Exclusive: 'The Amazing Race' couple Cindy Chac and Rick Chac talk (Part 1)

The Amazing Race eliminated Cindy Chac and Rick Chac during Friday night's broadcast of the CBS reality competition's 27th season.


The "Married Couple in Medicine" became the fifth team eliminated from the around-the-world competition after they arrived at the Race's seventh Pit Stop at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands in last place.

Following their elimination, Cindy revealed she had an awesome time with Rick on the Race and they are definitely soulmates. The next chapter in their lives will be starting a family, and Rick said they really learned to work well with each other and trust one another.

In an exclusive interview with Reality TV World via email, Cindy and Rick talked about their The Amazing Race experience. Below is the first half. Check back with us soon for the concluding portion.

Reality TV World: How far behind Denise Williams and James Corley did you finally arrive at the Pit Stop when you got eliminated? What was the time gap between you and the team ahead of you?


Cindy and Rick: I think we were told we were about eight minutes behind James Earl and Denise, so it wasn't as close as they portrayed it on TV.

Reality TV World: So once you stepped on the Pit Stop mat, were you certain you were in last place or did you have hope Denise and James or maybe even another team were still behind you?

Cindy and Rick: By the time our tram pulled up and we saw Team Alabama [Denise and James] on the mat, we knew we were last.

Reality TV World: You two found pride in the fact you're quite good at paying attention to detail, but it seemed like it was the little details -- such as stops on the tram -- that did you guys in. Could you talk about that a little bit? Was it the stress of the competition that just got to you or maybe trying to rush around everywhere?

Cindy and Rick: We ARE good at attention to details and we're gonna stand by that! Hahaha! What did us in was just bad decision making on the last leg of the race. We made a terrible choice to wait for the bus to arrive which gave the other teams a chance to catch up to us.


So by the time we got to the simulator, there were so many teams there that it took forever to get another turn at the task. We still had a chance when we were trying to make our way to the Peace Palace -- yes, we knew we needed to get on Tram 1 NOT Tram 9. 

But Tram 1 wasn't on the board of incoming trams that were coming within the next hour. So we made a bad decision to get on Tram 9 since it had the same end city as Tram 1... Bad choices did us in.

Reality TV World: Do you think you were overconfident at all and maybe that played a roll in those mistakes? In other words, maybe you overlooked things because you didn't feel you had to re-read things or check things twice?

Cindy Chac: Rick has a more confident, optimistic approach in general, on and off the Race. During that last leg, I had some doubts and questions about whether we were on the right tram, but Rick was feeling pretty confident about it, so we kinda brushed it aside.

Rick Chac: I blame my poor decision making on that last leg on my fat lip from the mosquito bite... Imagine running around in a foreign country trying to figure out Point A to Point B when half your face doesn't even feel like it's yours anymore! The day after, the puffiness spread to my eye and I had a hard time seeing out of that eye. It took a whole week for my face to finally return to normal.


Cindy Chac: He was such a good sport about it, even able to joke about the situation. I don't think I would've been as accepting of the situation! I would probably insist on running the rest of the race with a brown paper bag over my head.

Reality TV World: How much time did your Rotterdam vs Amsterdam mistake cost you? It appeared like you just went one stop too far?

Cindy and Rick: Yea, we went one stop too far. We still got to the boat third so I don't think it cost us too much if at all.

Reality TV World: Talk me through your decision to wait for a bus heading from, I believe, it was the distillery to the Detour task. It seemed like you didn't agree on that decision. How did you arrive at that choice to begin with and did you end up waiting there for 30 minutes like viewers saw or was it even longer?

Cindy and Rick: When we left the distillery, we headed left instead of right and ended up deep into a residential part of town. There were no taxis, no trams in sight. So when we came upon the bus stop, we were thankful to have someone give us some sort of direction.


He said if we waited for the bus, which was to arrive in 20 minutes, it'll take us right to the tram station. Or we can head left then right, then he thinks left again, and then maybe right to arrive at the tram station. He himself was unclear of the exact directions if we were to run there.

So Rick wanted to wait for the bus so we can have sure path to the tram whereas I wanted to run and head in the general vicinity that he gave us to get to the tram. We didn't agree until Rick said his knees were starting to really hurt and bother him so I gave in... Poor guy already had a busted lip.

Reality TV World: Rick, you talked last night about how you have somewhat of a chauvinistic personality and you're trying to change your mentality about being the dominant male. Has that been a problem, like a point of contention in your marriage? Or Cindy, are you perfectly fine with that dynamic?

Rick Chac: I was raised with the mindset that the man of the house is to be the protector and the provider -- to work hard and do whatever I can to protect and provide for my family. I don't think there's anything wrong with that frame of mind. 

Cindy is a very smart, intelligent, and independent woman and I value her input on the Race and in our everyday lives.  I don't make any big decisions without discussing it with her first.


Cindy Chac: We both have very strong personalities and a lot of it stems from our daily careers. We have demanding careers and we're so used to having things go our way that it's hard to compromise at times.

But we've learned that we have no choice but to give and take in order for our marriage to not just grow, but to thrive.  We both grew up in traditional households where the man provides for the family and the woman takes care of the house. Rick is grasping the idea that our household isn't quite that structure.

Reality TV World: So do you think that dynamic helped or might've hindered you in the Race?

Rick Chac: I should've listened to my wife more... She's right more times than not!

Check back with Reality TV World soon for the concluding portion of Cindy and Rick's exclusive The Amazing Race interview.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski