The Amazing Race castoffs Jenn Naso and Jody Rebhun will be haunted until their “dying days” over their decision to use the Express Pass at the history challenge in Madrid.
“But we really tried to operate with the information we had,” the best friends in blue tell Gold Derby during their morning-after exit interview (watch above). Despite that setback, they still had fun, and want to do it all over again someday on a redemption season. “We have a lot of light-blue swag ready to wear,” they laugh.
Jenn and Jody call their elimination “heartbreaking,” revealing they finished “less than a minute” after grandfather-grandson duo Doug and Dylan Matter. “We’d be lying if we said we weren’t devastated,” they add.
Also in our interview, the longtime friends reveal their favorite moment with host-producer Phil Keoghan, the agony of not finding their clues in the clay pots and the tomatoes, and which team they’re rooting for to win the $1 million prize.
Gold Derby: How are you feeling now that your elimination episode has aired?
Jenn Naso: We’re feeling good. It’s been a year, and it’s been really fun watching the show back.
Jody Rebhun: It was heartbreaking to go home. We’d be lying if we said we weren’t devastated. It was one of the hardest things we’ve ever done, and we’ve done hard things. We’re tough ladies, but it was also beautiful. We’re so grateful for the experience and all the amazing things we got to do together leading up to, during, and after the race.
Last week’s episode ended on a cliffhanger. How hard was it knowing your elimination was coming but being unable to talk about it?
Jody: It was so hard for everyone else. It was not hard for us.
Jenn: It was great. We got to have another week of this experience.
Jody: Yeah, this magic lasted one more week for us. We really enjoyed it. It was fun telling everyone, “You’ll have to wait and see. You’re going to have to tune in next week.”
The finish between you and Doug and Dylan [Matter] was a real nail-biter. How close was it?
Jenn: Less than a minute. It was very, very close. Sometimes you’re not sure if the editing is making it look like teams are arriving back-to-back, but we were actually in the same frame, crisscrossing each other. It was a literal foot race. We knew where we had to go and where the Koutoubia was. The issue was that it was big — and Phil hides really well.
Jody: There should be a “Where’s Waldo?” of Phil. They really hid him well. They tuck him away.
What was it like navigating Marrakesh at night?
Jody: Marrakesh was the most amazing, gorgeous city, but they could add some more streetlights around 11 p.m. or midnight. It was hard to see. At the same time, it was magical being in the desert at that time of night. We could hear the call to prayer, which was beautiful and special. People were making their way to the Koutoubia for prayers, but there weren’t many people available to ask for directions. They hid Phil well, so we committed the ultimate Amazing Race sin — we ran really fast in the wrong direction.
‘The Amazing Race’ host Phil KeoghanAnthony Avellano/CBS
Do you have a favorite Phil Keoghan memory from your time on the show?
Jenn: From the very first Pit Stop, we gave Phil a friendship bracelet in yellow and red — The Amazing Race colors.
Jody: We spotted it in one of the promotional photos and saw that he was still wearing it. The friendship bracelets were important to us, although we haven’t gotten to talk about them much. We made them before leaving for the show and continued making them on airplanes and while we were locked in rooms. We wanted to say thank you — to CBS, but also to the cab drivers and people on the street.
Jenn: People gave us directions, let us use their phones and gave us their time and effort.
Jody: We wanted to give them something back. Our mamas raised us right, and we wanted to say thank you and spread the idea that the world isn’t such a scary place — people want to help. It’s a beautiful world filled with amazing people from different backgrounds, perspectives, cultures, and languages. It was wonderful to interact with them. The show brings the world to your couch.
Jenn: We thought it was an amazing gift that we could be the vehicle to give that experience to other people and viewers.
What was it like smashing pot after pot and not finding the clue?
Jenn: It was tough, exhausting, and grueling. At one point, I wondered if the producers had forgotten to put in a clue. I thought, “There can’t be one. They must have forgotten.” But it was there. I was out there for three hours, maybe more. Jody was cheering me on the entire time. Whenever I started to feel down, the last thing I wanted to do was let her down. Her encouragement made it possible to keep going.
Jody: Who doesn’t root for an underdog — somebody trying their hardest despite all the odds, never stopping, and never giving up in the grueling Moroccan sun, out in the desert? How could I not cheer her on? It was an amazing feat, and she should feel proud that she never gave up.
Jenn: When it comes down to it, it was a luck challenge. The challenges that required skill or physical strength, we actually did pretty well. The two challenges that required luck were the ones that got us stuck.
What was the other challenge that stuck you?
Jenn: The tomatoes in Madrid. Again, it was just unlucky. We didn’t have to finish first in either of them — middle of the pack would have been enough. Jody would have completed the history challenge in two seconds, and we wouldn’t be talking to you today.
Jody: We’d be talking to you a few weeks from now maybe. [Laughs.] Oh well.
You seemed to regret using the Express Pass on the history challenge. Have you gotten over that?
Jenn: That will haunt me until my dying days. But we really tried to operate with the information we had. What viewers didn’t see was that as we were leaving the bullring, we heard Katie [Schultz] scream, “I found it!” We knew they were right behind us and hadn’t gotten on the same train, but the trains came every seven minutes. We thought, “We only have seven minutes at this station.”
The part that gets me is that when we saw Saran and Dafina [Dunmore] talking to someone on the phone, I assumed they were getting directions to the next location. I can’t recall a challenge where teams were allowed to use phones or have people help them, so my brain wasn’t programmed to think they were still doing the challenge. I wish we had asked the right question when we passed them. If I had asked, “How long did it take you?” they would have said, “We’re still doing it,” and we would have known. That assumption is what haunts me.
‘The Amazing Race’ Season 39 cast photoSonja Flemming/CBS
Are there any other reality TV competition shows that you are itching to do next?
Jody: Amazing Race, a redemption season?
Jenn: Who do we need to talk to?
Jody: Sign us up. Take us back. We have a lot of light-blue swag ready to wear.
Jenn: Not an all-star season, though. I’m not sure we qualify for that.
Jody: We’re not all-stars.
Jenn: A “Gone Too Soon” season.
Who are you personally rooting for to win the $1 million?
Jenn: That’s so tough. There are so many teams.
Jody: You’ve gotta root for an all-female team. We want to see two women win this thing, that’s for sure. But we also love Doug and Dylan.
Jenn: Who doesn’t love Doug? He’s an American treasure.
Jody: He is. And every episode, I love Matt and Michelle [Patterson] more.
Jenn: They’re hardworking and smart and just racing their own race.
Jody: It was so incredible seeing Michelle’s response when they drove past us in Morocco and saw us still doing the pots, and how overwhelmed she became.
Jenn: That was really touching.
Jody: These are people you’re competing against, but we trauma-bonded. They know what we went through, and you feel for one another.
Jenn: Everyone on the show is really kind and supportive. The race is over, but we still see each other. We’ve visited one another and hosted people in our homes.
Jody: Being on the show is such a gift, and I think the producers do a great job choosing people who are worthy of that gift. That’s how we feel about all the teams. I wish everybody could win.
Is there anyone you’re rooting against?
Jody: We weren’t there long enough to dislike anybody. We like everyone.
No enemies? That’s good.
Jody: Friendship bracelets all around!
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.