Despite Jonathan's treatment of Ana, I'm happy being on The Amazing Race led to his autism diagnosis

The Amazing Race season 37 team, Jonathan and Ana, received a ton of negative feedback about their relationship in light of the male cast member's treatment of his wife. On multiple occasions, Jonathan blamed Ana for them not being first during certain legs and went as far as calling her a terrible partner and telling her to keep quiet when she objected to his statements.

Navigational issues were a constant point of friction between the married couple as Jonathan believed Ana didn't do a good enough job.

However, in a recent interview with Parade Magazine, the married couple revealed that because of their turbulent time on the show, they were able to identify why Jonathan behaved the way he did, which led to him being diagnosed with autism.

Despite how he treated Ana while on The Amazing Race, I am glad it encouraged the couple to reflect upon their issues and pay attention to Jonathan's behavior.

I truly believe that had they not participated in the CBS show, the male cast member might never have been diagnosed with autism, which would have made things worse for him as an individual as well as for Ana.

I believe the experiment forced Jonathan to look within and understand that he may not function in the same way as a neurotypical person does. I also believe that it strengthened their relationship.

The two were previously separated, as they were able to understand that a lot of Jonathan's verbal aggression was not something he could control, due to the cause being unknown at the time.

I would also like to clarify that, despite his diagnosis, I do not condone his behavior towards his wife, but I do believe that a lot of it stemmed from an undiagnosed issue that came to light because of Jonathan's time on the show.

I think that being able to watch episodes of the show back served as a mirror for the married couple, which wouldn't have been possible unless they were on a reality show.

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Jonathan reveals that being on The Amazing Race led to his autism diagnosis

In an interview with Parade Magazine on May 17, 2025, The Amazing Race season 37 finalists, Jonathan and Ana talked about the couple's relationship, which was also mentioned on the show.

Jonathan said that during COVID, the couple was separated and decided to get back together while watching the CBS show. Ana said that whenever she would go to drop off their daughters, Jonathan would be watching the show, and that he introduced her to it.

Eventually, the two started watching it together, and applying for the show together was the first thing they did when they got back together.

The interviewer asked the pair about their turbulent time on the show and about their revelation in a podcast that being on the show led to his diagnosis. Jonathan described his presence on the show as almost not knowing what was happening inside his head.

"For a neurotypical person, you have a good sense of emotions that are coming through your mind at any given time. But for me, it's almost impossible to make sense of the emotions, because they're just so powerful in that moment," The Amazing Race cast member said.

He admitted that he had wrongfully lashed out during The Amazing Race and added that it was "impossible" to explain it to someone who didn't know what it was like.

Recalling how people perceived his attitude while on the show, Jonathan noted the key point was that he was undiagnosed at that point and had no tools and didn't know what was happening.

He called his diagnosis a "magic bullet" for their relationship and made a "radical difference" in their lives. When asked what led to his autism diagnosis, The Amazing Race star Ana said that she told Jonathan that he needed to "do something about this."

"And that's how it started," he added.

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Jonathan and Ana's journeys are available to watch on The Amazing Race season 37, episodes of which are available to stream on Paramount+.