April 22, 2005
Rupert Boneham Will Not Appear on Amazing Race 8: The Family Edition
Ever since CBS announced plans that the Amazing Race 8 would be a special family edition, rumors have been circulating that former Survivor contestant Rupert Boneham and his family would be a part of the show. The CBS announcement for Amazing Race 8 described the format change as "Teams will be expanded to four members from two, and all teams will be comprised exclusively of family members. Examples of "family edition" teams could be traditional families (mom, dad and two kids), blended families (newly married with step siblings), four sisters, four brothers, multi-generational (grandparents and grandchildren) or engaged couples with in-laws-to-be, etc."
The rumors probably arose over the fact that two recent teams on the Amazing Race have been former reality TV contestants. Alison from Big Brother and her boyfriend Donny appeared on Amazing Race 5, and Rob Mariano and Amber Brkich from Survivor are currently appearing on Amazing Race 7. It would certainly make sense for CBS to recruit a big name reality TV star like Rupert Boneham and his family for the Amazing Race 8.
Reality TV Magazine decided to contact Rupert to see if there was any validity behind the rumors, and Rupert told us, ""NO, we won't be doing the Family race. As much as I enjoy the show, I wouldn't put my 5 year old daughter through that." The rules for Amazing Race 8 do clearly state that "All children participating must be 12 years of age or older," so even if Rupert were to change his mind, it doesn't appear as if his daughter would be old enough to qualify.
So what has Rupert Boneham been up to since Survivor: All-Stars? Rupert says he's been busy getting his charity Rupert's Kids running and doing a few meet/greet appearances in between. "Rupert's Kids is a nonprofit organization committed to changing lives by empowering youth to discover their inner strengths, realize their own self worth and their value to society. Rupert's Kids facilitates this process by providing mentoring and educational programming to youth through the rehabilitation of housing for low-income families." More information on how to support Rupert's Kids can be found online at Rupertskids.org.
Even though Rupert and his family won't be appearing on Amazing Race 8, his family is playing an active part in his life. Rupert tells us, "My Mom is in charge of fan mail and charity requests, my brother has traveled with me to several appearances as my handler/road manager, and my sister-in-law is my Agent and Manager, handling personal appearances, television and movie deals, and other advertising/product endorsement contracts."
Rupert also sent a special message out to his fans, "It's great to get out to meet the fans who were so supportive of me throughout both seasons of Survivor. thanks to everyone who has been coming out to my appearances to say hello, and to everyone for their wonderful letters of support."
http://www.realitytvmagazine.com/blog/2005/04/rupert_boneham_.html
