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Can Survivor Champs Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca Outlast The Amazing Race? Reality Romancers Tell All

Cancer survivor Zohn says competing on TAR was "like a reward, a celebration of life for Jenna and I, and we got to do it together"

By Drusilla Moorhouse Sep 23, 2011 9:55 PMTags
The Amazing Race, Ethan Zohn, Jenna MorascaSonja Flemming/CBS

Now that's what you call a winning team.

Reality couple Ethan Zohn and Jenna Morasca, who each won a million bucks on Survivor (Africa and Amazon), are back on another CBS competition: The Amazing Race, whose 19th season premieres this Sunday.

Along with 10 other teams, Ethan and Jenna are racing around the world for another million-dollar prize—although this time they have to split the winnings.

So how'd TAR compare to Survivor? Will we see a darker side of the cheerful couple? And did TAR's grueling demands affect cancer survivor Ethan's health?

Here's what the dynamic duo told us about their latest adventure...

Ethan, congrats on running the New York Marathon! Are your doctors at all concerned about your strenuous activities? The Amazing Race can take a huge toll on its contestants.
No—this is an opportunity for me to prove to the world that there's life after cancer. You know you can get through this and you can live a happy normal life. You can go out there and you can travel the world, and you can push yourself and you can have fun, you can smile. And so for me it was like a reward, a celebration of life for Jenna and I, and we got to do it together. That's like the best thing in the world.

How did the race affect your relationship?
Jenna:
A lot of people ask us that, and I think my dad's only request was "Do not get in an argument on national TV." I was like, "Dad, I can't promise that." Actually it was fine. I realized that Ethan doesn't like taxi cabs. And we didn't argue like people think or as I was worried about; we did kind of balance each other out and I was happy about that—and so was my dad.

Ethan: Basically, being lost, hungry, late in a foreign country where you can't speak the language is like one of my worst fears in life. So how everyone manages that is something you're gonna have to wait and find out.

Would you guys be interested in doing Survivor again?
Ethan:
I don't think I would because I think the game of Survivor has changed a little bit. Don't get me wrong, I love the game, but I don't think I'm cut out for it anymore—I'm too nice.

Jenna: I, on the other hand, would like to go back on so I can win again.

When Survivor stars Rob and Amber competed on TAR (twice) their public recognition around the world gave them an advantage. Were you recognized as well?
Ethan:
Because it was so soon after the cancer thing, I was in a mad rush to grow out my hair so people could recognize us more on the race. I was like, "I need the curly hair back or no one's gonna know who the hell I am," so I was taking Rogaine, vitamin E and stuff to get the curly hair back.

Jenna: It worked—I think people definitely did recognize us.

What can fans look forward to this season?
Jenna:
There are a lot of accomplished people that are really strong athletes and big competitors. And it is one of the first times that the audience can see Ethan and I do anything together as a team. We were on separate seasons of Survivor, and the second time we were on separate tribes, so people haven't really seen us interact with each other a lot.

How did Phil Keoghan match up against Jeff Probst as host?
Jenna:
They're totally different people. Jeff is a Survivor staple—he's practically another character. He's definitely a little bit harder on us, but I think we deserve it a little bit more on Survivor—we need tough love on Survivor.

Ethan: You look forward to seeing Phil, but you don't really look forward to seeing Jeff on the show. When you see Phil you know you just landed on a mat or you won the show. And with Jeff you could be voted off.

Are you rooting for another Ethan and Jenna victory? How do you think the Sole Survivors will perform as a team? Race on down to the comments to weigh in!

The Amazing Race premieres Sunday night at 8 p.m. on CBS.

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