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Reality check for relaxed Chris & Anastasia

If you enter a Reality TV show you have to be prepared to be seen as Hero or Villain. But Amazing Race's Chris & Anastasia say it doesn't matter what others think.

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Any good Reality show needs its heroes and villains, somebody for the audience to cheer and hiss. In The Amazing Race it’s an essential ingredient for the audience.

In The Amazing Race Australia, Perth’s “Big W” ladies Anne-Marie and Tracy are emerging as early heroes, and if some press is to be believed, Sydney couple Chris and Anastasia are early villains.

Under the pressure of the race Chris dropped a remark in Monday night’s episode that “they don’t make women like they used to.”

The power of editing in such storytelling is enormous, but the US version of the show has been on air for years. It’s reasonable to assume you know what you’re in for when you apply for the show.

As the couple explain to TV Tonight, they aren’t overly familiar with the original series, but nor are they too fussed by what people think.

“I haven’t really watched too many episodes of the US,” says Anastasia, 22. “I only watched one before the audition for the Australian one.

“We saw the ad on TV and thought it would be a great adventure. We love adrenalin, so we just thought it would be a lot of fun to do.”

24 year old Chris concurs: “I saw the series back when I was about 14, but not since then.

“We’re not the kind of people to say ‘No,’ so as soon as something comes up she’ll ask and I’ll agree.”

On the show with Farmers, Surfers, Models, Workmates and Married Entrepreneurs they are branded as a “Dating” couple -but it could have been more extreme.

“A lot of the couples are very diverse. We didn’t go into it pretending to be something we weren’t but at the same time, knowing our background we thought we would be portrayed as the ‘sports couple’ or token ‘Greek couple,'” says Anastacia.

“One team called us ‘Muscles and Bambi’ and then there was ‘Fabio and the GF (GirlFriend)’ and the ‘Loved Up’ couple.

Chris is aware his temper may result in him being depicted as one of the show’s more fiery contestants. He is already generating passionate feedback in online forums.

“It’s got to make good TV one way or another. At the end of the day whatever was said was said,” he says.

“But we’re still here, still together, still strong. All is forgiven and it all remains on the Race.

“My temper always gets the better of me. It’s who I am. But it makes me say some things sometimes I don’t mean. But Anastasia knowns me a lot better than that.

“The bottom line is it doesn’t really matter what other people think.”

Neither had seen an episode prior to it airing last week, but Anastasia says while production techniques may be selective, they won’t be able to manufacture anything fake. 

“They’re not going to add anything we haven’t said. So whatever you’ve actually said will be on there,” she says.

“The editing process may dramatise things, but at the end of the day it’s TV, it’s entertaining.”

“Putting people out of their norm will make good TV,” says Chris, “so people will have opinions of me and others on the show. But if you’re true to yourself and you know who you are then it doesn’t really matter if it’s one little moment or mistake you might have made.

Adds Anastasia, “We didn’t really go on the race to do anything other than have an exciting journey.”

The Amazing Race Australia airs 8:30pm Mondays on Seven.

27 Responses

  5. The bikie hates Chris because of the way he treats and talks to Anastasia. Yes its really none of his business but good on him for thinking the guys a d**khead for the way he treats his g/f. Thats why he hates him.

  6. I don’t like Chris…I found him annoying to watch.

    I Don’t like Joey or Richard either. They’ll do Anything to win the game (disrespecting the locals, conning the sister team, stealing Mos’s pen)

    And it also sounds like there might be some dislike of other teams behind the scene’s. The Bikie’s didn’t seem to like Anastasia or Chris.

    I love the Big W ladies 😀 Hope they do well!

  8. Totally agree about the condescending tone and manner of Joey to the locals and her utter disrespect to the team that helped her out. Her team is the one I love to hate and who I would say are villainous.
    I’m still scratching my head about why biker Dave was so acting that way towards Chris too. Either something happened off screen or he was discriminating. I have a feeling that Dave could turn out to be a villain too.

  10. I don’t see a problem with Chris and Anatasia, because their problems are their own, which they do, and will, sort out between themselves, and I am yet to see see them do ‘a job’, either in actions or words in regards to another pairing.

    The Biker re Chris, is strange, the Biker needs to get over himself.

    So far, Richard and Joey are the ‘bad guys’, that is not to say a few others haven’t said and done some questionable things also. Buy R&J definitely conned the Sisters team, and cost the Brother&Sister team there spot in the game. Joey did not know those disks in order at all. Her being a snake is what kept them in this weeks show only. Personally, so far, I don’t see the Surfers are the given winners, I think other teams could be the winning team, and others are real possibility also.

    Anything could befall any of them at any giving turn, the Surfers included.

  11. How many times did Joey keep repeating to herself saying the words “Focus achieve believe”? in last Monday’s episode? I was saying to myself Joey please shut up!!, the sooner Richard & Joey go the better, no other team likes them, they think they are just so much better than any other team when really so far they are not. Can’t wait to see if there is a U Turn in the race soon, because the other teams will be lining up to U Turn them.

  14. He’s a tool, she’s a doormat, not really villains though. Richard and Joey on the other hand. They are rude, arrogant, ignorant, annoying, nutjobs. I couldn’t believe people like that existed when i saw the first episode. It’s like they’ve been brainwashed to chant some ritual. And did you hear how Joey speaks to the locals. She puts on an offensive asian accent “You want to buy, 5,000 dollar”. Fools

  16. Have to agree with Paul, this couple are not to bad, he is a bit of a p***k but aren’t we all when we are under preasure.

    I would say that Joey and Richard are just aweful, so rude, arrogant and they way they talk to locals and other team members is just crazy.

  17. Joey and Richard are definitely shaping as the villians of the show, but these two make me sick. They are very fake and superficial. He appears as nothing more than as overly aggressive roid powered thug; and she appears to be a passive aggressive, prissy princess. Have you seen her run? It’s more like a show horse prancing – hilarious!

    The Big W ladies are having a lot of fun, which is really good to see, but there incessant giggling reminds me of that Tena ladies, slight bladder release commercial.

    Comment of the show so far is from the cowboys: ‘I’d like to catch a bus to Hoi Chi Minh please’. They were in Indonesia at the time…

    I think the surfer guys will win.

  22. I couldn’t see what they did wrong that made the Bikie take an instant dislike to them. He made quite a rude gesture to them in this week’s episode and it looks like he gets worse next week.

  23. I can’t believe they have not hardly watched any episodes of the TAR US before.
    As for the real villians of the race it has to be Richard & Joey.

  24. I’ve never really gotten into The Amazing Race but I’m loving this series.

    It’s not surprising that people are seeing Chris as a villain. If I spoke to my wife the way he speaks to Anastacia I’d probably cop a punch in the mouth!

    I think it’ll come down to the models and the surfers with the surfers to take it out.

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