"1,000 percent" — The Amazing Race stars Bernie and Carrigain blame Jonathan and Ana for their exit

The Amazing Race season 37 featured an elimination in episode 4, which aired on March 26, 2025. Best friends Bernie Gutierrez and Carrigain Scadden were eliminated after arriving last at the Pit Stop. Looking back on their journey, the duo placed direct blame on fellow racers Jonathan and Ana Towns, whose choices during a new twist called the 'Driver’s Seat' may have sealed their fate.

The 'Driver’s Seat' allowed the team that reached the Roadblock first to assign task difficulty levels to the other teams. Jonathan and Ana selected the easiest task— threshing 15 pounds of rice— for themselves, before using their Express Pass to skip the challenge altogether. They assigned Bernie and Carrigain the heaviest load, 25 pounds.

Carrigain later said the decision was “1,000 percent” the reason they went home.

"I don't hold it against them because [maybe] they didn't have a game plan going into it. But, you could have made better decisions having both the Driver's Seat and the Express Pass," she added.

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Driver’s Seat twist and mental impact during the Roadblock in The Amazing Race

The 'Driver’s Seat' twist gave Jonathan and Ana an advantage over the other teams, especially after they skipped the Roadblock using their Express Pass. Bernie and Carrigain, who had already struggled in the previous leg, were handed the largest rice load, 25 pounds to thresh. Ana later expressed regret over the choice, but the best friends questioned that sentiment.

“Even if it was mental... maybe Carrigain seeing the 15 instead of 25 mentally would have allowed her to say, ‘We got this,’" Bernie explained.

Carrigain added,

“I don’t know the time, but when all the teams left and I was there by myself it felt very alienating.”

Carrigain did the Roadblock task, working under the heat and pressure. She said, that it felt very hard to be "positive." She added that the sun was beating on her, it was so hot, and she just felt like her back was "against the wall.”

The team felt the weight of the decision even before they reached the Detour. Although they knew the risks involved in the game, Bernie admitted that if they wanted to be "cutthroat" and wanted to "make a move," they should have, but they should have told the "real reason" behind it.

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Detour difficulties and team coordination issues

After the Roadblock, Bernie and Carrigain faced more challenges. They navigated in the wrong direction for what felt like “three miles” before finding the Penjor station. There, they were required to decorate a bamboo pole as part of the Detour. The delay affected their performance in The Amazing Race.

“We actually work very well together. That’s why I picked Carrigain. She understands that I’m stubborn,” Bernie said.

However, the pressure of the competition affected their coordination in The Amazing Race. Carrigain said that they "switched roles."

“She was supposed to do the rice and I was supposed to navigate. I was too tired to navigate and too hot. Then it was really hard for us to come back and work together,” carrigain added.

The pair admitted that the pressure led them to fall out of sync. The changes in their original game plan made it difficult for them to regroup. With both mental and physical exhaustion setting in, they found it hard to catch up with the rest of the teams. Despite the elimination, they shared a positive memory from the leg.

“Driving the ATV through waterfalls in Bali — that was the best experience ever,” Bernie said.

Their time on the The Amazing Race ended after four legs, but they shared that the experience brought them closer and gave them lasting memories.

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The Amazing Race continues to air every Wednesday on CBS.