“We are Fighting in a Nicer Way” - An Interview with The Amazing Race 8’s Paolo Family

RealityNewsOnline: Hi, Marion, Tony, Brian, and D.J.! Congratulations on getting this far in the race. You did a terrific job! What did you see as your strengths in the race? What about your weaknesses?

The Paolos: We always picked the right challenge, so decision-making in the challenges were a big strength. Not listening to each other, talking over each other, not taking our time would be our weakness.

RNO: What was each person’s favorite moment in the race?

D.J.: Making the friendships with the rest of the families. I loved every aspect of the race. The soldiers were also a highlight.

Brian: The bananas summarized the race for us because we were working hard as a team and as a family. Also, seeing Panama and Costa Rica.

Marion: Seeing New Orleans and making memories. And we were able to celebrate Tony’s birthday and our 32nd anniversary.

Tony: The first leg of the race, building the house. We realized that we could do the physical aspects from that point forward.

RNO: D.J. and Brian, when did you realize that your mom would be able to keep up with the rest of you?

Brian and D.J.: During the tasks, we realized that she could keep up with us doing tasks but not so much with all-out sprints.

RNO: Did you connect with any other team on the race?

The Paolos: We connected with everyone.

RNO: What was the most difficult thing about being in the race?

The Paolos: Dealing with the stress levels and staying in the race.

RNO: Everyone seemed to start getting along better at the beginning of the sixth leg. Did something specific cause this change?

The Paolos: Being out of the country brought us closer together because we needed to rely on each other to advance ourselves on the race.

RNO: Marion, we know that you wanted to go to New Zealand, but was there any other place you wanted to go? Where did everyone else want to travel?

Marion: Munich, Germany. Brian and I had just seen a story on TV a couple weeks before and it looked like a nice place to visit.

Tony: I wanted to go around the world, anyplace, maybe Europe. I would have communicated better in Italy and Spain.

D.J.: The Pyramids in Egypt, something I would have never done before.

Brian: Anyplace exotic that we wouldn’t normally think of going to on our own.

RNO: Other than taking the correct route during your last leg, what would you have done differently?

The Paolos: We should have stuck with the other family and gone together to the Grand Canyon.

RNO: What is your home life like now? Has it changed at all?

The Paolos: It actually has gotten a little bit better. We are fighting in a nicer way. We are listening to each other.

RNO: What do you most want people to know about you?

The Paolos: That we really love each other and we are just like every other family.

RNO: Thanks for doing this interview! I wish you all the best of luck in the future.

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 never thought she would rather see the Paolos stick around instead of a certain other team.

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