Let’s start before the race even begins. What made you decide that you wanted to put your relationship to the test by racing around the world together?Rich Kuo: Yes, we’re both fans of the show. And during the pandemic, we loved watching it while we’re having dinner time.Dom Jones: We traveled vicariously during the pandemic. I’ve always loved the show. And I love the spirit of the show, honestly, of people in couples. I love the relationship aspect of the show, traveling together, learning more about each other, getting through these challenges. So one day, I just said, “You know what, maybe we should apply?” And he was just like, “Really?” I’m just like, “Sure, why not.” It said they needed a video. Let’s just do the video. It was like nine o’clock at night. (Laughs.)Rich: Literally, that was the day she said, “Hey, let’s apply.” I’m like, “Can we wait until tomorrow morning?” She’s like, “No, let’s do it right now!” (Laughs.)Dom: The crazy thing, Mike, is they got back to us so fast. I was like… (Makes shocked expression.) I was so shocked. It was rapid. It was almost instant. It was amazing. I was so, so humbled.I want to go from the beginning to the end. I imagine you thought you were pretty down and out after the Roadblock. But last night, there’s a shot where Linton and Sharik are finishing the Detour right in eyesight of you. Did you see that at the moment, and did that give you any motivation to push through?Dom: We did not. Like the rest of the world, Mike, we watched it back. And we were like, “Oh, they were there!” On the race, like, usually you want to try to run your own race. So you focus on what you’re doing in front of you so that you can get through it. But it was late at night; it was very dark. It was actually quite late. And so here we are doing this fashion Detour. We did not see them there. And had we seen them there, that can light like a little bit of a fire under you. We feel like it could have done something to us to kind of keep us going. Because at that point, we were like, “For sure, we’re done. We’re just DOA.” But we didn’t see them there. And that’s why you’re never supposed to give up. (Laughs.)To that point, I don’t think the word “never” has been in your vocabulary. But like you said, you thought you were gone by the time you finished the Roadblock. How did you give yourself the fortitude to keep pushing through even when elimination seemed inevitable?Dom: It’s interesting. You guys saw me really struggle through the statue and the chisel challenge. After that, it was hard, but I knew we still were in it because the other teams hadn’t left too far ahead of us. As we did that, we almost chose the other Detour, the window. But upon a little bit of assessment, we figured it might be too hard to find these tiny little restaurants in places, so we went with the fashion one. The thing is, unless you have a very strong photographic memory–I mean very strong–if you forget one thing, you’re off. There are so many, as Rich said, permutations of different ways to put this together and organize it. So once night fell, and we hadn’t seen anyone for what felt like quite some time, I was under the feeling we may be at the end. However, this lovely king here, says, “It’s not over till it’s over! Until we get to the mat, babe.“Rich: That’s the attitude you have to have when you run the race. You can’t give up. You never know what other teams are going through. And if you watch the show, you know that weird things happen.Dom: And it was his love towards me. That’s what we’re about: Love and light. It was all of that that helped us get through and realize, “Oh my gosh, love still wins.” Because we took so much from this amazing journey.I want to speak about what happened at the chiseling Roadblock. Rich, up to this point, it seemed like we had seen a lot of Dom motivating and coaching you. But the dynamic reversed here, with you being able to successfully talk her down from quitting the task. What were both of your perspectives on what was happening?Rich: So, honestly, that chisel challenge, for me, was the biggest gift that we received. That was such a human moment. Sometimes in life, we feel like, “This is impossible. There’s no way. I just know my skill sets. This is not me.” But when we believe in ourselves, when we keep pushing, when we don’t find a way to get ourselves out, there’s always a solution at the end of the, at the end of the road.Dom: We are in the space of health and wellness. And people might assume that because we are motivational speakers, we should be able to just push through it. And the reality is that being a motivational speaker and helping others is not about perfection. It’s actually the exact opposite. It’s about sharing your vulnerabilities. And it’s about saying, “We’re all in this together.” We’re all going to have moments where we fear. But we’re going to dig through it because we’re human beings. Really, it was his kindness and his love that helped me push. What people didn’t know is that when I was on the show, my grandmother was ill, and she was passing away. So when I was chiseling, I was actually processing through that. I was in a moment of deep reflection, realizing she may not be there when I returned home. And she did end up passing. The thing about it is that during that time, when I walked up to [the statue], I genuinely thought, Mike, they want me to create God himself. And then I told Rich, I was like, “What is going on? OMG, they’re all artists.” I thought that they had to literally do that. (Laughs.)I didn’t read the clue. Because the key word was “chisel out.” And you see me on the show, I was like, “Oh, that’s what it is!” And so that’s when I went to work. But as I was processing through my challenges, also having to get this Michelangelo as perfect as I can. I’ve been through a lot as a child. I was in poverty, and I was homeless growing up. And so for me to see this Michelangelo that I was trying to get perfect, it was a reflection of me, that I get to accept myself and my imperfections. And I get to love myself. And I will get through this. And I did. (Laughs.)Wow, that is amazing. I want to talk about navigation, which you took an interesting strategy with during the race. Now, you said you were fans of the show before going on. But I have to flag that, Dom, you said in the last episode you couldn’t read a map. What happened there?Dom: So let me be honest with you. The first leg, when we were in Germany, we mapped really, really well. And we had a very big map of Germany, so we were able to look at the map. The map you saw on screen that we were looking at in Florence, it actually cut off from where we were going. It didn’t tell us anymore. So I actually had, on my notepad, drawn a map continuing it. So it wasn’t that I didn’t know how to navigate. It’s that particular map and where we were. It was very confusing—lots of circles everywhere in the streets. But you push through. And Rich even used his wonderful gift. He has his sensibilities. If you notice on the show, when he said, “I’m using my senses,” that was our magic moment. It actually got us to where we needed to be.Yeah, I want to talk about that. Rich, how were you able to navigate to a place in a brand-new country during a high-stakes race just using your senses?Rich: Honestly, it’s about using your gifts when navigating. Some people are technical; some people are more visual. So it just depends. And we did ask for some support or help. And when I did, I was able just to visualize, “Okay, so we gotta make a right here. Right here. Left, right, left, right. Go straight for approximately this long.” It was a long direction. But just using my senses and trusting my intuition actually helped us get to where we needed to go. Dom: And we believe in that. We actually meditate in our lives on a daily basis. And we actually try to grow who we are. And we’re in tune with what we call our “higher selves.” So what he did at that moment is that he tuned in to his higher self, and he felt the vibrational pull of the direction where to go. And I was so grateful because using that actually got us to where we were in that beautiful castle at the top of Florence.Dom, we saw you helping Derek send some good vibes to Claire when she struggled with a Roadblock. Considering how much of your job is interpersonal, did you vibe with any teams in particular?Dom: First off, what I love about this cast is that everyone collaborated and got along so well. From the very start, we had a very harmonious and peaceful cast. We said to one another, “This is not about fighting and backbiting. This is about a race against ourselves.” And so we loved everyone. Derek and Claire are simply lovely. You saw on camera Derek and I were able to sit there and extend love to his partner, Claire, while she was getting through the Ducati. We held hands, and he sent love to her; she finally got it right in there. It was really an effort to show us all that love and kindness really is a powerful force. So Derek and Claire are wonderful. We love them. We love Team Jamaica; Sharik and Linton are so full of warmth and heart. These are good people. The military brothers, the twins, Miami, Quinton, Team T-Rex! Everyone was lovely. (Laughs.)Rich: Talking about conversations, I wish more was shown–but we totally understand; it’s a super short segment–but I wish we got to see Dom and how she interacts with people. She was so kind and loving to everyone, whether it was fellow castmates, strangers, or people just in general. She was so positive and grateful and thankful. And if she gave little mini-motivational speeches to people throughout the entire race. That’s just who she is. She does that on a daily basis. And I’m so impressed.What did you learn about each other racing around the world together?Rich: The Amazing Race is such a perfect analogy of life. It’s such a great opportunity for us to really get to know each other and understand where our weaknesses are and where our blind spots are in our relationship. And it’s such a gift for us. It’s such a gift to say, “Hey, this is where we get to be more patient with each other. This is where we get to be more compassionate, more empathetic.” Honestly, that was a big gift. Because, yes, we do well as we are. But when you get into certain challenges and situations in life such as The Amazing Race, it’s going to help give you a different lens to look at life and see, stop, and reflect on how can I do better.“Dom: I always knew Richard was a special person. He’s a very gifted, special human being on this planet Earth. He has a purpose, and his purpose is to change the world with his love. And to be with him is an honor. In fact, I’m in all of him, and I look up to him. To be with someone that I actually look up to, that I kind of fan girl over, is a little incredible. (Laughs.) When I saw him using his senses, I learned, at that moment, something new. I learned, “Wow. When he really taps in, he’s so divine.” And then afterward, he proposed, and we got engaged. Oh my god, I didn’t know that! Congratulations! Rich, was your decision inspired by your time in the race?Rich: Honestly, sometimes life will just give you clues and a chance that says, “Hey, now’s the right time.” And the race definitely helped us develop that.Dom: And I feel like the race brought us to a very full circle of realizing if we can do this together, we can take on the world together. It’s amazing. It’s incredible. See, this is why this man is my king. I told him if I ever got engaged, I want us both to wear rings, not just the woman, because it’s based on a Roman patriarchal system of male dominance. Why are we still doing that? Why aren’t we both showing that we both hold each other’s hearts? So he got us both jade rings cut from the same stone.Next, read our interview with Rex Ryan and Tim Mann, who were eliminated in The Amazing Race 34 Episode 2.
