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The Amazing Race concluded its 37th season on May 15, 2025. Jonathan and Ana Towns, one of the final three teams of the season, finished the final leg in Miami, Florida, in third place, while Carson and Jack finished in first. Although they did not win the contest, they became one of the most talked-about teams of the show, but for all the wrong reasons.
Jonathan was often shown criticizing Ana's performance and blaming her for putting them at risk of elimination. In episode 10 of The Amazing Race, which saw the teams race across France, Jonathan reached a new low when he called her a "terrible partner." The segment also showed him venting his frustration onto her, warning her she was holding them back.
Jonathan faced severe backlash from netizens for disrespecting his wife. However, Ana felt he was being misjudged. The couple released a video on their YouTube channel (The Road Less Traveled) on May 13, 2025, where Ana said:
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"The final edit is only telling me that they [CBS] chose to take this route to paint you as this evil individual that is out of control."
Jonathan echoed a similar sentiment, saying they went "too far with it," accusing the network of trying to "destroy" them. Ana deemed the portrayal of Jonathan as "malicious," claiming she and Jonathan were being punished for calling out the unfair treatment meted out to them. Consequently, she urged fans to remember they were watching a one-sided story.
I agree that sometimes shows are edited in certain ways that do not paint the complete picture of a person. If I consider that Jonathan's positive traits were edited out of the episodes, as Ana claims, it still does not explain why he mistreated her whenever he felt enraged.
To call out the network for showing a side of Jonathan only is one thing, but to use that to defend him against the backlash he received seems illogical. Even if the edits showed Jonathan's positive behavior, he would have still been criticized for how he spoke with Ana whenever he felt overwhelmed.
The Amazing Race's Ana wants fans to understand why Jonathan lost his temper
In the video, Jonathan and Ana clarified that they did not wish to use the former's autism diagnosis to justify his behavior. They revealed there were reasons why Jonathan felt provoked and enraged, reasons that were not included in the final edits of The Amazing Race episodes, giving the viewers a distorted idea of him.
I believe the competition is such that any team can feel overwhelmed and stressed. Under such situations, it is natural for contestants to feel agitated or angry. However, it does not present anyone with the opportunity to talk down to their partner, especially a wife, like Jonathan did.
Although Ana can argue that the "malicious" edits portrayed Jonathan poorly, his behaviour was ultimately his own. The edits did not influence his actions. Thus, to defend him by saying that the viewers only saw one side of him, and that there were triggers throughout the episode that provoked him, is like turning a blind eye to his behavior.
The Amazing Race couple revealed that during the water jousting challenge in episode 10, Carson, Jonathan's first opponent, did not follow any rules, but still was not called out. In the second round, Jonathan had to compete against Josiah twice because the judges said the first attempt was incorrect.
The pair recalled another incident from leg one, claiming they were unfairly scrutinized in the judging challenges. Ana stated that it took a psychological toll on them. So, she defended Jonathan's anger during the cheese task, saying it was a consequence of a pile-up of many incidents. She then justified his behavior, saying:
"We talked about angry rumination and how he's literally not able to jump off of this loop."
The Amazing Race star continued telling viewers that Jonathan had not gone from a "zero to a hundred over a piece of cheese," urging them to understand the context behind his actions.
I believe Ana tried to pacify the situation by saying there was a source behind Jonathan's anger. However, it still does not rectify the wrong. It does not overturn how he vented his frustration onto her when he was at his lowest. Therefore, Ana's attempts at retaliating against the backlash seemed strange.
"It needs to be balanced. If you only keep the negative and take my positive out, then it's only telling me one thing, and that is that it's like a malicious edit," The Amazing Race star added.
While I understand that content can be edited to show a certain side of a person, whatever is shown is still the truth. In leg 11 of The Amazing Race, Jonathan publicly snapped at Ana for cutting in line before him. Had CBS removed the scene from the episode, we would not have known about it, but it would not change the truth that Jonathan always directed his anger toward Ana.
Ana repeatedly mentioned in the video that she felt "targeted" because the other team's fights were not shown. I strongly believe that even if those segments were included, viewers would have criticized Jonathan for how he conducted himself. No matter what reason Ana gives to explain his actions or to justify them, the fact remains that he demeaned and disrespected her.
Stream The Amazing Race on CBS.
