Diehard reality television fans love it when they see some oftheir favorite personalities crossover to other franchises.When it comes toThe Amazing Race, the show has been ripe for massive crossovers! From other series toThe Amazing Raceand vice versa,the show is the perfect test of true grit and relationships. What better way to see if you can make it than racing around the world for a million dollars!
When it comes to crossover contestants onThe Amazing Race, there are a handful of stars. In fact, there was an entire season comprised of teams made up entirely fromThe Amazing Race,Survivor, andBig Brother. Since that was a special season, we will not be discussing those stars here.This list is a celebration of the reality racers who competed in a regular season.And let’s just say, it’s a pretty hefty list!
10Alison Irwin
‘The Amazing Race 5’
Fresh off of her time as the runner-up onBig Brother 4,Alison Irwinmade history as the first racer to have originally appeared in another reality franchise. As the dating couple,Big Brotherfans were familiar withDonny Patrickwhen he made a brief appearance on the program discussing Alison’s cheating. Well, that appearance should have been a precursor to their performance inThe Amazing Race 5.
The couple started off strong, winning the first leg of the race. But the race could not contend with their constant bickering.Alison and Donny essentially went from first to worst, having been eliminated in the second leg. The couple broke up followingThe Amazing Race, proving that the race can easily destroy a relationship. AfterThe Amazing Race, Alison Irwin went back to compete inBig Brother All Stars.
Big Brother
9Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca’
‘The Amazing Race 19’
Ethan ZohnandJenna Morascawill forever be remembered for winning their respective seasons ofSurvivor. They will most certainly not be remembered for their poor performance onThe Amazing Race. Being part of the old-school group ofSurvivorwinners, they were both competitors inSurvivor: All Stars. From there, they began dating, which led them toThe Amazing Race. Hoping to fly under the radar in the race, the other competitors instantly recognized their star power.
They held their own in the first leg, but by the second leg, theSurvivorwinners fell flat. Perhaps their time in Africa and the Amazon didn’t prepare them for paying attention to rules. After losing a clue and not reading the sign properly,Ethan and Jenna were forced to backtrack twice, causing them to 10th place, where they were recipients of the Double Elimination. They did make history as the first pair to be eliminated without coming in last place. After their time onThe Amazing Race, they broke up. While Jenna has been out of the reality TV spotlight, Ethan Zohn returned toSurvivorfor the fortieth season,Survivor: Winners at War.
8Caro Viehweg and Ray Gantt
‘The Amazing Race 33’
Dating reality stars seems to be the recipe for success onThe Amazing Race. And by a recipe for success, I mean perfect candidates to exploit their relationship for the screen. EnterCaro ViehwegandRay Gantt. Previously coming in third place on the American version ofLove Island, the new couple tested their relationship on Season 33 ofThe Amazing Race. To say thatLove Islandis different fromThe Amazing Raceis an understatement. The villa allows you to have more casual conversations.The Amazing Raceprompts massive red flags to pop up. Caro wasn’t the best partner.
She was not supportive of Ray, blaming him for any issues they faced. Unfortunately,The Amazing Race 33was put on hiatus in the middle of the game due to COVID 19. When they were discharged,they became one of three teams that were unable to return to the competitionwhen they resumed filming a year later. In addition to the pair breaking up, Caro’s work visa expired, causing her to be unable to return to the United States due to travel restrictions. The couple were featured onEx on the Beach 5, which was filmed prior to the resumption of their season ofThe Amazing Race.
Love Island
7Whitney Duncan and Keith Tollefson
‘The Amazing Race 25’
Survivor fans will forever rememberSurvivor: South Pacificas theOzzy LusthandCoach Wadeshow, but the season did produce some interesting characters. ForWhitney DuncanandKeith Tollefson, they were able to bring their love off the island and into the real world. From there, the engaged couple put their wedding plans on hold when the opportunity ofThe Amazing Racearose.
Their competitive nature sometimes got the best of them, having almost been eliminated in the first leg of The Amazing Race 25. Having a major battle withShelley PorterandNici Porter, the mother-daughter opted for revenge when they retaliated with a U-Turn.One mat spat cost Keith and Whitney the entire game.Since the race, Keith and Whitney have gotten married and welcomed a baby boy to the family.
6Jeff Schroeder and Jordan Lloyd
‘The Amazing Race 16’
Jeff SchroederandJordan Lloydare the sweethearts ofBig Brother. Having originally met onBig Brother 11, the darlings of the house took their relationship over toThe Amazing Race 16. While they were lovey-dovey in theBig Brotherhouse, the tension and pressure of the race started to show the potential cracks in their relationship. Despite falling to last place during the fourth leg, they were saved by a Non-Elimination Leg.
Their communication became a major struggle for Jeff and Jordan as navigation woes and a pesky champagne tower resulted in their seventh-place finish.The negative moments onThe Amazing Racewere not a deal-breaker for the couple as they remained together. They returned to theBig Brotherhouse to compete onBig Brother 13. Jeff proposed to Jordan during Season 16 following challenge hosting duties.The happy couple is still going strong and a reminder as to whyBig Brothermarriages last!
5Rachel Reilly and Brendon Villegas
‘The Amazing Race 20;’ ‘The Amazing Race All-Stars’
First there was Jeff and Jordan. Then there wasBrendon VillegasandRachel Reilly. Having first met duringBig Brother 12, Brendon and Rachel were another pair that proved love can last, no matter what reality TV throws at them. Following another run in theBig Brotherhouse together for Season 13, which Rachel won, the couple brought their highly competitive nature toThe Amazing Race 20. Rachel’s time onBig Brotherwas certainly a precursor to how she would act onThe Amazing Race. She and Brendon constantly found themselves at odds with various other teams.Rachel’s desire to win pushed the pair to bicker quite often, which led to meltdowns and breakdowns thatBig Brotherfans fondly knew.Perhaps it was the two times in theBig Brotherhouse that gave them the experience to handle the pressure of the race. They got to the final leg, but one fatal mistake caused them to finish in third.
A few seasons later, Brendon and Rachel were invited to compete in the second iteration ofThe Amazing Race All-Stars. Having recently been married, the happy couple vowed to play smarter and stronger. It proved beneficial as they not only won three separate legs,they made history on the show as the first time to make the final three twice.They made enemies with their fellow racers, and it was their old ways that caused them to finish in third place again. For Rachel, this was certainly not her last stint on reality TV. OrThe Amazing Race. She returned to compete alongside her sister and fellowBig BrotherhouseguestElissa Slateron the all-reality star edition ofThe Amazing Race. She also appeared onSnake in the Grassand in the first season ofThe Traitors.
4Cody Nickson and Jessica Graf
‘The Amazing Race 30’
When it came toBig Brother 19, it was, to put it nicely, a trainwreck. With horrid gameplay and a complete lack of niceties, the season is considered one to forget. Regardless of it all, the season did feature a plethora of showmances, one of whom wasCody NicksonandJessica Graf. Cody was known for being completely serious and never cracking a smile.
Jessica was seen as a threat and was evicted right before the jury phase. With Cody stuck in the jury, the two were briefly separated, but their love survived, allowing them an invitation to compete onThe Amazing Race 30. This game proved much more beneficial for the pair as they dominated the game. Unlike their time onBig Brother, Cody and Jessica were able to build some crucial alliances that helped them to the final leg. In the end,Cody and Jessica were victorious, winningThe Amazing Race, becoming the first reality pair to win.
3Rob and Amber Mariano
‘The Amazing Race 7;’ ‘The Amazing Race All-Stars’
Following their whirlwind romance onSurvivor: All Starsthat led to a proposal at the live reunion,Rob MarianoandAmber Brkichofficially becameSurvivor’s official sweethearts. The soon-to-be Marianos were whisked over toThe Amazing Raceas the firstSurvivorpair to compete on the show. With their stock quite high, many of their fellow racers were not thrilled that they were there, especially since Amber had just wonSurvivorwith Rob as the runner-up. Their competitiveness, well, Rob’s, put a target on their back. The one thing that went in their favor wasSurvivorbeing a worldwide phenomenon, having been recognized by locals who helped them along the way. With another million-dollar prize on the line,their cutthroat nature helped them reach the final leg, but they came just short, losing toUchenna and Joyce Agu.
Now officially married, Boston Rob and Amber returned for the first iteration ofThe Amazing Race: All-Stars. Once again,their strong performance prowess nailed a massive target on their backs.With some of the old-school era’s biggest names back for this season, the battle to win was harder than ever. After a brutal mistake that forced them on the second charter to Argentina, it was a race not to finish last. Once again, they had Uchenna and Joyce to fend off. Unfortunately, they were shockingly eliminated, placing eighth. Becoming one of the biggest reality stars of the new millennium, Boston Rob continued to dominate television screens, competing three more times onSurvivor, with one extra appearance as a mentor alongsideSandra Diaz-Twine. He is also set to appear in the third season ofThe Traitors. Amber Mariano eventually returned to playSurvivoragain inSurvivor: Winners at War.
2Derek Xiao and Claire Rehfuss
‘The Amazing Race 34’
OnBig Brother 23,Derek XiaoandClaire Rehfusswere the victims of the exceptionally strong Cookout alliance. They made their relationship official after the game and were eager to test their new love onThe Amazing Race 34. Both strong competitors, they became a formidable team after winning the first leg of the race.
Utilizing what worked for them onBig Brother, they were able to use their strategic minds and social game to get ahead of the other racers. They easily walked away with the prize, becoming the secondBig Brotherteam to winThe Amazing Race. Derek also happened to compete against other reality stars on the inaugural season ofThe Challenge: USA.
1Will Jardell and James Wallington
‘The Amazing Race 32’
Not all reality stars meet and fall in love on their respective shows. Such was the case forWill JardellandJames Wallington. Prior toThe Amazing Race, Will Jardell competed on Cycle 21 ofAmerica’s Next Top Model. James Wallington appeared in the shortlived seriesCapture. Being such big superfans of the game, Will and James maintained that a strong alliance was the way to victory. Forming the Mine Five alliance,they used a unique strategy of sharing answers with one another in order to knock out the other teams outside their alliance.
While considered controversial to some, their tactics proved beneficial as it gave them the lead in the final leg and victory of the season. At the finish line, Will proposed to James in a beautifully emotional moment, a first on the franchise. James later went on to compete onThe Challenge: USA.
