This long-distance couple is looking for an opportunity to be together for an extended period of time.  They’ve been dating long distance for nine months, living in two separate states and the longest time they’ve spent together was last Christmas for two weeks.  They feel that the Race will help them determine if they can truly handle living together on a daily basis. 

Having met each other four years ago at the University of Michigan, they quickly became friends, although Aja was dating someone else.  When things turned sour, Aja realized Ty was the one for her – the only problem was she was living in Los Angeles and Ty was in Detroit. 

Aja is an aspiring actress who also works as a makeup artist.  She describes herself as energetic, insightful and compassionate.  When asked what her biggest pet peeve about her teammate was, Aja said that Ty is known to have a poor estimation of time. 

Ty is no stranger to the gym and he describes himself as ultra-competitive and hates the thought of losing.  Currently, he works as a banker out of Detroit.  He has not had the opportunity to travel much outside of the United States and looks forward to the Race as a chance to explore other cultures and compete against the game's best.  He hopes they are as hungry to win as he is.  Ty believes that Aja’s biggest weakness is she is easily upset. 

Tyrone "Ty" White of West Bloomfield Township will be seen by millions. 

White, a 25-year-old banker, is one of the people participating in 13th edition of "The Amazing Race," premiering Sept. 28 on CBS.The Emmy Award-winning show will send 11 teams -- each comprising two people who have a pre-existing relationship with one another -- around the world for approximately 30 days. 

At every destination, each couple will have to compete in a series of challenges -- some mental and some physical.  Only when the tasks have been completed will they learn their next destination. 

Couples who are farthest behind gradually will be eliminated.  The first team to arrive at the final destination wins $1 million. 

White is paired with Aja Benton, 25, an aspiring actress from Los Angeles.  Information from the show stated "this long-distance dating couple is looking for an opportunity to be together for an extended period of time." 

White, the son of Shr Ron cq and Tyrone White of West Bloomfield, attended Brother Rice and graduated in 2001. 

He met Benton when the two attended the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. 

White graduated in 2006 with a degree in sociology.  Benton graduated in 2004 with a degree in theater. 

"She's done a couple of plays and had a role on 'General Hospital' and '24,'" White said. " She's trying to take her career to the next level." 

The broadcast adventure evolved from a photo the couple had of themselves on a Facebook Web site. 

"We were contacted and asked if we were interested in being on a reality show," said White, who works for Chase Bank. " I replied, and found out it was 'Amazing Race.'" 

The couple were asked to do a video in February.  After that was screened, show officials flew them to California. 

The show already has been taped and completed, which meant White could not reveal much about his experience. 

They seem like a real sweet & fun couple.  Cool that they are willing to "test the waters" in their relationship via TAR.  I wish them lots of luck in finding whether they for sure want to spend the rest of their lives together.  Hope their Race experience helps them in making that decision. 

You were in last place the entire leg, how did you manage to keep such a positive outlook?Ty: I was hoping it would be a non-elimination leg.  All we needed was one team to make a really bad mistake and we would have been okay.  You never know what could happen and we could have been right back in it.  Aja: Yeah, and for me I just felt like if we were to have approached that leg with a defeatist attitude, it would have affected everything that we did and how hard we pushed ourselves.  If we went in feeling bad about the fact that our flight came in two hours after everyone else's, we would have really defeated ourselves before we even began.  And I just looked at it like if we are going to go out, we're going to go out like champions.  I'm still happy that we went out fighting. 

How far behind Andrew and Dan were you at the pit stop?Aja: They were finished before we got off the plane.  Ty: It wasn't that far.  Aja: No, it was.  They were finishing as we got off the plane.  Ty: You're making it sound like they finished a full day ahead of us.  They finished two hours before we did. 

What was your first impression of Cambodia?Aja: It was hot.  We came from New Zealand where I was wearing a jacket and sweat suit so it was an adjustment.  We got off that plane and I was like, whoa.  Ty: It was definitely hot.  But it was beautiful in its own way.  It was great to see a different part of the world that I would never have been eager to go to on my own.  But I feel blessed to have been there. 

Was it a hard adjustment to go from dating long distance to spending 24/7 together?Ty: We had some hiccups.  But, I think that was partly due to the stress of the race itself.  It's so intense.  So, to go from not seeing each other every day immediately into the race was a big transition.  But, it was a learning experience and we've definitely grown.  I feel like our relationship has benefited from it. 

What did you learn about each other?Ty: I did not know that she could get such an attitude sometimes.  But, it's a part of her that I've grown to appreciate and love.  Aja: You love my attitude problem?  Ty: I'm able to get you out of the bad attitude pretty quickly.  Aja: Yeah.  That's true.  Ty: I can get her out of it by cracking some jokes and making her laugh.  Her attitude wasn't as easy to deal with on the race, as it is in real life, because during the race I wasn't looking to crack jokes, I was serious. 

Are you living together now?Ty: Yes.  I moved to Los Angeles.  But, I'm not there now because I'm visiting some family and friends.  Aja: And I miss him!  Ty: But we do live together.  I moved here right after the race ended. 

What's next for the both of you?Ty: Well, she's going to become the most famous actress in the world, and I'm just going to live off of her the rest of my life.  Aja: No you're not! 

You two are so cute.  You perfectly compliment each other. Aja: You think so?  He's a nut bag! 

I really admire how they kept up their spirits even though they knew how far behind they were.  That's tough to do but they went out fighting! 

Reality Wanted interview:

Interview with Ty White and AJA Benton of The Amazing Race 13Posted on 10/27/2008

Q. Mark, (RealityWanted.com): Were you two fans of The Amazing Race before signing up?A. Aja and Ty, (The Amazing Race 13): Yes we watched the show before and were fans. 

Q. Mark, (RealityWanted.com): Whose idea was it to apply?A. Aja and Ty, (The Amazing Race 13): Actually a casting associate found us online and asked us if we would be interested.  We were excited about the opportunity and sent in our tape and application. 

Q. Mark, (RealityWanted.com) Did you guys send in a tape or go to an open casting call?A. Aja and Ty, (The Amazing Race 13): We just filled out the application and put together 2 videos being that we both lived in separate states. 

Q. Mark, (RealityWanted.com): We were once told that this show is more about relationships then traveling, would you agree with this statement and if so how did it impact your relationship?A. Aja and Ty, (The Amazing Race 13): Yes, it is more about relationships.  It has impacted us positively though we had some hiccups along the way.  Things don’t always go perfect and we did end up bickering but it is more about perseverance otherwise you just fall apart.  Also we have been friends for a long time so we know eachother well. 

Q. Mark, (RealityWanted.com): Did the two of you come up with a game plan or strategy prior to going on the show?A. Aja and Ty, (The Amazing Race 13): We just wanted to play the best we could.  We wanted to be nice with everyone and didn’t want to put a target on our back.  Ultimately we wanted to win and didn’t want to have the other groups think of us as a threat. 

Q. Mark, (RealityWanted.com): What was your favorite destination during the race?A. Aja and Ty, (The Amazing Race 13): New Zealand was by far our favorite spot.  The mountains, sky, water, it was very surreal to be there. 

Q. Mark, (RealityWanted.com): How about pit stops and road blocks, which one did you have the most fun with?A. Aja and Ty, (The Amazing Race 13): We enjoyed reading the warrior faces and climbing down the elevator. 

Q. Mark, (RealityWanted.com): Since you have been watching it at home, what did you learn or what were you surprised by watching the past few weeks?A. Aja and Ty, (The Amazing Race 13): We were surprised how Terence was portrayed.  The power of editing can play a role. 

Q. Mark, (RealityWanted.com): Tell us about your elimination, it appears you started several hours behind the other teams on last night’s episode. A. Aja and Ty, (The Amazing Race 13): We really fell behind in New Zealand.  It was hard for us to catch up after that.  We were hoping for a non elimination night but that didn’t happen. 

Q. Mark, (RealityWanted.com): If you could do it all over again, what would you change if anything?A. Aja and Ty, (The Amazing Race 13): I think we would have packed lighter bags.  Also we probably would have chose “Matter of skill” over “Matter of time” and that might have helped us to not fall behind so much. 

Q. Mark, (RealityWanted.com) How has life been since the show started, are you recognized on the streets?A. Aja and Ty, (The Amazing Race 13): Things are great.  Ty lives in Los Angeles now and we live together.  I (Aja) am pursuing acting and Ty is focusing on accounting and entrepreneurship. 

Q. Mark, (RealityWanted.com) Who are you rooting for?A. Aja and Ty, (The Amazing Race 13): We want Terence and Sarah to win. 

Q. Mark, (RealityWanted.com): How can fans get in contact with you?A. Aja and Ty, (The Amazing Race 13): You can find us on Facebook.com

I felt obligated to double-check the flights for Aja/Ty because she made contradictory statements that "they landed about when Andrew/Dan were finishing" and "we were 2 hours behind."  I have Andrew/Dan finishing around 1235pm and Aja/Ty arriving on PG905 around 1235.  there is on way they could have gotten through customs and all tasks, which took an estimated 4 hours 35 minutes for the best-performing team, in 2 hours.  I say it could not have happened.  You be the judge. 

Here is an addendum from a post below- Ty: "No.  I had to make a quick, sharp turn.  It was three in the morning.  We’d just gotten off the flight".  This exemplifies Ty's sense of timing.  The plane landed around 455am and anything he did in a car was after 530am.  So maybe his watch is 2.5 hours slow. 

"Long Distance Dating Couple" Aja Benton and Ty White thought that the worst was behind them after the flat tires and meetings with police that slowed them during The Amazing Race 13's fourth leg in New Zealand. 

However, despite a strong showing in the fifth leg as they trekked through Cambodia, Aja and Ty were unable to make up the time they lost during their disastrous fourth leg and became the fifth team eliminated from the competition during last night's broadcast on CBS. 

On Monday, Aja and Ty spoke to Reality TV World about why they didn't U-Turn [Kelly Crabb] and [Christy Cook], what they would have done differently to remain in the competition longer, and what odd reaction they saw in all of the contestants while in Bolivia's thin air. 

Reality TV World: You guys left the New Zealand Pit Stop between two and seven hours behind the other five teams that hadn't gotten the Fast Forward in that leg and nine hours behind Ken and Tina, the team that had gotten the Fast Forward.  What were you thinking going into that leg?  Was it hard to remain optimistic about your chances? 

Ty: Not really, because you never know what's in front of you and you never know what's in store for you.  We had a terrible leg in New Zealand, so we were positive -- or at least we were trying to keep our spirits up -- that someone or a team would have a bad leg.  It just so happened that they didn't. 

And on top of that there is other things within the race and the game itself that hadn't come into play yet.  There had been four legs before and we figured this could be a good opportunity [for them to] throw a non-elimination leg in.  But it just so happened that wasn't so [either]. 

It wasn't really difficult to remain positive, we just [had to] keep moving and do the best we can, and then all of the sudden if another team does bad and we pass them then all of the sudden you're right back in the game. 

Reality TV World: What were your initial reactions when you got to the New Zealand Pit Stop and realized how far ahead of you all the other teams had finished? 

Ty: It was tough, but it wasn't really all that shocking to me at least because I realized what type of leg we had.  And [when we saw that there was a Fast Forward] I was thinking "Well I know somebody took that."  So that automatically puts you ahead of the other teams. 

But it wasn't too hard to deal with, you just have to keep positive about it. 

Aja: Yeah we just tried to stay as positive as possible.  I felt like if we spent a lot of time thinking about how far behind we were [than] that would have affected us.  So just having a positive attitude, that's what got us through New Zealand in the first place so i felt we had to take that same attitude into Cambodia. 

We could have easily started by just... you know... performing poorly in New Zealand and thinking that we were last and giving up and just have a defeatist attitude.  But we didn't and we kept pushing and literally we were about five minutes or seven minutes in front of [Marisa Axelrod] and [Brooke Jackson].  I think, had we had a negative attitude, that could have affected us. 

That could have made us five minutes later if we had started moving slower or being negative.  And we got through that leg so I felt we just had to react the same way in Cambodia. 

Ty: I think it was more than five minutes though wasn't it? 

Aja: (pauses) No 'cause remember they rushed us off the mat because Marisa and Brooke were coming up, but then they got lost. 

Ty: It was more than five minutes because they got lost coming up.  It was more like [15 minutes]. 

Aja: I don't think so.  I don't know but it was pretty close.  Maybe like 10 minutes.  It was pretty close. 

Reality TV World: Why did you guys arrive so far behind at that New Zealand leg?  Was it due to the flat tire?  Was it due to your struggles on the Detour options? 

Aja: It was both.  And it was the fact that we got pulled over by the police.  It was a lot of things. 

Ty: There's things that they don't show where you can never really tell how long a team is really doing one particular task.  We had researched a Gordian knot, but we weren't exactly looking for it... I can't remember exactly how the clue read, but it was something like "Untie Gordian's knot and then 'look inside,' or 'go inside'" or something like that, so we were thinking maybe it could be a boat -- because there were boats all over the harbor -- to go inside to find the clue. 

So we were there for a while, and then we got pulled over by the police, and then switching Detours... All of that combined, that's all of our errors.  The only thing I regret is if we had gone straight and done the [blokarts] right away.  I feel like we would have had a real good chance of making that other flight. 

Reality TV World: What where you pulled over for? 

Ty: Driving on the wrong side of the road, because they're reversed over there and it was three in the morning and I [was] kinda out of it after being on a plane for 18 hours and I was just on the wrong side of the road. 

The cop was pretty cool though.  I think they're big on The Amazing Race over there because [The Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan] is from there so they knew exactly what it was when they pulled us over.  They were pretty much like "You're fine, I'll let you off with a warning." 

Reality TV World: In that last leg there were gaps of at least an hour or more between the Pit Stop arrival times of each of the other non-Fast Forward teams.  Why do you think there were such unusually huge time gaps between the arrival times? 

Ty: In terms of...

Reality TV World: In terms of the teams finishing in New Zealand. 

Ty: It was such a long race, it was a really long way to...

Aja: (Interrupting) And there was a lot of long driving.  That's something they never show on the show.  To and from certain tasks it was like two-and-a-half to three-hour-drives.  It was ridiculous, so it was easy to get lost, and detoured. 

Ty: I think that's what happened to Marisa and Brooke.  They got lost.  I don't think anything else major happened to them, but I think they got turned around quite a bit. 

[The show] makes it seem like everything is a hop, skip, and a jump away around.  Just turn around the corner and go there.  But it was a couple hour drives in between things so it gives people the opportunity to make errors. 

Reality TV World: How did that flat tire happen?  Was it just a blowout while you were driving along? 

Ty: To this day I really don't even know.  I might have hit the curb but I'm not 100% sure of that. 

Reality TV World: About how much time did it actually take you to change the flat tire? 

Ty: Maybe about a half hour?  About a half hour until we got the tire repaired. 

Reality TV World: About how much time did you spend on the kiwi mashing Detour task before deciding to switch to the blokart option? 

Aja: Forty-five minutes to one hour.  We really tried to muscle through it.  We really tried!  We didn't want to switch. 

Ty: If you factor in those type of things, and we still finished better, or were right there with Dan and Andrew. 

Reality TV World: What was so hard about that?  I've never had to squash a kiwi before. 

Ty: We asked questions after and it was some kind of filtration system.  There were a couple other [teams] who switched too where I guess it gets clogged or something.  We figured that it might be clogged, but it's difficult to find the opening [to clear it].  I think one team, maybe it was [Terence Gerchberg] and [Sarah Leshner], found the opening and unclogged it.  They were able to keep on going, but everyone else was like "We gotta switch." 

Reality TV World: When you switched to the blokarts, about how much time did that take? 

Ty: Um.  That was about an hour too.  Is that what you think babe? 

Aja: How long it took us to put together the blokarts? 

Reality TV World: Yeah, and just to do that whole challenge. 

Aja: Yeah, it was about an hour. 

Ty: So if we had just gone straight to that one...

Aja: (continuing) ...We would still be in the race. 

Reality TV World: On the fifth leg, how far behind that second flight that left Auckland were you?  The show didn't really make it clear. 

Ty: We were just two hours behind.  It was a short leg so... [On] the previous leg even if you had done it pretty fast you still were out there for seven or eight hours.  This one was a short leg -- it was only a two hour leg -- so right as we were getting the cab to go to the gas station, Dan and Andrew were finishing it up.  So they were about two hours ahead of us. 

Reality TV World: About how many hours behind all the other teams did you arrive in Cambodia? 

Ty: We arrived about two hours later too. 

Reality TV World: I know you guys tried to keep your morale up during the leg, but was there any point during the leg that you thought you could realistically jump back into the race? 

Aja: Well, we knew that we were behind and we were pretty sure that we were the last, but we were just hoping that it was a non-elimination leg.  For me that's where my optimism came from.  I didn't at any point think that any team had made a mistake that was so grave that it had delayed them two hours. 

But I was just hoping that it was a non-elimination race because we only had four legs left up until that point, so we were thinking if their were two non-elimination legs on the entire course this is about the place where one would be.  So that was our little glimmer of hope. 

Reality TV World: About how far behind Andrew and Dan do you think you arrived at the Cambodian Pit Stop? 

Aja: It was two hours. 

Ty: Yeah, about two hours.  Everybody did the course in two hours, give or take a minute here and there.  We finished two hours behind them, and it might've played out a little bit differently if we had gotten a fair shake at it. 

Reality TV World: Ty, how difficult was it to navigate through the Angkor Wat temple? 

Ty: Oh well... That was actually... It was kinda difficult.  I realized that there were so many rooms in there... It was huge, absolutely huge in there.  And I was really glad to be in there but I looked for someone to ask right away, I chickened out right away.  I was like "I'm not gonna about to find this on my own."  So I asked a couple of people and than I found someone -- maybe about the third or fourth person that I asked -- and they knew where it was.  So they led me right to it, But the problem became once I got to it I had trouble getting out, so I had to try and figure out how I got to there and get back out.  It was a maze. 

Reality TV World: It looked like many teams either made mistakes or encountered bad luck on this leg of the race.  How difficult was it watching the show now and learning some new things while knowing that you still weren't able to catch up to any of the teams? 

Ty: I would say it's disappointing, just because you know how well you performed in this race.  They actually said that our time was the best time on the leg and if we had got a fair shake than we would have probably been first. 

But you know the thing is, if you start playing "If's" and "What's"... maybe if we all get off of the plane at the same time we get the boat that broke down on Terrence and Sarah instead of them getting it.  So you never know what's gonna happen.  You can play that "If" and "What" game, but it probably would have worked out for itself any way, it just would have worked out a different way. 

I still think we would have been in the leg, but there's no guarantee that we would've been first. 

Reality TV World: What did you think when [Nick Spangler] and [Starr Spangler] asked you to U-Turn Kelly and Christy?  Did you consider doing it or immediately say no and decide to tell the girls about it? 

Aja: I thought that they were some punks for that. ( Laughs) I did.  First of all, I was actually almost insulted that they were trying to get us to do their dirty work for them.  To me that just said a lot about their character, and that was when I started to think "Well if you are going to do that to Christy and Kelly, you could do it to anybody." 

And then to me it just didn't make sense that you would try and U-Turn someone, not because they are the most competitive, not because you feel like they are a real threat to you, but simply because you don't like someone!  This is a high school popularity contest. 

It just said a lot about them. 

Reality TV World: Was your overall opinion on them that they were that kind of team who would do anything to win? 

Ty: They were okay.  They were just playing within the rules of the game so I don't think a U-Turn, or anything like that, is considered dirty.  Anything that's written into the game as something that's okay to do I don't think is dirty. 

Aja: I just thought that, in terms of strategy, U-Turning someone isn't dirty.  But U-Turn somebody that it actually makes sense for you to U-Turn.  You don't U-Turn somebody just because you don't like them.  You U-Turn someone that, strategically, you feel like they could have been a threat to you winning. 

Christy and Kelly were, most of the time, not even really close to them in terms of placement, I can tell you it would've made more sense for them to U-Turn someone who was actually more of a threat to them. 

Reality TV World: What teams did you get along with the best and worst with on the show? 

Ty: I would say Terrence and Sarah are probably the ones that we got along with the best. [ Mark Yturralde] and [Bill Hahler] are cool too, we hang out every so often now because they live in San Diego. [ Dallas Imbimbo] and [Toni Imbimbo] are pretty cool, we're pretty cool with all the teams. 

I won't say that I dislike any of them particularly.  I do have my favorites

Reality TV World: How'd you guys end up on the show?  Whose idea was it? 

Aja: We were actually found on Facebook.  Somebody who was a casting associate also was a University of Michigan graduate and she found us on Facebook and contacted us about being on the show. 

So this is something that came out of absolutely nowhere for us.  It was really a blessing. 

Reality TV World: Actually, going back to Nick and Starr for one moment.  Had you seen or heard anything about their confrontations with Kelly and Christy? 

Aja: Yeah, she said she didn't do it.  We were actually... this was something else [the show] didn't show, but Nick was really sick.  He had something going on with his stomach where he was throwing up, and Starr was actually crying and really emotional and I asked her what was wrong because I saw her crying -- and this was at the first Brazil stop... well it might have been the second one because she asked us to U-Turn them in Bolivia -- but I asked her what was wrong and she said "I'm just really upset.  Nick is really sick, and Kelly and Christy are bothering me about this stupid sports bra thing and I don't even know what's going on." 

She was really upset about it so I knew there was something going on between them. 

Reality TV World: So, overall what were both of your favorite experiences on The Amazing Race? 

(Aja and Ty discuss who should answer)

Aja: I think our favorite experience was when Phil said "Go!"  That was the most fun because we'd spent months anticipating that moment.  I think that was the best moment of the entire time: really, really starting the race and realizing that we were really on The Amazing Race.  It was just an amazing time. 

Reality TV World: Was there any least favorite experience? 

Aja: I think the kiwis... in the kiwi vat.  That was pretty bad (laughs).  That was a low.  I mean the flat tire was a low [as well], but the kiwi vat and actually having to give up and walk away was a difficult part [of the race]. 

Ty: I felt very defeated there.  I really thought it was over after that.  I was like "There is no possible way we're about to get through this [and] be alive in the competition."  A couple of my buddies made jokes about my reaction when said we were still alive, I was like "Oh my God!" ( laughs)

I think, more than anything, that's what shows me anything can happen and that's why we were so positive in Cambodia.  We had such a bad leg and we still made it, so why would we be negative after that point?  Why wouldn't you use that as a motivational tool like "Wow, we had the day from hell and we're still alive.  Let somebody else have the day from hell then because we're passed it." 

Reality TV World: What aspect of The Amazing Race surprised you the most? 

Aja: For me it was just how confusing everything was.  When you watch it on TV it all just seems very practical, but it's so confusing!  Like when you read clues, or you're trying to figure out where to go or what to do.  It's just not as simple as it looks.  From watching it on TV, we watch all of these episodes and we're like "Why don't they just do this!?"  and "Why don't they just go there!?"  and "It's right there!" 

But when you're in the moment and your momentum is going and your adrenaline is rushing, sometimes you just makes ridiculous mistakes because you're so confused.  Like, you're just like... I don't know, it's really crazy. 

Reality TV World: Was there any particular team you began rooting to win once you got eliminated? 

Aja: We wanted Sarah and Terrence to win.  We thought they were a really good team. 

I really like Christie and Kelly too.  But we felt that Sarah and Terrence had a better chance of winning so we really, really rooted for them. 

Ty: That was definitely my favorite team.  After that Mark and Bill were always [favorites of mine as well].  I definitely wanted Terrence and Sarah to go ahead and [win it all].  And I hope they do. 

Reality TV World: You guys didn't seem to have any problem with the gas station pumping -- any idea why [Andrew Lappitt] and [Dan Honig] had such a hard time with it? 

Aja: Just not going fast enough. 

Ty: You had to pump really fast.  I think I started off pretty easy and then I started going really fast.  You had to go really fast for it to start going, and once it started going you had to keep it up a little bit.  But they were just doing it wimpy-like or something so I guess that's why they had problems with it. 

Aja: Yeah, Dan was like "You have to do it like a mad man," and he was right. 

Reality TV World: How did the thin air back in Bolivia affect the both of you? 

Aja: Oh gosh...

Ty: There was absolutely no running in Bolivia (laughs)...

Aja: ...Unless you were Sarah and Terrence and you were superhuman. 

Ty: They were flying all over the place.  I think we were with them for a moment and they were in a hurried [pace] and I was like "Ok we're done." 

It was just really hard to breathe up there.  It's hard to put into words.  I think until you're actually in that environment and you're trying to run you really won't understand how difficult it is to breathe and how quickly you get winded. 

Aja: And everybody had a lot of boogers in their nose. ( Ty laughs)

When we were meeting in Bolivia at the airport, everyone was like "Dude, do you have crazy boogers?"  and I was like "Oh my God, I have crazy boogers!"  Like, boogers the size of rocks. [ It was] really ridiculous, everybody picking their noses. 

Reality TV World: Ty, you said you were moving out to L.A. after your elimination.  Has that happened yet? 

Ty: Uh-huh.  Yes, I already live in L.A. We actually live together.  We've lived together since the end of the show. 

Aja: And he's gone.  He's in Detroit visiting people and I miss him and not being able to watch that episode together.  He saw it three hours before I did because of the time difference and he was kinda sad.  Then I saw it, and I called him and I was sad. 

Reality TV World: Are their any plans for marriage? 

Ty: It's in the stars.  We'll see how it plays out.  I stand firm to my belief and what I said on the show in that there is nobody else that i have in my mind that I want to spend my whole life with.  I'm not gonna say that we have a timeframe on that but we're definitely working towards that goal. 

Oh, the magic of editing.  The Amazing Race was edited in a way last night, where it seemed possible that Aja and Ty could have actually overtaken Andrew and Dan near the end of the leg.  This is not the case.  It is nowhere near the case.  In fact, as Aja and Ty informed us in the below interview, the couple landed in Cambodia right around the time that Andrew and Dan were finishing up their leg.  This was unfortunate but, ultimately, fair.  Aja and Ty were penalized for their poor performance in the previous leg.  The couple continues to be happy and, as we also learned from our interview this morning, are no longer a long-distance couple. 

Hey this is Oscar Dahl from BuddyTV and I'm here with Aja and Ty from The Amazing Race.  Aja, Ty, how are you two doing? 

Aja: Good. 

What was it like watching last night's show knowing that you eventually come in last and are eliminated?  That had to be kind of difficult? 

Aja: It wasn't a tough, tough, tough experience.  It was bittersweet, because we felt blessed to be able to have the opportunity to be on The Amazing Race.  It was an awesome experience to spend the time with each other.  It resulted in us doing and seeing some great things and, you know, Ty actually did what he said at the end of the show and has moved to LA.  It was great to see the show and know that so many great things came out of it, but on the other hand it was definitely bitter for us to know that that was our last show. 

How far behind actually were you when you landed in Cambodia? 

Aja: As we landed, Andrew and Dan were finishing.  Yeah, we weren't really close at all. 

The editing in earlier episode kind of showed you two fighting a little bit.  Do you think you were accurately portrayed by CBS's editing? 

Ty: Honestly, what ended up - they had to take out the best parts to make the show as interesting as they can.  So, we understood that going into it.  What actually happened a couple of times things were taken...we only actually argued or bickered that one time in the airport and they took excerpts of that and put it all throughout the show so what you end up seeing is, hearing those things but you don't see our mouths moving, because it was all taken from that one argument.  You know, it all comes with the territory.  It's not too bad.  Overall, in general, how they depicted us outside that one episode is how we really are.  You saw later, in the Cambodia episode, us kind of more relaxed, more calm and I think that we may have not been getting as much air time in the beginning because we weren't bickering that much. 

Aja: We weren't that interesting to watch. 

Ty: We were just laughing and having a good time with each other, so there wasn't too much to go with. 

Was there anything edited out that over the course of the season that you wished they had shown of you two? 

Aja: I mean, there's always times - I spoke Portuguese in Brazil, that would have been nice to see.  There was a point where we got a flat tire.  I think that that was important.  We got pulled over by the police in New Zealand as well.  I wish they had shown that.  Umm...I'm trying to think what else.  We had an alliance...a soft alliance, with Sarah and Terence.  I felt like that was also was an important aspect of the race. 

What was your guys' favorite spot on the race? 

Aja: Brazil.  I liked Salvador, Brazil a lot. 

Ty.  I would say Brazil was nice, but I might go with New Zealand.  New Zealand was really nice and we got a to see a lot of New Zealand because we did a heck of a lot of driving.  So, I might just say that in terms of overall landscape, how their environment was - New Zealand was the best place. 

Aja: New Zealand was just so different from any place I had ever been in my life.  New Zealand was like it was straight out of a storybook.  Just beautiful.  It was like a painting. 

Well, what do you two have going on in the future?  What are you up to right now? 

Ty: Like i said, I'm living in LA and currently I work for a school district and helping them with their accounting and payroll department.  Aja is going to become a world-renowned actress. 

Aja: He is being a bit modest right now.  He has taken some great pictures and he's gonna hopefully get a print agent soon and do some modeling stuff and possibly go into acting or hosting.  And, I'm pursuing my career in acting as I was doing before the race.  That's pretty much what going with us. 

The Amazing Race: Flat Tires and Too Much Underwear: Ty and Aja Discuss What Went Wrong

Ty and Aja were The Amazing Race's long-distance couple.  Usually, that’s a recipe for relationship disaster, but the good looking duo only grew closer over the course of the race.  Unfortunately, their car’s tire and the New Zealand police conspired against them, leaving them so far behind the other teams at the start of Sunday’s leg that it was impossible for them to catch up.  They told fancast why they consider the entire experience a blessing. 

It was hard to tell from the editing.  How far behind all the other teams were you when you got off the plane in Cambodia? 

Aja: They were finished before we got off the plane. 

Ty: Our flight landed two hours after everyone else’s.  We had a pretty strong leg.  I believe if we’d had a fair shake at it, things would have ended differently. 

Do you think it was unfair, since you basically had no chance to catch up once the frat boys got on an earlier flight? 

Aja: It wasn’t unfair because we literally took 12 hours to do [the prior lag.]  We landed in New Zealand when it was dark outside.  And we [finished] when it was dark outside.  Everybody had the same amount of wait time before they can leave to go on the next leg.  It was only our fault that we were that far behind everybody else.  That’s just the way the game is. 

Ty: It would have been nice if the flight had evened things out or if it was a non-elimination leg.  That’s why really didn’t give up.  We figured there had been four legs already without a non-elimination.  We figured this might be the one.  So that’s why we stayed positive. 

It seems like the fatal blow for you was in the prior leg, when you got a flat tire. 

Aja: It was. 

What moments of your race do you wish had made the telecast? 

Ty: In New Zealand, we got pulled over by the police.  That’s something they didn’t show that I wish they had in terms of showing that it wasn’t just the flat tire or the detour.  It was all of that combined which set us far behind the other teams.  It was just a really bad day.  It was the worst day you could ever have.  I remember saying, “I don’t know if any of the teams are having a worse day then we are, but if they are, God help them.”  It turned out that [Brooke and Marissa] were. 

In Sunday's episode, Terence and Sarah got pulled over by the police, too.  Were the New Zealand cops out to get The Amazing Race? 

Ty: It seems like they might have been.  Maybe they were looking for camera men in the car. 

Were you also pulled over for speeding? 

Ty: No.  I had to make a quick, sharp turn.  It was three in the morning.  We’d just gotten off the flight.  I take full responsibility.  I was driving on the wrong side of the road.  A cop pulled me over.  He was pretty nice about it.  He said, “It’s pretty obvious that you’re not from here.  I’ll let you off with a warning. 

Aja: It was pretty obvious that we had camera men in the backseat.  So he knew what we were there for.  In New Zealand they’re huge Amazing Race fans because Phil is from there.  People freaked out when they saw us.  We were in a gas station asking for directions and a girl was like, “Oh my God!  Are you from The Amazing Race?”  She was so excited.  She was practically doing back flips. 

Did you incur an additional time penalty because the police pulled you over? 

Aja: No, because it wasn’t for speeding.  We just had to get acclimated to the way they drove over there.  You don’t get penalties for just making a mistake.  You only get them for intentionally speeding. 

Who were your closest friends on the race? 

Ty: One thing they didn’t show is that we had a soft alliance with Terence and Sarah.  You can see it on the website.  Maybe Dallas and Toni and Ken. 

Aja: Notice he didn’t say Tina. 

Ty: Tina’s cool.  I clicked with Kenny more because we both played football. 

Everyone I’ve spoken to liked Terence and Sarah, yet he’s being edited to be the villain. 

Ty: Things that have been going on the show, we’re just seeing now.  We weren’t in the car with them.  We’d just see them after the leg when things had calmed down.  People have different personalities when they’re put in a stressful situation.  When he was calm, Terrance was a super cool guy. 

Aja: He is.  We were actually very surprised with some of the things we saw.  We were like, “Wow.  Terence said that?” 

What advice would you give to future contestants on The Amazing Race? 

Aja: Don’t pack a big bag. 

Ty: Pack nothing.  I would get some of those pants with the zip-off knees that turn into shorts and then I’d have like, two pairs of underwear.  I would have nothing.  You don’t need huge bags.  I was bringing all these heavy shorts.  It was unnecessary. 

What inspired the two of you to try out? 

Aja: We did not try out for the race.  We were contacted on Facebook by a casting associate who is also a University of Michigan alum and she sent me a message because my profile picture is Ty and I together, saying that she worked for a travel adventure show and she wanted to know if my boyfriend and I would be interested.  After we spoke to her we had to create a short video introducing ourselves.  It took off from there.  We were really, really blessed. 

Were you familiar with the show before that? 

Aja: Yes.  We weren’t huge fans but we definitely had watched the show, respected the show. 

What was your favorite experience on the race? 

Ty It wasn’t just the places we went, although that was a true blessing.  It was the things that we did there.  Somehow we made it Cambodia, which wasn’t on my top ten list of places to go.  Even if I’d made to Brazil, which is a place I’d always planned to go, I never would have went down that cargo net. 

How did going on the race change your lives? 

Aja: Prior to the race I had traveled and I had spent time on other continents but I think that the race is more about life relationships than it is about anything else.  It was a blessing to be able to travel around the world but I think our great victory came from being able to learn, especially towards the end of our time, how to work together.  It’s something I wish we mastered before we were eliminated, but I think that’s something that has changed us.  Not having any family or friends around, not being able to get into an argument and call our friends for advice, just having to muscle through things is something that’s changed the way we deal with each other. 

Ty: And now I live in California with her.  Anyone who wants to know how we’re doing, we’re fine. 

Kynt and Vyxsin are fancast's celebrity Amazing Race bloggers.  They have this related question for you: Guys!  It was great to have you at last Sunday's Pizza Party!  Your support for one another was even evident to us when we met you in person.  To Ty: You mentioned at the end of the episode that you were going to move to LA to be closer to Aja and further your relationship goals.  When did you make the "big move" to Los Angeles, and how has it been transitioning to an all-new city? 

Ty: I moved just after we completed the race.  I’ve been there about six months.  I love it out there.  I wish I’d gone sooner.  Not that there’s anything wrong with where I’m from, Michigan, but it gets cold.  I’m in Michigan right now visiting family and friends and it’s raining.  I can just imagine what it’s like back home.