They’re nearing the final leg of The Amazing Race Australia: Celebrity Edition, but Aesha Scott admits she and fiancé, Scott Dobson, wouldn’t have the finish line in sight if they hadn’t decided to pivot and change the way they are playing the globe-trotting game.
Dialing in to chat with New Idea from her hotel in Los Angeles, Aesha confesses that the show hasn’t been easy, as there is “so much pressure”.
“The worst part is the regret,” the Below Deck reality star explains.
“When you are in it, you are racing against the clock. There are so many times when you make a mistake – like you ran right when you should have run left, or you didn’t quite complete something because you made an obvious mistake.”
“I always like to think that I’m good under pressure, but it’s just inevitable that you’re going to make a silly mistake at some point, which sets you back two or three teams.”
It was about midway through filming that Aesha, 33, and Scott, 34, decided to change tack in order to keep their heads in the game. Their new approach was simple – to enjoy themselves, and it’s proven to be a game-changer.
“We would just go into our room at night and lie there and think, ‘why did we do that?’. It’s hard not to beat yourself up because you know that you’re capable, and you know that you’re better than that, but you can’t deliver every day,” Aesha tells us.
“There were moments where we thought, ‘that kind of ruined the day’. But we were really good at debriefing and discussing at night, and then the next day, thinking, ‘let’s go into this differently’.
“I think we had one day where we were getting really bitey at each other, which we don’t often do. I said to Scott the next day that I didn’t come here to leave feeling grumpy and annoyed … I would rather lose the show and leave having had the best experience with you than just being grumpy the whole time. So I said to him, ‘From here on out, whatever happens, let’s just have as much fun with each other as possible’. And we did that!”
Aesha adds that she and Scott’s change of mindset did leave them having the best time possible.
“I equate a really full life with new experiences and crave [them] all the time. And so, to me, to go on a show where all day, every day you were doing the busiest, most random experiences, that was so special for me,” she says.
Whether they win or lose, Aesha reckons she and Scott will walk away champions, as The Amazing Race is something she’s always wanted to do.
“I used to watch when I was a teenager! It’s one of my top three bucket-list wishes. So when this opportunity came up, I just absolutely pounced on it,” she adds.
