Interview: Lesbian Team Takes on “The Amazing Race”

Carol Rosenfeld (47) and Brandy Snow (40) had only been dating for a few weeks when they were offered the opportunity to try out for “The Amazing Race.” Luckily, in lesbian years that means they were practically married, so taking part in a globetrotting competition that would test their ability to work as a team and overcome giant obstacles in a battle against the clock was something that these two women were ready to take on, together. We don’t know how they did on the show (beyond the premiere last night that had them traveling from Los Angeles to Chile and placing 6th of 11 in the first leg) but we did learn from our fun interview with them that they are an adorable couple that we predict will do a great job of representing for the lesbian community on the very large stage that is “The Amazing Race” on CBS. Here, Carol and Brandy fill us in on what it was like to be a part of the Race, how they prepared for it, and what they hope their appearance on it will do for lesbian visibility on TV.

Cherry Grrl (CG): How long had you been together when the race began?

Brandy: Let’s see – let’s do the math… about 8 months [now], so not very long. I mean… we were very newly dating when we started.

Carol: It was a brand new relationship when the opportunity came up in August. We had only been dating a few weeks.

CG: How did you first meet each other?

Carol: We were fixed up – it was a blind date.

Brandy: Total blind date (laughs).

Carol: But we had met two years previously.

Brandy: Yeah we had met in passing at a bar, sort of through a mutual friend, and it was very brief – “hello, hello.” Nothing particularly much beyond that and then -

Carol: Whoa, whoa, whoa – I thought she was cute, but she wouldn’t give me the time of day.

Brandy: (sarcastically) Yeah, right.

Carol: Yeah, true story. But then we were set up by a woman who really didn’t know either of us that well.

Brandy: Yeah I mean I was just talking to her about maybe doing some online dating, because that’s how this girl had met her girlfriend and they were moving in together and this and that, and I was having a hard time meeting people. And she was like, “Oh, don’t do that. I’ve got people I can set you up with – what’s your type?” And I described my type and she then described one person and I was like, “Eh, maybe not.” And then she described another one and that happened to be Carol and I was like, “Sounds like fun – okay.” And that’s how it all happened.

CG: So what then lead you to trying out for the show together?

Carol: The opportunity presented itself and I think it seemed like it was just… if someone offers you a 1 in 11 chance to win a million dollars, it would be one of those things where if you didn’t pursue it you would have a lot of regrets. So I think we went into it sort of very well, let’s just see what happens. We were very easy going about it. It wasn’t like we were going to be so disappointed if we didn’t get picked. It was a little bit of devil-may-care and the next thing was oh, you’re cast.