“I Got to Know the Men My Daughters Love” - An Interview with The Amazing Race 8’s Aiello Family

Reality News Online: Hi, guys! Thanks for doing this interview. Your team seems to be one of the best-liked of this year’s racers. How long had you known each other before the race?

The Aiellos: Matt and Kevin knew Tony/each other for about nine years. Dave knew Tony/each other for 5 years.

RNO: Tony, what did you think of the guys before the race?

Tony: I knew them on a surface level but the race let me understand them on a more intimate level. I got to know the men my daughters love.

RNO: Did anyone take a leadership position on the team, or did you all share that role?

The Aiellos: It was a shared role.

RNO: What is each person’s favorite memory from the race?

Tony: Crossing the Delaware and Civil War reenactment.

Kevin and Dave: Same as Tony, especially with the Civil War reenactment. Being put in the middle of the battle was definitely an amazing experience.

Matt: Also, for the intro shot, we all arrived in water taxis and were able to pass by Ellis Island while seeing Phil near the Statue of Liberty. The greatest feeling was the excitement and anticipation from the beginning of the race.

RNO: Where did you want to go on the race?

Kevin: I would have liked to go outside the country. Definitely not disappointed with where we went in the U.S., though, as we had never been to some of those places.

The Aiellos: We would have liked to go run through Dublin, visit Sweden, or pass through China.

RNO: Why did you all not like the Weavers?

Dave: Basically, stupid people can’t help from being stupid, but I feel like there is a difference with ignorant people and the Weavers could have helped that the fact that they were acting ignorant. When you ask someone a question and they do not even acknowledge your presence, that is just wrong. It would have been better for them to say, ‘We can’t answer’ than to just pretend that I wasn’t there. That was ignorant.

Matt: The Weavers played a different game than the other nine teams.

RNO: What went wrong on the Muddy Waters detour?

The Aiellos: Too much mud! We were too heavy to get through it.

RNO: What finally went right?

The Aiellos: We stuck with it and didn’t give up and switch tasks. We kept changing our approach every time and we got through it and ultimately beat the Weavers back. Sticking to it was the key.

RNO: Did you all consider switching to deheading shrimp?

The Aiellos: Not once we made the decision. We were sticking to our decision.

RNO: Did you guys think that it would be easy to beat the Gaghans, at least when you first met them?

The Aiellos: Some thought that they were going to be pretty tough right from the get-go. Even from before the race even started, they were one of the teams that we thought could be tough, even with the kids.

Kevin: I totally underestimated them.

RNO: What is your family life like now? Has it changed since the race?

The Aiellos: Our interaction between the four of us is much better; less on the surface level). We’ve gotten to know each other on a much better level than we ever thought possible. We definitely have a closer relationship than the four of us and achieved something that we would have never been able to during regular interaction during family gatherings.

RNO: What did you all learn about each other?

Kevin: We can rely on each other and motivate each other. We know that we will be able to keep everyone’s morale up and watch each other’s back through tough situations and pressure that comes with everyday life.

RNO: Thanks again for the interview! I hope you all always have fond memories of the race.

Jenn Brasler is the Assistant Editor of Reality News Online and an aspiring writer from Falls Church, VA. You can e-mail her at luckyjenn@hotmail.com. She’d underestimate a nine-year-old, too.

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! And take a look at the rest of the site. You can find all of our recaps and other info on this show at the Amazing Race 7 page, and take a look at our Apprentice page and our Survivor: Guatemala page. You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!

For more news about The Amazing Race, be sure to check out SirLinksALot: The Amazing Race!