The "Fabulous Beekman Boys" won the only leg of The Amazing Race that mattered -- the last one.
Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Brent Ridge, goat farmers and life partners from Sharon Springs, N.Y., won the $1 million prize in CBS' reality competition. The duo were considered underdogs for most of the race, having never won a challenge and even coming in last in a non-elimination leg. But they prevailed in Sunday's two-hour finale part thanks in part to their performance in a memory challenge at the end of the race.
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Josh and Brent beat out the teams of Lexi Beerman and Trey Wier, a couple from Texas, and James Davis and Jaymes Vaughan, Chippendale dancers and best friends from Las Vegas, to take home the prize. The Sri Lankan "twinnies," Natalie and Nadiya Anderson, came in fourth.
On Monday, the final four teams talked to The Hollywood Reporter about the outcome of the race and revealed what wasn't shown on TV.
Josh and Brett (winners):
THR: You were underdogs nearly the entire race. Were you surprised you won?
Brent: When we stepped on the mat, we could not believe it. There were so many great competitors, and everybody starts at the starting line with a certain set of skills and strengths and weaknesses. You never know what combination of skills and luck will get you to the finish line, and that was our time.
Josh: We were longtime fans of the show and had watched all the seasons before we went on. We knew the race was all about not being eliminated, and you have to win the final leg. So we went into the race with a strategy to try as hard as we can at the task in front of you, help your neighbor when you can, never give up. We didn't go into the race thinking we have to win every leg, cars, trips. One of the things we learned from the teams being in front of the pack the whole race was that it seemed to be exhausting. We just tried to stay in the race the entire time.
THR: What are you planning to do with the money?
Josh: We're going to do three things: pay off the mortgage on our farm, so Brent and I can be together full time; purchase a building on Main Street for our company so we can invest in our town; and start a food line, the profits of which will go to other small American farmers.
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THR: It appeared that Trey and Lexi gave you some unintentional help by writing down the clue at Coney Island.
Brent: We didn't even remember seeing them at that point. I think that was just the way the show was edited.
THR: The other three final teams were talking about their alliance on the train, and it looked like you overheard part of that conversation. How much did you actually hear, or were you already aware of their alliance?
Brent: Actually, when we first boarded the train in Barcelona, we were sitting in our cabin and the Chippendales were doing their on-the-fly interview and it just so happened they were standing outside of our cabin. That was the first time we heard mention of the fact there was an alliance, and they talk very loudly. So the next morning we got up and were walking through the train cafe and saw the teams sitting there talking. It was as awkward as you saw on the show last night. We didn't hear much of it because when we came in, they stopped talking. It was an awkward pause.
Josh: When we first heard about the alliance, it was really demoralizing. It felt like high school again. Unlike high school, we didn't run away and cry in our bedrooms. We became incredibly motivated.
THR: It seemed like it all came down to the final challenge at the U.N., and it got dark before you finished. How long did that actually take to get through?
Josh: It was so long; I'm sure it was well over three hours. I remember them wheeling out big lights. It got pitch black. I had blisters on my hand the following week.
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THR: Josh, how is your ankle?
Josh: It's fine. Actually it got really bad when we got back to New York.
THR: Did the twins really think you were faking it, or were they just joking around?
Josh: I think they were just playing around. There was no strategic advantage [to faking it].
THR: You both seem to work really well together. Do you think your relationship was portrayed accurately?
Brent: We've been together for 14 years. Like any couple, we have our ups and downs and struggles. Going into the race, we knew that even if we worked out for the entire year before the race, we were not the youngest people or the most physical team. We we knew we had to do is figure out how to communicate with each other. We spent a lot of time leading up to the race talking about how to deal with each other's emotions on the race. We talked about different scenarios -- if this happens, how should we respond, how much of a cheerleader should we be. So many times on the race it's not about one team beating another team; it's about a team defeating itself. The time we spent on learning how to communicate best with one another paid off in the end.
Josh: Some people were surprised we didn't bicker because they see on our other show how much we bicker. You can bicker about the little things, but you can't bicker about the big things, and Amazing Race was a really big thing.
THR: What's the status of your other show, The Fabulous Beekman Boys?
Josh: They're currently re-airing season two [on Cooking Channel], and we're in talks for a new season -- hopefully a wedding season.
THR: Congratulations! When are you getting married?
Josh: This spring.
Next page: Jaymes and James on their families and how the Chippendales have helped them.
