James, I know you had a game plan coming onto the show. But how much did that get thrown out the window once you’re put on the chopping block alongside Shannon for that first elimination?James: It’s tough to say. Before that first daily, I had a conversation with Leo and Cayla, and we said, “We cannot pair with Love Island. It has to be Big Brother or Survivor because they’ll probably be more inclined to win the first daily.” But as T.J. was like, “Pick partners,” everyone around me was picking each other. No one picked Shannon and me. And I should have been a little more aggressive in trying to find another partner and going with the plans I had already discussed with Leo and Cayla. But at the end of the day, I think because Shannon and I weren’t picked, it said a lot about how people perceived us. That we were going to be weaker competitors, that we were going to be underestimated. And that’s why I really loved the dynamic that Shannon and I had. We wanted to prove ourselves; you can’t underestimate the underdog. So as much as it was very exhausting for Shannon and me having to play the game so quickly and really make sure we weren’t into elimination that first round, I think it was actually a good dynamic. And I love Shannon. It was a great way to start the game because it helped me build relationships.Tasha, you said in the last episode that you struggled to find your “Survivor strength” from your time on the island. What made this experience so different from your two other seasons?Tasha: That’s a good question. And I think I’ve come to realize that, with Survivor, once I hit the island, I mentally put my family and stuff at home away in a box. But with The Challenge, we could call home twice a week. And so you’re seeing loved ones; you’re hearing about what’s happening at home. And it, in a sense, takes you out of the game. Now you have these distractions of what may be going on at home that pull your focus from what you’re there to do. Now you’re kind of worrying, “What’s going on at work? What’s going on with my family?” With Survivor, you’re there. All you see is the island; all you know is the game. But with The Challenge, you kept getting bits of home. And so, I think maybe that psychologically messed with my focus a little bit.James, we saw Leo’s unhappy reaction to you suggesting to go against him in elimination. Did you know he was feeling that way at the moment?James: I felt bad. I think he completely misinterpreted our conversation. And a lot of the conversations, I think, were taken out of context between Leo and me. I’ve been friends with Leo way before we were on The Challenge together. So I never in a million years would feel comfortable putting a knife in his back. Given who was in power that round, I recognized that Leo and Justine were an option for Kyland and Angela. I would be dumb to think that they weren’t. So I was really just trying to have this conversation with Leo to let him know, “You are an option.” But I even told him, “I would prefer you not to be.” I did not want to go against Leo.But there’s also the gamer in me. And we recognized that Justine had money. So if we did end up going into elimination with them, it was a blessing and a curse. I might lose Leo. But at the same time, we’ll get money. And that would be enough in my account to get me to the final. But I was never trying to pursue Justine and Leo going until elimination actively. We didn’t even want Dom and Cash because Survivor and Amazing Race were working together.In the deliberation, there was actually a third option mentioned with David and Shannon. You see Tyson planting that seed in Angela’s ear at the beginning of the episode. So that’s what we were really pushing. But I think because there wasn’t much conversation besides us trying to get that to happen, it just didn’t really show in the edit. But I was never trying to go against Leo. That was not what I wanted. But I just had to recognize that that was an option, and it was out of my control.Finally, in honor of the infamous “[expletive] They Should Have Shown” episode of the old-school days of The Challenge, what’s one moment from your time on the show that you wish had made the edit?Tasha: I would say, on one of our nights going out, we turned up! (Laughs.) I wish they would have shown that camaraderie amongst everyone turning up and letting loose. It was a good night. James: I think more of the social dynamics and relationships in the house. There were a lot of relationships, obviously, with 28 people that I think really impacted the game overall from my time on the show. But I really wish that they would have shown more of my and Cayla’s dynamic. Cayla and I were really “thick as thieves,” that’s her saying. When we went into elimination together and crushed it, I wish they would have shown more of my and Cayla’s relationship. Or maybe just The Amazing Race in general. We would be social. We would get information, and the three of us would come back together, compare notes, and figure out a game plan. So I think the Amazing Racers are playing the game more than people realize.Next, read our interview with Tiffany Mitchell and Cashel Barnett, who were eliminated in The Challenge: USA Episode 2.
