Topic: TAR 26: Matt Cucolo & Ashley Gordon

[georgiapeach]

Matt Cucolo & Ashley Gordon


 
 

 
 
Name: Matt Cucolo
Age: 30
Hometown: Scarsdale, N.Y.
Relationship Status: Dating
Length of Relationship: Known for 10 years, dating for 3.
How did you meet? I was dating her best friend at the time.
Current occupation: Master hairstylist.
Describe what you do: I am a hairstylist. I do men and women’s cut, color and any hair treatments. I am practically their therapist as well.
3 words to describe you: Hardworking, loving, handsome (Grandma told me when I was 3 years old. LOL!)
Favorite hobbies: Training in the gym, snowboarding and playing baseball.
What is the accomplishment you are most proud of? Being a very successful hairstylist. It’s much more than just hair. It’s an amazing feeling making people happy.
What famous person reminds you of yourself? Kevin Hart
What famous person reminds you of your teammate? Leslie Mann
What scares you most about traveling? Nothing
What excites you most about traveling? Seeing a new environment, new people and not knowing what to expect.
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: She always has to be right and doesn’t pay attention to me when I speak.
Pet peeve about your teammate: When I ask her something or try to make plans and she doesn’t respond or pay attention to me. Sometimes it’s like I’m not there.
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? Honestly, I love traveling anywhere but probably Italy, because I’ve heard the most amazing things about it.
What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other than winning one million bucks)? I wanna know that if I’m going to spend the rest of my life with her we can communicate better and agree on life decisions.
How could the Race change the current state of your relationship? It could give us an unbreakable bond and empowering relationship.
 


Name: Ashley Gordon

Age: 28
Hometown: Scarsdale, N.Y.
Connection to your teammate: Dating
Length of Relationship: We’ve known each other for 10 years and been together for 3.
How did you meet? He dated a friend/old roommate of mine. We kept running into each other randomly one summer.
Current occupation: Hairstylist
Describe what you do: Make people look and feel beautiful, not only on the outside but on the inside as well. Semi-therapist that is underpaid.
3 words to describe you: Genuine/loyal, well rounded and emotional/sympathetic.
Favorite hobbies: Going to the beach, eating, working out/being active and getting pampered- massages, pedicures.
What famous person reminds you of yourself? Jennifer Aniston- hopeless romantic…yet silently sexy?
What famous person reminds you of your teammate? Kai Greene. I admire Matt's dedication to whatever endeavor he takes on, as well as his artistry and passion for life, like Kai Greene.
What scares you most about traveling? Fear of a new environment.
What excites you most about traveling? Seeing new cultures, new environments, scenery, being able to almost start fresh when there is something to look forward to and also start fresh when I come back home.
Biggest challenge you and your teammate will face on The Race together: How to handle and accept his opinions and not constantly disagree with one another. We often bicker about irrelevant subject matters.
Pet peeve about your teammate: His poor listening skills and how he will deny something that is a definite fact and laugh about it! That drives me crazy!
What country and place would you most like to visit and why? I would love to visit Greece for the beautiful architecture, Brazil for the booties, and Ibiza for the party scene. Italy is another- I have a ton of family there and I have never been to Europe.
What do you hope to accomplish by running The Race (other than winning one million bucks)? I would love to get back to the core of our relationship before social media (Instagram) and really rekindle that deep love and communication we had when we could literally chat for hours about nothing without looking at our cell phones constantly.
How could the Race change the current state of your relationship? We get engaged and get back to finding the love we had with one another when it is just him and I and no one else around. We have so many friends and family it’s like we don’t even go out to dinner and converse anymore.

[georgiapeach]

Meet MATT& ASHLEY!
 
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/ZlS22NwSNEo" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/ZlS22NwSNEo</a>

[Ryan]

Um, kind of love them, also how has no one commented that HE's a hairstylist?! Kind of a wacky career choice for a big buff (straight!) guy, but more power to him!

They sound fun, look athletic, and don't seem as air-headed as some past NY/NJ/Boston teams we've had.

[paradoxinee]

Matt make me think of Robbie last season.

Love this team.

[ZouLy]

Funny couples, get a lot of air-time here and there, especially on the detour side.... so far seems friendly, lovely couple, hope they don't get booted out early in the race...

[gamerfan09]

These two definitely need more love, they're pretty fun <3 

Also they're the best regular dating team left so

[gamerfan09]

Congratulations to Matt & Ashley for getting engaged! <3

[TARloveit]

Congratulations to Matt & Ashley for getting engaged! <3

[gamerfan09]

http://www.usmagazine.com/entertainment/news/the-amazing-race-couple-matt-and-ashley-dish-engagement-details-201563

Really cute story about their #RaceProposal <3

[Quốc Nghĩa]

Flop dropping couple has a strong leg tonight. 

[Marionete]

They are one of my favourites with Mike and Rochelle!

[gamerfan09]

They're not as fun to watch if they don't screw up but go Matt/Ashley! <3

[Marionete]

This team is growing on me so much <3
I think I want them to win the most. They're both so fierce, couldn't tell they are hairstylists!

[Declive]

I like Ashley and i'm indifferent about Matt, so far.

[RaceUntilWeDie]

Funny, I like Matt and I'm sliiightly indifferent about Ashley

[Quốc Nghĩa]

I've just realized that. )

I didn't like them pre-show, but they are one of my faves. 

[TARloveit]

Wow, I actually didn't catch that! It's nice that they edited in that tiny little detail on the intro 

[fossil-racer]

New video about them on amazing race channel

[Alenaveda]

New video about them on amazing race channel

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/SIzssN4QnZE" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/SIzssN4QnZE</a>

How Well Do Amazing Racers Matt & Ashley Know Each Other?

Newly engaged Amazing Race couple Matt & Ashley answer a series of questions to see how well they know each other after being on the race.

[gamerfan09]

Winning their first leg! 

Love them!

[joshwills]

Love Matt & Ashley, makes me happy watching two people who (seem to) genuinely love each other.

[gamerfan09]

#MattAndAshleyForReturnees <3

They're one of the rare teams where both of them are extremely fun.

Ashley's one liners are hilarious and frantic Matt is <3

[gamerfan09]

[TTfan]

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/Cl3wc6iAXYM" target="_blank" class="new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/Cl3wc6iAXYM</a>

This is quite a cute scene.

[RaceUntilWeDie]

The Namibian legs and The Netherlands really proved to me they're gonna make a great married couple. So cute/fun to watch... and "inspiring" relationship-wise 

[Marionete]

Those ambiguous comments by Ashley were so hilarious

And it's crazy how many times Matt did the roadblock, I'm glad it wasn't an elimination!

[Declive]

To be completly honest i'm really glad theyre gone. 5th place was even too much for them. They were a weak team with a rare exception on the African legs.

[stekay]

They had 2 2nds as well. Whether they were weak or not they were extremely enjoyable to watch

[gamerfan09]

To be completly honest i'm really glad theyre gone. 5th place was even too much for them. They were a weak team with a rare exception on the African legs.

Just because a team's weak doesn't mean they suck!

I'm really sad to see Mashley go, they were my #2 favorites the entire season!

[Marionete]

My perfect final 3 would have been them, Blayley and Michelle. Sad to see them go, it was quite close I think...

[Declive]

Aside from their placements, i also never liked them as a team.

[Alenaveda]

FROM TVGUIDE.COM:
http://www.tvguide.com/news/amazing-race-matt-ashley/

Who Do Amazing Race's Matt and Ashley Blame for Their Elimination?

by Joyce Eng | May 4, 2015 4:17 PM EDT

For the third time this season on The Amazing Race, the team saved on a non-elimination leg was ousted the following leg. But unlike Jonathan and Harley, and Aly and Steve, things could've turned out a bit differently for Matt and Ashley. Twice in the Peruvian leg they were in the right spot, but were led astray by Laura and Tyler. So, do they blame them for their elimination? See what the couple, who got engaged on the third leg, say below. Plus: Who are they inviting to their wedding?

How far behind were you?
Matt: When we got to our Speed Bump, we did not think we were that far behind. We thought we were ahead of some teams. After we got through the Speed Bump and got to the Roadblock, we saw Laura and Tyler, and Mike and Rochelle leaving. We figured we weren't that far behind. I did the Roadblock in 15 minutes, so that made us believe we were only 15 minutes behind.
Ashley: We knew that we could've caught up, except the cab driver we had was so bad. It was out of our control and out of our hands. It was bad. We fell so far behind. At that point, we thought we were hours behind.

Did you try changing cabs?
Matt: We weren't allowed to. We had specific cab drivers and we just had a really bad driver.

You did have a chance to catch up. You got to the Mamas Detour, but you didn't know it was there, while Laura and Tyler were doing the potatoes.
Matt: Right. We had no idea we were in the right place. And then Tyler and Laura said, "I think they brought you to Papas," which was the wrong place. But we were actually in the right place and we didn't see it.
Ashley: But well played, Laura and Tyler, well played!

It wasn't that clear. Do you think they did it on purpose or do you think they really didn't know Mamas was there? Technically that was the Papas location, just the second part of it.
Matt: To be honest, right now, I'm still not sure. All I know is they wanted to go to Mamas. And when they got to that field, they realized they were at Papas. So when they saw us and said, "You guys are at Papas," I would have to say that they did know because they went to the opposite Detour and realized they were at Papas. I'm gonna say they did know and when Tyler saw us -- the look on his face --
Ashley: He couldn't believe we caught up.
Matt: Right. On the way there, Tyler said [on the show], "Matt and Ashley are toast." When the lady dropped their potatoes and saw us, he probably panicked.
Ashley: Which, of course, gave us hope. We were like, "Oh, my God! We have a chance!"

And you ran right past the Mamas shop.
Matt: Yeah, we didn't even see it. We were running on adrenaline and all that stuff and kinda overlooked it.

How did you end up at Papas? Did the cabbie just bring you there because it was the other address on the sheet?
Ashley: I think we ended up there because I was literally screaming at the guy, "Take us somewhere!" And he brought us there, so we decided we'd do that one. "OK, let's not waste any more time driving back and forth. Let's just do what we're closest to."

At the beginning of the leg, you guys followed Laura and Tyler when they missed the clue at the shoe-shining place. How much of this do you blame on them, or do you just blame yourselves for following and listening to them?
Matt: We blame ourselves because we listened to them. It's not their fault. We didn't have to listen. The first time, we didn't have to get in a cab, but I think we were just going with the flow. You have to make split-second decisions.
Ashley: We also saw Mike and Rochelle there trying to get a cab. Everybody was trying to jump into a cab and that was a mistake. That's not their fault. And the first time, [Laura and Tyler] didn't even know they were at the right place until Laura mentioned the Speed Bump [marker]. Maybe if she hadn't mentioned it and he never realized, we'd still be there.

Did you see Laura and Tyler get out of their cab and walk back?
Ashley: No, but we realized once they took us back to the other entrance of where we were supposed to be, that's when it clicked in our heads that it's gotta be in here somewhere. There were llamas and things there that was like, "OK, this doesn't look like it belongs here." And then Matt was like, "Oh, shoe-shine! Look!" So I was like, "Oh, great." Because we were already here before and we passed it. We probably could've picked up extra minutes and gotten ahead.

All three teams who were spared on non-elimination legs this season were eliminated the following leg. Do you think that's just a coincidence or something with the leg designs?
Matt: I think we made mistakes, but the other teams were just too far behind to catch up when they had their Speed Bumps. We could've easily come in third, but we made too many mistakes. But, you know, we own up to them.

How's the wedding planning going?
Matt: We have the date and the photographer and DJ and all that stuff.

Are you gonna invite racers?
Matt: We are definitely gonna invite racers!

As a pre-existing couple who got engaged during the race, what did you think of the blind date twist?
Matt: As far as the blind daters go, I think they made some lifelong friends, and as far as finding love, it's damn near impossible. Well, I think Blair and Hayley are thinking about getting married. I'm not sure. [Laughs] The Bickersons! I'm pretty sure he was gonna propose on the race too.

But you stole their thunder on the third leg.
Matt: Right, right, so he couldn't do it. You can see the how bummed he was. [Laughs] I think that finding love on The Amazing Race on a blind date is, like I said, damn near impossible. Anything can happen, but the odds of that happening are slim to none.
Ashley: You can look at it in a positive way or a negative way. They have disadvantages and advantages racing.
Matt: Yeah, but just the love aspect is impossible. But it was definitely an experiment.

[Alenaveda]

FROM CBS.COM:
http://www.cbs.com/shows/amazing_race/elimination_interviews/1004165/after-their-elimination-matt-ashley-talk-endurance-fanny-packs-proposals-that-s-the-way-the-cookie-crumbles-/

After Their Elimination, Matt & Ashley Talk Endurance, Fanny Packs & Proposals
That’s the way the cookie crumbles

Posted on May 4, 2015 09:45am

Matt and Ashley, the seventh team eliminated on Season 26, answer your questions about running The Amazing Race.

1. Hilda H: What made you propose on the show and did you plan the proposal once you knew you were going to be on the show?
Matt: I was planning on asking Ashley to marry me before the race. When we found out we were going to be on The Amazing Race, I knew I would propose on the show. I didn't have any logistics planned out because we didn't know where we were going until we opened the clue. When we opened the clue and found out we were going to Thailand, I knew that was going to be there.

2. Hannah D: What was the hardest thing physically, mentally, and emotionally that you guys faced while on the race?
Matt & Ashley: We think the constant state of urgency and running on pure adrenaline took a toll on both of us physically, mentally, and emotionally.

3. Anita C: How did you prepare for The Amazing Race? Did you ramp up exercising, running long distances, etc.?
Matt & Ashley: We both are pretty athletic and always worked out before the show, so we didn't feel as if we had to physically prepare much for The Amazing Race. We focused more on tasks that required us to work together as a team because we are both very stubborn and like to be in control, so we had to adjust to working together as opposed to on our own. We did puzzles, and played memory games, etc.

4. Mary A: What was the most challenging leg?
Matt & Ashley: The most challenging leg had to be the first leg, just for the simple fact that we were just learning the game and had not picked up momentum or strategy yet. We were just kind of winging it. Once we got a little further in the race and played smarter and started working together, things became a lot easier for us.

5. Shannon A: First, I loved you guys. You were my faves from the start. Second, Matt what was the first thought through your head when you realized you left your fanny pack at the challenge right before proposing? Your expression btw...priceless!
Matt: LOL! Not only was I freaking out because the ring was in there, but all of our money, clues and our passports were in the fanny pack as well, so if we lost it, we wouldn't have been able to continue the race. Luckily, Ashley asked me where the fanny pack was and it was only a block away from the last challenge, because the pit stop was about a half-hour to 45 minutes away from the challenge.

6. Gena F: Do teams get any time to sightsee? I would hate to miss some of the beautiful places because I had to focus on clues and racing and getting some task done. Do you get any time at all to see the country you're in?
Matt & Ashley: We wish there was time to sight see, but unfortunately there wasn't. This season they introduced "date night," so whichever team was lucky enough to get a date night, they sort of got to see more of whatever country we were in, but not to the extent of what we would have wanted to see. I guess it was kind of a good thing, only because it kept our minds on the race.

7. Crystal K: Do you remain friends with any of the other teams?
Matt & Ashley: We actually stay in contact with most of the other teams still. Steve, Aly, Laura, and Tyler are our closest friends, but we have a special relationship with the other cast members as well, even Jenny!

8. Krista L: What's it like being on The Amazing Race show and what inspired you to sign up?
Matt: Being on The Amazing Race was the absolute best experience either of us could have ever had. Ashley randomly sent in an email to a casting director without even telling me, and when she got the call back, she was like... "Babe, sooooo, we are going casting for The Amazing Race, here's what we need to do..." It was funny actually. We were both fans of The Amazing Race before we were cast, but never watched religiously. Now, we haven't missed an episode from all the way back to Season 1. Besides, the million dollars, being able to see the world, different cultures, people and lifestyles was something that money can't buy.

9. Emily R: When's the wedding??!
Matt & Ashley: February 6, 2016!!!

[gamerfan09]

This is late but these two already got married! 

(Via their Instagram, not posting here for privacy reasons)

Congratulations to these stars, them to be the Dating>Newlyweds returnees pls <333333