'Amazing Race' Season 26 Cast Released: Meet The 2015 Contestants
As “The Amazing Race” gears up to bring fans Season 26, the newest contestants that will compete for the chance to win the $1 million grand prize have been revealed. This season looks like it will be all about putting new love up against old love.
CBS has announced that it will be sending 11 teams of two around the world in this special dating-themed addition of “The Amazing Race.” Five of the teams will consist of unattached men and women being paired up with other mystery singles.
“Going on a blind date to a restaurant is one thing, but going on a blind date around the world is like rolling the dice in a big way,” said executive producer and co-creator Bertram van Munster in the announcement video.
Meanwhile, the remaining six teams will be made up of pre-existing couples. According to Entertainment Weekly, each team will attempt to be the first to make the show’s 35,000-mile journey across five continents. Below are the couples and blind daters joining Season 26.
Blind Daters
Bergen Olson & Kurt Jordan Belcher
Bergen has only been in a handful of relationships and they all ended in disaster. He’s never been with someone who didn’t cheat on him. He’s paired with Kurt, a 24-year-old pageant consultant with the “testosterone of a man and the wrath of a woman.”
Blair is a Navy physician who has only been in two serious relationships. He’ll be paired with Hayley, a registered nurse. Hopefully these two strangers find a way to bond over their mutual love for the medical field.
Jackie Ibarra & Jeffrey Weldon
He’s an account executive and she’s a professional dancer in Las Vegas. Although they’re not exactly an obvious target for Cupid’s arrow, Jackie and Jeffrey will need to learn to get along and find common ground as they make the trek across eight countries together.
Jelani is a trained lawyer and sports agent who travels frequently to scout players. Jenny is a blogger/lawyer. Their mutual knowledge of the law might be common ground enough to propel them around the world. However, Wu brings some emotional baggage to the team having just recently divorced her high school sweetheart.
Tyler works in app development and Laura is a talent booker. They're both singles who are comfortable with their professional lives and are now looking to find love. Perhaps a blind-date romp around the planet might be the exact kind of love story they’ve both been waiting for.
Couples
After meeting during the 2014 Sochi Olympics, the two returned home as a couple. Now they’ll run a race around the world together to either strengthen their ties or push them to the breaking point.
This couple has been dating for a decade, but they claim to have known each other for close to 15 years. They were high school sweethearts who are leaving their small home town in Alabama to take on the world, literally.
Harley Rodriguez & Jonathan Knight
Some may remember Knight’s name from the popular singing group New Kids on the Block. Now he’s middle-aged and traveling around the world with his partner of seven years, Harley.
At 57 and 49-years-old respectively, this is one of the older couples on the journey this season. Jeff and Lyda have known each other for close to 20 years, but have only been a couple the past four. Jeff is an airline pilot and Lyda is a flight attendant, meaning these two know a bit more about traveling than most.
This New York couple has known each other for almost ten years, but have only been dating for three. According to their story in the announcement video, Matt was hitting on one of Ashley's friends one night when she came over and told the friend he was gay. That lie blossomed into a wonderful relationship.
Rochelle Nevedal & Michael Dombrowski
This self-proclaimed small town couple are stepping way outside of their comfort zone to try and compete in a race around the world. Rochelle works as a contract engineer and Michael is a professional wrestling promoter and truck stop manager. This couple will have the biggest uphill battle being so out of their element.
“The Amazing Race” Season 26 debuts a 90-minute opener Wednesday, Feb. 25, at 9:30 p.m. on CBS. After that, the show will move to its normal time at 8 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 27.
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