“You’ll Never Know How You’ll React Unless You’re There” - An Interview with The Amazing Race 10’s Lyn & Karlyn

RealityNewsOnline: Hi, Lyn & Karlyn! Congratulations on being the first two-woman team in the final three, and coming in third! Whose idea was it to come on the race, and what was the other person’s reaction?

Karlyn: It was mainly Lyn’s idea to go to the casting call here in Birmingham. I’ve watched the show since the first season. Sometimes I would cry when I heard the show’s opening theme music because I wanted to go on the race so badly.

RNO: How did your kids react to the news that you would be doing the race?

Lyn: My children were rather calm about me being on the race. They had no idea before I came back and told them. If I would have said something ahead of time, then I am sure they would have blabbed to the world about me being on the show. At the ages of four, five, and eight, they are still horrible at keeping secrets.

Karlyn: My daughter was upset that I would be gone for so long because she’s my only child and we are very close. But once the show started, whenever anyone would ask why I did it, she would pipe in, “She did it for me!”

RNO: What did each of you think would be your strengths and weaknesses?

Karlyn: I knew that our biggest weakness would be physical ability, but I also knew that we could use our intelligence to overcome that weakness. We knew that the show wasn’t all about physical strength.

Lyn: I thought that my navigational skills and ability to stay calm would be my strengths. The weakness was my not being as fit as everyone else.

RNO: At the beginning of the race, who did you think would be your main competition?

Lyn: I am not sure that I looked at any team as my main competition. I felt that the race could go to any of the teams. So much of the race is attributed to skill, not just athleticism.

Karlyn: I didn’t see any of the teams as competition because I knew that so many factors affect the race. So it’s basically anyone’s game.

RNO: Did you ever expect or want to form an alliance before the Six Pack was born?

Karlyn: I never expected to form an alliance so it didn’t matter to me if we worked together or alone. Though the alliance really started to bother me when decisions were made to wait on each other. It just didn’t make sense.

Lyn: I never expected or really gave much thought to forming an alliance before the Six Pack. I think that the alliance worked well based on the casting and our timing.

RNO: On the leg where the Chos were eliminated, why did you followed them around instead of going off on your own?

Lyn: On the Ukraine leg, we followed the Chos because we had limited money. Therefore, we were not able to buy the maps ourselves. They had the map for that country. We pulled off in front of them, not to get away from them, but to stop following them. We did not mind them following us, as they did.

Karlyn: I tried repeatedly to tell the Chos not to wait on us because I knew that it would come down to us and them and I didn’t want it to come down to a foot race. What you didn’t see was that I was the one who finally found the apartment where we got the Detour clue. And I found someone to show the Chos where the clue was as well. I think the Chos wanted us to be dependent on them, but we really weren’t.

RNO: When did you start disliking Dustin & Kandice?

Lyn: I think that I first got a bad taste of Dustin and Kandace when we were in Vietnam. They seemed to want to be so cool, but were yet so pretentious.

Karlyn: I started to dislike Dustin and Kandice when they pushed in front of us to get to the boats in Vietnam. It was really unnecessary because there were numerous boats waiting to take us to the island. I took it as an act of competitive aggression and I definitely wanted them to know that if they wanted to play like that, then game on.

RNO: Do you think you were edited fairly?

Karlyn: I think the editors could have used more of my one-liners. I’m a pretty funny girl.

Lyn: “Fairly” is not a good way to ask the question. I think the editing did not portray anything but a snarky, negative attitude. I think that this was shown as such to make for good TV. Karlyn and I had very little interaction that was explosive. The production group had to get what they could to make the story work. We are definitely not as negative as we were portrayed. We are both very fun-loving people.

RNO: Is there anything you regret doing or saying on the race?

Karlyn: I regret being honest and not saving my words for off camera like a lot of the other teams. A lot of things that were said to us with the cameras and mics off were really cruel.

Lyn: I wholeheartedly regret cursing at Karlyn in Casablanca. I was making a conscious effort to watch my mouth.

RNO: What was the hardest part about the race?

Karlyn: The hardest part of the race for me was the rowboat in Vietnam. We rowed around in circles for hours. Also, forming friendships and feelings for other teams was hard because in the end, it’s still a race.

Lyn: The hardest thing about the race was the fact that we were away from family with no communication.

RNO: What are you most proud of having done?

Lyn: I am most proud of having become the first all female team to make it to the final three.

Karlyn: I’m most proud of having done the angel dive in Finland. I’ve never been so afraid in my life. It was really tough.

RNO: Which location did you enjoy the most?

Karlyn: I enjoyed Mauritius the most. It’s the most tranquil and serene place I’ve ever been.

Lyn: The weather is great. The island is very small and romantic.

RNO: Is there anything else you want to say to people?

Lyn: I would like to thank everyone that has cheered, prayed, and supported us. I would also like to urge others to try and never judge a book by its cover. People discounted us because we did not look the part, but we still did well.

Karlyn: And don’t think that you know me because you viewed one of the most stressful episodes of my life. You definitely didn’t get the whole story. You’ll never know how you’ll react unless you’re there. And even if you think you’ve reacted favorably, you still can’t control what viewers see and what they don’t see.

RNO: Thank you!

Jenn Brasler is an Assistant Editor of Reality News Online and an aspiring writer from Falls Church, Virginia. By day she works for a court reporting firm, and by night she’s a spy for a covert branch of the CIA. You can e-mail her at luckyjenn@hotmail.com. She can’t believe it took ten seasons to get a two-woman team in the final three.

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