Jonathan and Ana end ‘The Amazing Race’ amid controversy: ‘You’re gonna see us fight, and that’s just normal’
Warning: this article contains spoilers from the May 15 finale of The Amazing Race — read at your own risk!
Season 37 came to a hard-fought conclusion on Thursday night, with gamer friends Jack Dodge and Carson McCalley winning the $1 million prize in Miami after traveling 29,000 miles around the globe. Their thrilling journey took them to Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates, Bulgaria, Italy, Germany, France, and Portugal.
Siblings Han Nguyen and Holden Nguyen were the runners-up, while married parents Jonathan Towns and Ana Towns came in third place. The latter couple struck a nerve with The Amazing Race viewers in recent weeks, particularly after they were repeatedly shown fighting and bickering on camera. "You're gonna see us fight, and that's just normal," Ana declared at the finish line. See their full quotes below.
After host Phil Keoghan announced Jack and Carson as the 37th winners of The Amazing Race, Jack exclaimed, "Oh my god, what more could you want? I feel like the luckiest person in the whole world. I'm overwhelmed. And to do it with my best friend, it's just the most magical thing ever."
A teary-eyed Carson chimed in, "Every single day, we woke up, and we laughed, and we had a blast. I could not ask for anybody as amazing as [Jack] in my life, or on this race." He later explained, "Being on this race and being with Jack reminded me how much of a gift he is in my life. That just meant the world to me."
"We slay dragons together," Jack laughed. "We are nerds. We go on these adventures all the time in our heads, and to be able to do it in real life is unreal. I can't believe it's us." He continued on, "I cannot imagine a more perfect part of our story. When we were young, we were confused, closeted, little queer weirdos. And now we understand each other and ourselves."
Ultimately, the besties agreed, "We [became] these heroes that we play all the time in our hearts. And now, it's us. We are the heroes."
Han and Holden were the next team to arrive at the final mat. Han stated that she was "so grateful for this experience" and that it's "so much more than a million dollars." Without this competition, she wasn't sure the siblings would have ever known what they were "capable of together."
Holden was proud to call his sister his "partner in this for life," and that he truly wouldn't want to run the race "with anyone else." He concluded by saying, "There's nothing shameful about being second on The Amazing Race." And that brings us to ...
Jonathan and Ana showed up in third place after getting sidelined at a challenge in which Ana was forced to face her fear of the ocean. "It was my nightmare challenge, but I did it, and for that I'm very proud," she said in her post-race interview with Phil.
Ana thought that she and her husband did "so well at working together," which some viewers may take issue with, as they were often seen at odds. "You're gonna see us fight, and that's just normal. We love each other. He's my person, I'm his person. ... Even through our struggles, through our fights, through our ups and downs, we were able to still make it to the Top 3. That just speaks of how well we work together, and how much we love each other and support each other."
Jonathan added, "[The Amazing Race] definitely built up my tolerance level and my resilience, and my ability to adapt to difficult situations. I'm one of those people that believes things happen for a reason. And so, it's OK. It wasn't meant to be." He later told the camera, "I've come to learn that you have to accept disappointment with grace, and sometimes things don't always work out the way you expect them to. So, you have to take it in stride."
The season finale ended with a tribute to the late Jack Walworth, a longtime producer on The Amazing Race who received two Emmy nominations in 2017 and 2018. "Travel safe, Jack," read the on-screen obituary.
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions