Huntington Beach couple in the mix on new season of ‘The Amazing Race’
Dom Jones and her now-fiancé Richard Kuo got on the chartered flight last May.
They were leaving on a jet plane, and didn’t know when they’d be back again. The destination for the two Huntington Beach residents also was unknown.
“They don’t tell us where we’re going,” Jones said. “We’re all looking at our compasses, like, are we going north, are we going south? At first, I thought we were going to Canada, then we kept flying for a few more hours.”
The destination was Munich, Germany, the the starting point for their adventure, which will soon be seen by people across the country.
Jones and Kuo are contestants on the 34th season of the reality show “The Amazing Race,” which premieres Wednesday night on CBS.
This is the first time in the show’s history that the starting point is outside of the United States. Jones and Kuo are among 12 teams competing for the $1-million first-place prize, a group that also includes former pro football coach Rex Ryan.
Though the couple are limited in what they can say, the experience has clearly changed them. Since returning from filming the show, they became engaged last month.
“We learned a lot about our relationship,” Kuo said. “This was an experience that I wish everyone had the opportunity to go through because it really is life-changing in a way … It was a great opportunity for us to self-reflect ... and move past limiting beliefs that we have of ourselves. I think it’s a perfect parallel to life. It’s up to us to figure out, ‘OK, I feel like I can’t do this, but how can I do this?’”
Jones and Kuo were known as “Team Love and Light” on the show, and they used the hashtag #RichDom.
Jones, who ran for the open Huntington Beach City Council seat last year, is a gym owner in town. Kuo started an organization called the “You Matter” Global Movement and is a motivational speaker and life coach, which means the two travel across the country to speak at school assemblies.
They started dating in April 2019 and soon became dedicated fans of “The Amazing Race.”
“During the pandemic, we watched it a lot during dinnertime and everything like that,” Kuo said. “One day, Dom was like, ‘Hey, let’s apply for the show.’ I said, ‘OK, that sounds good.’ And she’s like, ‘Let’s do it right now.’”
They submitted a video late that night. A few weeks later, Jones got an email from show casting producer Joy Gordo.
After a couple of Zoom calls, they knew they were on the show. Jones believes her message of love and light was a big reason why they were selected.
Though she isn’t running for office this fall, she has gotten involved with politics and said she became friends with Ada Briceño, the chair of the Democratic Party of Orange County.
“They picked 24 people, and we’re two of the 24 because of the message I want to share, which is unity and love,” Jones said. “We’re so divided, we’re so in our corners and we’re so partisan. My message to the world is that if we can remember that we’re all human beings and we all want the same basic things … if we can start there and stop letting fear divide us, then we can get to a place of progress and move forward.”
How far will they move forward in the show? People will need to watch to find out. Jones said she could be holding multiple watch parties, between her gym friends and her political friends.
“It was super cool,” she said. “The challenges were gnarly. You know me, I’m into physical fitness and I work out multiple times a day, but it really isn’t even about the physical. It’s a race. It truly is a race, in every sense of the word.”
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