'The Biggest Loser: Couples' cuts Dan Evans and reveals new trainers

The Biggest Loser: Couples eliminated a contestant and formally revealed its two new trainers during Tuesday night's broadcast of the NBC reality weight-loss series' eleventh overall edition.


Dan Evans, a 54-year-old police captain from Oklahoma City, OK, was the second contestant ousted from the competition's eleventh season after posting the lowest weight-loss percentage during the third week's weigh-in.

"It's such a sour note to end on, but if there's one silver lining, it's that [fellow contestants Jesse Wornum] and [Arthur Wornum] get to stay. I don't want to take anything away from Bob and Jillian because they're the best and they've been able to get more out of me than anyone's been able to do my entire adult life. But it's not going to stop just because they're not around, because I got something infinitely more important to me in my heart than world-class trainers." Dan said following his elimination.

"I've got a nine-year-old daughter who needs me. My daughter told me she wants me to get healthier because she doesn't want me to go away like her brother Adam did, and if I couldn't find the motivation to do this for myself or for my brother, guarantee you, I have all the motivation I need in just that one statement from her. Because if she's worried about me leaving her like her brother did, I can't fail. I just cant."

The Biggest Loser: Couples eleventh-season's third episode began with the formal unveiling of the identities of new trainers Cara Castronuova and Brett Hoebel. They have been training with the "unknowns" -- the five couples working out with the new trainers in a remote secret location -- who received an initial four weeks of immunity to compensate for their inability to train with the show's notorious trainers Bob Harper and Jillian Michaels on The Biggest Loser ranch.


"Everybody has a fighter in them. They don't realize it, but I see it," Cara said in her introduction.

Brett then said he knows how to work with obese people because he himself was once overweight, which made him decide to dedicate his life to training.

"I'm here to change people's lives and get them in shape... there is a science to training," Brett explained.

The following day after the Week 2 weigh-in, The Biggest Loser host Alison Sweeney met with Bob and Jillian's remaining five teams and Irene, a 26-year-old student also from Portland, OR -- who was left to compete by herself after her mother Ana was sent home in Week 1 -- training on The Biggest Loser campus. But Cara and Brett's unknowns soon arrived and everyone learned they would be competing in a mental challenge.

The unknowns competed against the trainees on the ranch and were required to balance an egg on an upside-down frying pan for as long as possible. One player from each group would win the challenge and both representatives would get to meet for dinner later on with celebrity chef and frequent The Biggest Loser guest contributor Curtis Stone.


Curtis would then give the two winners a chance to compete for a two-pound advantage at the weigh-in. If an unknowns member won, he or she would get to use their two-pound advantage upon their return to campus after their four weeks of immunity are up.

Pink team member Denise "Deni" Hill, a 59-year-old administrative assistant from Bountiful, UT, won for unknowns because her group threw in the towel early knowing she really needed the two-pound advantage.

Aqua team member Marci Crozier, a 49-year-old health club manager and restaurant owner from Valparaiso, IN, won for Bob and Jillian's group training on the ranch.

The unknowns then met with The Biggest Loser physician Dr. Rob Huizenga and received intensive medical evaluations, where tests were conducted and bad news about their health and approximate lifespan was delivered.

The groups then went back with their set of trainers to their given locations and participated in a workout.


Afterward, Denise and Marci met with Curtis and he cooked them a three-course lunch. The contestants then learned they would have to guess how many total calories were in the food Curtis prepared for them. The woman who came the closest to the exact amount won the two-pound advantage. The meal had 572 calories total and Marci guessed 480 calories while Denise guessed 440, so Marci secured the win and the advantage.

The teams training on the ranch then met with Alison and learned they would be competing in the third week's challenge. The five teams and Irene would have to pump water into hollow barrels which could hold up to 100 pounds of water and then pull the barrels across a course that ended with a series of individually-marked large water containers that represented each contestant. Once a contestant's water container was full the player would be eliminated. The winning team or Irene would receive the only vote during the week's elimination.

Irene won for the Orange team and was given the opportunity to be the only vote at the second elimination weigh-in.

All the teams then had their last chance workouts before the weigh-in.

Later on, the weigh-in for Week 3 commenced with the five teams and Irene that had trained with Bob and Jillian. Alison explained that the team with the lowest weight-loss percentage would fall below the yellow line, and one member would subsequently be eliminated based on the vote cast solely by Irene.


The five teams who trained with Brett and Cara were still safe from elimination thanks to their four weeks of immunity and therefore, their weight loss was irrelevant and they were not present at the weigh-in. However, Alison revealed that unknowns member Austin Andrews, a 21-year-old radio board operator from Pasadena, CA, and Jaquin "Q" Allen, a 27-year-old patient services representative from Columbia, SC, came out on top when they each lost 15 pounds.

Moses Kinikini, a 47-year-old garage door installer from Shelley, ID, lost 11 pounds, making his weight-loss total an amazing 64 pounds in three weeks.

The five teams and Irene that trained with Bob and Jillian then stepped on the scale for their third elimination weigh-in.

The Aqua team, comprised of Courtney Crozier, a 22-year-old student and restaurant manager from Valparaiso, IN, and her mother Marci lost a combined total of 13 pounds. Courtney started off the week weighing 298 pounds and dropped to 292 pounds, losing only six pounds. Marci fell from 218 pounds to 211 pounds after she lost seven pounds for her third week on the ranch, posting a 2.91% weight-loss percentage as a team.

Irene started off the week weighing 232 pounds and dropped to 224 pounds after she lost eight pounds. The Orange team member posted a 3.45% weight-loss percentage.


Green team member Jennifer Jacobs, a 28-year-old digital media entrepreneur from Long Branch, NJ, lost eight pounds, while her father Jay Jacobs, a 53-year-old entrepreneur from West Orange, NJ, lost 14 pounds, putting their combined total up to 22 pounds. Jennifer dropped from 250 to 242 pounds and Jay fell from 364 to 350 pounds, posting a 3.58% weight-loss percentage together.

Arthur, a 34-year-old stay-at-home-dad and day care provider from Portland, OR, dropped to 459 pounds after shedding only four pounds when he started off the week weighing 463 pounds, while his father Jesse, a 61-year-old insurance agent also from Portland, OR, fell from 278 pounds to 269 after losing nine pounds. They lost a combined weight of 13 pounds and posted a 1.75% weight-loss percentage as the Blue team.

Purple team member Olivia Ward, a 35-year-old opera singer and plastic surgery office manager from New York, NY, and her sister Hannah Curlee, a 32-year-old human resources representative from Nashville, TN, lost a total of 12 pounds together. Olivia went from 239 to 233 pounds and Hannah fell to 220 pounds from 226 pounds, as they each lost six pounds and posted a 2.58% weight-loss percentage during the third week.

When the Black team weighed in, Alison, Bob, Jillian and the contestants all got a big surprise. Both Dan -- who had been repeatedly saying he missed his family and was ready to go home -- and his brother Don Evans, a 54-year-old police lieutenant also from Oklahoma City, OK, gained nine pounds, posting a positive weight-loss percentage number of 3.31%. Dan started off the week weighing 263 and went up to 272, while Don was 280 pounds and rose up to 289. They gained a total of 18 pounds as a team, which easily put them below the yellow line and up for elimination.

Jillian and Bob both accused the brothers of intentionally throwing the weigh-in, however they denied the charge and claimed to have no explanation for their unexpected weight gain. 

The five teams and Irene then arrived for the second elimination ceremony. Orange team member Irene voted to oust Dan and he was eliminated from the competition.


In a post-elimination update, Dan revealed he currently weighed 215 pounds and lost a total of 72 pounds. He said his weight-loss has transformed him into a better, more active and involved father and allowed him to take part in activities with his daughter that he would never physically have been able to do before he lost the weight.    

"There are no qualms about it. The Biggest Loser gave me exactly what I wanted. I wanted to change my life for myself and my daughter. I wanted to lose weight, honor the memory of my son, and I can't remember the last time I was this happy," Dan explained.

The Biggest Loser: Couples' next episode will air Tuesday, January 25 at 8PM ET/PT on NBC.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski