but struggle with the basket-weaving one. What happened exactly, and how long did both tasks take you to complete?

Seth Tyler: We absolutely flew through building the desks. We finished before anyone else. The baskets were extremely difficult and tedious, you saw [London Kaye], who knits yarn for a living, switch tasks, which shows just how frustrating it was. Unfortunately we didn't have the option to switch tasks.

Reality TV World: What was your reaction when you found out Matt Ladley and Redmond Ramos completed both Detour tasks and finished the leg in fourth place?

Seth Tyler: Honestly we were happy for them. I know that sounds weird since we were eliminated. I know the episode makes them, and Redmond especially, seem like jerks, but they were angry that they were U-Turned and they knew who U-Turned them.

Reality TV World: Thinking about how Matt and Redmond were also U-Turned but finished the leg strong, to what would you attribute your last-place finish? Would you still say the U-Turn, or was it something else? How do you think the leg would've ended had you not been U-Turned?

Seth Tyler: Olive and I have spoken about this at length, and we honestly think we did the best we could. Perhaps starting with the weaving rather than desks may have made a difference, but who knows? Hindsight is always 20/20.

Reality TV World: Did you encounter any other bumps in the leg that viewers didn't see, like maybe you got lost? Anything you'd like to share that didn't get edited into the episode?

Seth Tyler: No, the episode was fairly accurate. As I said, the only real bump at the market was the currency argument.

Reality TV World: Based on just first impressions during that initial suitcase challenge, if you weren't able to choose Olive, whom do you think you would've picked? Did you have your eye on anyone else?

Seth Tyler: I had my mind made up that I would pick the first lady that finished that challenge, so no, I wouldn't have picked anyone else. Olive was the perfect partner, our skills complemented each other well and we never really argues.

Reality TV World: Watching these last few episodes, what is your reaction to all the Shamir drama and his dynamic with Sara? Do you predict they are going to self-destruct?

Seth Tyler: It's actually really hard to watch. I'm still close with both Shamir and Sara and you have to realize that it's extremely frustrating when things aren't going your way and sometimes we take that frustration out on other people. I'm not making excuses for Shamir, but I definitely sympathize with the stress he and Sara were under.

Reality TV World: Did Olive and yourself come up with a strategy for the Roadblocks this season? Did you two talk about your strengths, weaknesses and tasks you might excel at or be afraid of? 

Seth Tyler: At the airport in LA, we sat down and made a list of strengths and weaknesses, so we kind of knew ahead of time which types of challenges each of us would do well with.

Reality TV World: Did you view Matt and Redmond as your biggest threat this early on, and did you start thinking about possible alliances while you were still in the Race?

Seth Tyler: We actually were friends with Matt and Redmond and had talked about both teams making it to the Final 3. We weren't really on the Race long enough to really form a strong alliance with them, however.

Reality TV World: What are your thoughts on the rivalry between Matt & Redmond and Ashton Theiss & Vanck Zhu? After watching the last few episodes (Matt and Redmond skipping the line, choosing not to honor their helicopter sign-up deal) which team do you side with or agree with? Do you think Matt and Redmond are racing a little too dirty or do you commend them for it?

Seth Tyler: I think Matt and Redmond were running a clean race. I'm not convinced there was any helicopter sign up "deal," I certainly wouldn't have waited had we been in the same situation as Matt and Red.

Reality TV World: Are you a big fan of The Amazing Race? How were you cast on the show, and was this your first time applying?

Seth Tyler: I'm a huge fan of the show. I applied with my younger brother, who is a firefighter, about two years ago, however that was the blind date season so we weren't selected. Then I got a call from casting about a year later asking if I would run the race as an individual, and I jumped at the opportunity.

Reality TV World: You two worked great together as a team, and you seemed to thrive under pressure. (Probably because of your similar careers). Why do you think your team dynamic was so successful? And what's the status of your relationship now?

Seth Tyler: Our experience in the pubic safety field absolutely helped us on the race. We knew what we needed to do and got it done as quickly as possible.

Check back with Reality TV World soon for our exclusive interview with Olive Beauregard.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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