Colin cemented his place as one of reality television’s major early villains.
There was the time he relentlessly cursed out an ox.
There was the other time he almost got arrested because he refused to pay a $100 taxi fare.
Viewers saw him arguing with other teams and berating his girlfriend.
It was a bad all-around look.
Fast forward 15 years and the story could not be more surprising.
Gone are the angry outbursts.
Arguments are nowhere to be seen.
Win or lose, they actually seem to be…gulp!…enjoying themselves.
And enjoying the teams they are competing against.
And enjoying the locals they encounter along the way.
Put bluntly, the couple is completely unrecognizable.
In the least Colin 1.0 move ever, he then actually got them to do it!
What is behind this radical transformation?
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Let’s start by going back to season 5.
On one hand, you all were dominating the game, coming in first on six different legs.
Tell me about the experience of watching that all play back on TV.
It was a very eye-opening experience like, “Oh, wow, bro.
No, you don’t look like you are right at all.”
This happens in relationships all the time.
Now, it’s actually becoming dysfunctional in my relationship.
What was the hardest thing for you to see?
COLIN GUINN:The taxi incident for sure.
That, to me, I think is just funny to see me having a temper tantrum.
It was very difficult to watch back all of those incidents, including unpacking it.
We watched Race for the first time in 15 years a year ago with our kids.
We were looking at family shows, what could we watch as a family.
Amazing Race came up and we realized, “Oh, they’ve never seen our season.”
So, we decided to watch it.
Those are different people.”
I didn’t realize how much had shifted.
But that one incident was still difficult to watch.
COLIN GUINN: Oh, but also to see what an amazing experience that was.
CHRISTIE WOODS:Yeah, it was.
The taxi incident where I was being awhiny, ego babyI do think I had a point.
Look, why are you driving so much slower than all these other cars?
Then, to discover he is actually on a donut.
So, yes, did I have a reason to be like, “Hey, man.
I’m only going to pay you $50!”
I’m just totally lost in ego and so attached to just being right and winning.
It would have been way more beneficial than just having an extra $50.
I was so attached to getting my way and proving my point.
My ego just couldn’t stand that.
That is so bad.
I had a lot less perspective and awareness.
It’s still like, “Oh man, that’s bad.”
CHRISTIE WOODS:We’re humans here and this guy is a cab driver in Africa.
He wants to be a part of this whole experience.
This $50 is really going to go a long way for him.
We just didn’t have that level of awareness at that time like we do now.
The hardest part was when we got home and watching it back.
I was in pharmaceutical sales.
I would have my doctors call me back and talk to me about being in an abusive relationship.
“You’ve got to get out of it.”
I appreciate the sentiment."
He was blown away, couldn’t even imagine it.
And, of course, they are going to use that.
CHRISTIE WOODS:That was the only thing that was really being asked from the storytellers.
I was trying to show him.
I said, “Look, this is the storyline.
This is where it is going.
This is what’s getting highlighted.
They’re filming everything, but there’s only so much they can show on television.
So, be aware of that.”
We were very generous in the way that we collaborated this time around.
We did that in season 5 as well.
I said, “That’s not our story.
That’s not what they’re going to show.
hey be aware.”
The angry part of it was the lack of trust he had in my ability to see that.
It was anger at this ridiculousness.
It turned into this very dark, ugly experience as it was being played.
It was just more of an anger of, “Can you see your part in the play?
Can you understand how you’re contributing to this chaos?”
That was really the frustration at my level from me.
So when did that happen?
Colin, I want to get your reaction to that too.
What was that like to hear those things?
Which, yes, they definitely heightened it and exemplified the ammunition I gave them.
But I think it was years later watching at this perspective.
I had such a self-righteous rightness.
“You have wronged me by not supporting me and not wanting to pay this guy his money.”
I was blasting so much emotional poison at her.
At that time, when we were watchingthe race, I couldn’t even let myself fully recognize that.
My ego had to give a shot to blame the editing as much as possible.
I was spewing emotional poison all over the person I love the most in this world."
It was really tough to have that realization.
That was maybe years after the show to have that realization.
It was really difficult to see.
It was just done in unconsciousness.
That’s where I started having a whole new perspective in my day-to-day life as well.
What was the impetus for this change that you guys started undertaking a few years ago?
Was there anything specific that occurred or is it just more maturity, growth, and evolution?
CHRISTIE WOODS:I think the relationship hit a peak low point.
Our house had flooded.
We had to move out and stay in a hotel while all kinds of construction happened.
Colin was traveling a lot all over in Europe.
I’m in this hotel with the boys by myself.
They’re bouncing off the wall.
For me, I need my home.
That’s the grounded, rootedness of me.
Not having that took the tension in the relationship where I was no longer resilient enough.
Keep in mind, our everyday life is not the triggered Colin that you see onThe Amazing Race.
What have you done for me lately?
I’m right, you’re wrong.
So then what happened?
I’m absolutely just done."
When you finally have that resolve that it’s over, you just relax.
It was like I was breathing for the first time in years.
When I had said, “I’m done,” this new level of awareness entered.
I almost instantly had a clarity of also being able to see my part in the play.
I could also get lost in my own ego, get triggered, get really pent up.
I could see that.
Within a day, I wanted to get certified in life coaching.
I started deep diving into the practices that go along with that.
We were actually in couple’s therapy at the time and it wasn’t helping.
We would be in a great space.
I started bringing in those practices to myself individually, which also included practicing meditation.
That was also a big part of this shift for me.
I started including those practices with Colin inside of our relationship.
I could see myself transforming.
Even the way I would respond to him and he began to see that as well.
Colin could experience the shift in me and the shift in me was inspiring a shift in him.
That really shifted a lot, too.
Anytime something is happening, you have this ability to see from higher perspective.
Were you worried after doing all this work that going onThe Amazing Racecould bring back those old demons?
Or, did you want to conquer those demons by doing this?
COLIN GUINN:You know what, I love it.
You’re hitting all the nails on the head of what our experience has been like.
That’s really what it was.
We watched the race for the first time in 14 years with our kids.
We had this different level of perspective around it.
This new feeling of love, collaboration, and quantum visualization."
What a great way to put all this stuff to the test.
It would be an amazing experiment.
We did a bunch of visualization, meditation, and all this stuff.
We ended up sending a text.
We’re thinking, “Maybe we’ll get back on the show five years from now.”
Are you guys really interested because we leave in three or four weeks?"
We both looked at each other and were like, “Oh my god.
That was fast.”
There was a lot of fear in me that I would feel creep up.
Or, is my life just easier and more comfortable now?
I don’t get to wake up and do my exercises, meditation, and have a great job.
That’s a situation where I don’t have total control.
So those fears popped up.
Those channels are always there if we tune to them.
Just because you work through them once doesn’t mean they’re gone forever.
So, yeah I did worry.
We lost, it’s all good."
So, we want to do that again if we have the opportunity to do it.
Were there any moments while filming this current season where either of you came close to losing your temper?
CHRISTIE WOODS:Yeah, there were little arguments here and there.
It’s interesting because on season 5, every argument was highlighted.
That was our storyline.
This particular season we’ve had little arguments and I’ve thought, “For sure.
They’re going to be shown.”
And then they weren’t part of our story.
So, in this case, there’s editing on both sides.
That’s reality television.
There’s a story that’s being told.
Were we thrown out of alignment at times?
Right, I remember that one.
CHRISTIE WOODS:We weredoing the bikesback and forth.
So, that was a situation where Colin was grating on my nerves excessively: “Push it straight.
Push it straight.”
I’m like, “Lord have mercy if you yell that to me again.”
I’m doing the best I can, but I am about to lose it.
When you’re doing that, there’s an ability to stay aware in the moment.
But, afterward, in the cab, I mentioned, “Hey, tone it down.
That’s not going to work.
It’s counterproductive.”
I thought it was beautiful moment.
What do you think Colin from season 5 would have thought of that?
Yeah, for sure.
That was always an underlying fear in how deep do I want to go down this path?
What is it like having people watch you on TV and actually be rooting for you this time?
COLIN GUINN:It’s super refreshing.
It’s definitely a new and different experience.
It feels good when people are blasting positivity and love energy your way.
They’re blasting that at you.
So, yeah, it feels great.
Okay, final question: Have you ever checked your luggage again since flight 848 on theseason 5 finale?
COLIN GUINN:That’s funny.
I generally don’t check luggage.
It’s funny that you say that.
I wonder if some of it stems from that.
Ultimately, that wasn’t the thing.
