by Gina Scarpa

It was no secret that Tim and Marie (especially Marie) were an intense team this season on The Amazing Race. That intensity and competitive spirit, thought, brought them all the way to the final leg in Alaska on this week's finale. Despite an impressive run, they reached the finish line after Jason Case and Amy Diaz claimed the million dollar grand prize. We chatted with Tim and Marie in an exclusive interview today about their relationship with one another and the other teams on The Amazing Race.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Did the two you get along better or worse than you expected?
A. Marie: I think it was exactly as we expected. We know we don't get along when it comes to little things but we know each other well. As the season progressed, you saw more of our relationship than just me screaming at Tim. Our relationship, in some weird way, works.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Which of you is the more competitive one? Is it Marie?
A. Tim: It is, yes! Marie is definitely more competitive than I am. I have a competitive streak but Marie has a competitive streak 100% of the time. She only has one gear.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Here and there, it seemed that you would form an alliance and it would quickly crumble. In your minds, what happened?
A. Marie: We didn't really have any strong alliances with any teams. In the beginning, we did align with The Bunnies a little. The only reason that that went downhill was because they kept something from us. That was kind of where that fell apart. It really didn't affect anything. When we got into that next leg, we were back to being friends again.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Marie, how did you build that robot so fast?
A. Marie: I don't know! I'm really not good at building things. When we got there, I was like, "This is it, we're going home." Once it got down to where the pieces needed to go and I saw the girls were struggling, I knew we were going to be able to pick up time. Those pieces were so heavy. I don't know, I can't think of any other girl in race history who would be able to do that on their own.
A. Tim: I was over talking to Jamal because when I realized they had to lift the entire robot up and stand it up, I thought there was no way she's going to be able to do it. I thought Leo and Marie would need to help each other and all of a sudden, I look over and she's doing it.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Going into the last leg, how confident were you feeling?
A. Tim: We both were 100% sure we were gonna win. We had been looking at the way the challenges started going and they became really, really physical. The best case scenario was Jamal and Leo getting knocked out in Tokyo. Now, we're the most physically fit team.
A. Marie: In Alaska, we were hoping the Road Block would say to climb a mountain, run ten miles, carry a tree... when they only real chance came down to a pilot and luck, we were shocked and let down. We never really got the chance that we wanted.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: When you arrived at the finish line in second place, what were you feeling?
A. Marie: We were proud that we made it the whole way, like we said. It was more about the competition than the money. We wanted to be able to say we ran 12 legs, we never got eliminated, and we did the best we could. I think people expected us to be bitter but if there was any team to beat us, it was Jason and Amy. They deserve it and we weren't upset! Only one team can win. It is what it is. I think people expected an epic meltdown from me but it's not how we felt.

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Are the two of you on good terms these days?
A. Marie: When we went home, we didn't speak to each other for probably three months. We needed a time out. Now, we're back to normal and it is how it always is.

(Image courtesy of CBS)

Follow Gina @ginascarpa