After 10 exhausting legs of The Amazing Race, Chelsie and Jack Bahan’s journey came to an end when the father–daughter duo got lost on the streets of Italy — reaching host Phil Keoghan just moments after Taylor Hale and Kyland Young.
“When we were arriving to the pit stop, I saw Taylor and Kyland hit the mat. It was literally by seconds,” Chelsie told Gold Derby. That blink-and-you-miss-it finish ended their run in fifth place, but it capped what both say was one of the most meaningful adventures of their lives.
Below is the full Q&A with Chelsie and Jack, reflecting on their Amazing Race elimination, toughest tasks, and the chaotic, joyful, unforgettable journey they shared.
Gold Derby: What was going through your minds when you rolled up on Phil — in the darkness of night — and he told you that you had finished in last place?
Jack: We knew we were fighting for last place. That day was a tough day because I had to do that stupid floral arrangement, which they didn’t show, but it probably took close to three hours. Everyone struggled on it. And then after that, we got lost for three hours — they didn’t talk about that either. Fortunately, Kyland and Taylor got lost, too. We dropped that little bridge, and had we not failed the first attempt, we would’ve had them. Driving to Phil, we still weren’t out of it. It was nighttime, which made navigating even harder, but funny enough, that was our best navigation of the whole trip — on the leg we lost.
Did the heat or sun play a factor in how long it took everyone to complete the floral arrangement?
Jack: Yeah. That was the first time in the whole race we took our jackets off. It had been cold everywhere else. Heat was a factor.
Chelsie, what was going through your mind watching Kyland and your dad complete those floral arrangements?
Chelsie: Taylor and I are naturally competitive, but we’re also really close friends. So there was that tension of “I love you so much, but I want to beat you right now.” We both have a win, and I’m trying to beat her. And Kyland is a beast on his own. Plus, what they don’t highlight is my dad got injured around leg two. So we were walking most of the race. People wondered why we took so long to get places — either we were lost or we were walking. And these beasts, if they get 10 minutes lost, they can make it up on foot. We couldn’t. Any mistake could cost us, so I was very in my head.
To be honest, every time we got to Phil, I was surprised we were still in the race. We were right there with America — shocked. It was bittersweet.
Jack, what was it like joining your daughter’s reality-TV life for a while?
Jack: It was different. I’m laid back, old school, not into social media. I only have Facebook. I got Instagram because she had Instagram on Big Brother. But running through countries and hearing people yell “Chelsie!” because they knew her — that was pretty awesome. She called me four days after she got out of the Big Brother house. I was on the golf course. She said, “Dad, I got my first CBS call — they want us on The Amazing Race.” I actually thought about it for a day or two because I didn’t want to get hurt — I still have to work. But I realized I’d never get another chance to travel the world with my daughter. We’re close, especially through basketball, so I said yes.
It ended up being one of the best experiences of my life with a loved one. You can have all the money in the world, but experiences with loved ones are more valuable. One day, if there are grandkids, it’ll be something we look back on and laugh at — “This is what Papa did.”
But none of those fans had working GPS you could borrow?
Chelsie: It was so bad! Some people gave us great directions, and some sent us the complete opposite way. You could do an entire podcast on that.
What was worse — the bad navigation or the go-karting down cobblestone?
Chelsie: The go-karting was the worst. I can get lost all day long — which we did — but the go-karting killed me. My fingers got run over. I was like, “Phil, please come end this misery.”
Jack: That’s one I wish I had taken. I’m a builder. The weight of the men had a huge advantage going downhill. They were doing it in one or two tries. That was tough to watch because she was giving everything she had. And when she said, “Dad, I’m so tired,” all I saw was my daughter as a little girl saying, “Dad, help me.”
What was the highlight? Your favorite place?
Chelsie: Croatia was beautiful. We’d definitely go back. But Romania was one of my favorite legs — the skydiving, the sheep — I was living my best life.
Jack: Croatia for sure. Even with the rain, it was stunning. The water, the people — all incredible.