‘We can get through anything together’

The four celebrity duos traveled nearly 6,000 km as contestants on the Worldwide Celebrity Race, hitchhiking through mountain towns, foraging for food in dense forests and tackling challenges they never imagined.

What started in Mexico’s sunny easternmost tip is about to end Thursday night as teams race to the windswept La Guajira Peninsula in Colombia, the series’ final checkpoint.

The budget of £950 per person – the equivalent cost of flying the route – was a limitation, but what else made the trip the challenge of a lifetime?

There was a moment of concern for Tyler West and Molly Rainford before the race.

Although the couple knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses inside and out, living in the public eye often made them feel like they were “passing ships at night.”

Their occasional vacations had one goal: complete relaxation.

This challenge offered something completely different: a chance to take their relationship into new territory and reconnect without the usual distractions; For presenter and DJ Tyler, that didn’t even mean his favorite Biscoff biscuits.

“Whether we would even make it to the first checkpoint was a big question mark in our minds,” Tyler admits.

“I remember looking at the last checkpoint on the map and wondering, ‘How do we get there?’ I remember thinking. But reaching this point really puts things into perspective; “We’re not as bad at traveling as we think we are.”

One of the biggest wins for actor and singer Molly is newfound confidence.

“Talking to strangers, asking people for help; these are things you don’t do anymore, but racing forces you to do it,” he says.

“He gave me so much confidence that now I wonder, ‘What have I got to lose?’ “I think.”

What about their relationships? “This proved to us that we can get through anything together,” he says.

For actor Dylan Llewellyn and his mother Jackie, the race was less about crossing the finish line first and more about stepping out of their comfort zones.

After thirty years of marriage, Jackie had never been away from her husband for more than a weekend. But he filled the freezer with steak and kidney pies and hit the road with his son, determined to embrace the unknown.

They’ve learned a lesson from past contestants: Save more, spend less, and never give up your money belt or passport under any circumstances.

“I can’t believe we’ve made it this far. After the first leg I thought we weren’t going to make it,” says Jackie.

“I’m so glad we pushed ourselves to the lowest levels and I’m proud of us both for getting to the end of the fifth leg.”

The duo leaned on each other in the toughest moments, but also learned the importance of asking for help.

“I don’t think we realize how much kindness there is out there. And we felt it so much,” Dylan says.

“We felt so much love and togetherness with the families, and it was really powerful and beautiful to see.”

Before the race began, publisher and writer Anita Rani and her father Bal were excited at the idea of ​​spending five uninterrupted weeks in each other’s company. They hadn’t traveled together since a family trip to India when Anita was just two years old.

As the oldest duo in the competition, they were initially concerned about whether they would have the stamina to keep up with the younger teams.

But they know they have the most important thing: determination.

“We will never give up,” Anita insists ahead of the finale.

“Obviously there’s disappointment over events that have been out of our control so far, but there’s a life lesson in that, right?

“When Guatemala shut down, we missed a bus or something, it was all completely out of your control and it was very frustrating but that’s part of the journey.”

For Anita and Bal, the race has become much more than reaching the finish line.

They valued the time they spent together and the opportunity to get to know each other better.

“Honestly, that’s life and we lived it,” Anita says.

“I think my dad saw a more vulnerable side of me that I didn’t normally show.”

Sibling duo Roman Kemp and Harleymoon have been candid about how their relationship isn’t as close as they would like: busy careers have reduced their interactions to quick spare key pickups and dog drop-offs.

They are also, by their own admission, polar opposites. Singer-songwriter Harleymoon is a free-spirited, adventure-seeking individual who is usually the last to leave any party.

Dedicated to his job and his beloved Arsenal, broadcaster Roman is naturally cautious about stepping outside his comfort zone.

For them, the race was an opportunity to become friends again and help each other discover new sides.

Roman and Harleymoon say their time with family on Panama’s San Blas Islands was truly transformative.

Roman says racing “took me so far from where I was.”

“That was the biggest moment for me.

“It makes you realize there’s so much more to life… You see what makes these people happy and how happy they really are, it’s just this family.”

For Harleymoon, the experience of having nothing but a few bananas and a hammock “in the middle of nowhere” sparked deep self-reflection.

“Your life has become something so simple yet so beautiful, a wonderful window to think and think, wow, there are so many things at home and yet we are always striving for more,” she said.

“It was truly wonderful to experience such gratitude-filled days.”