After spending a summer inside the Big Brother house, some contestants go on to travel the world as cast members on The Amazing Race. On the long-running TAR series, several pairs go on to complete different challenges in many different countries while competing for the show's million-dollar prize. Picking fan-favorite Big Brother contestants and showmances tend to be a consistent pattern in casting The Amazing Race. Both shows are intense, require strong competition skills, and air on CBS, which is why this casting crossover is so popular.
Alison Irwin was the first Big Brother houseguest to also go on to compete on The Amazing Race. During BB4, Alison made it to the final two but ultimately lost the season to Jun Song. Then, Alison went on to compete on The Amazing Race season 5 with her then-boyfriend Donny Patrick, where they finished first during the first part of the race. The couple started strong, but their constant arguing posed a problem and became their downfall and caused them to finish 10th in the race.
Over the years, a few fan-favorite showmances from Big Brother went on to make great teams while racing around the world. Jeff Schroeder and Jordan Lloyd met during Big Brother 11 and then competed on The Amazing Race before returning for Big Brother 13 as a couple. Newlyweds Nicole Franzel and Victor Arroyo also raced during season 31 shortly after their engagement. Even though they were a strong team, they became enemies against Rachel and Elissa, who are also Big Brother alumni. In turn, Rachel also competed with her Big Brother showmance and now-husband Brendan in seasons 20 and 24, where they finished the race in third place both times.
Furthermore, Janelle Pierzina and Britney Haynes are two Big Brother legends that raced together after they met as coaches on BB14. This was their first time being in any competition together. Both BB legends are strong competitors, but they struggled with the directions they were given on The Amazing Race. They were certainly entertaining and likable, making them a fun pair, but they really struggled during their race. Their weaknesses outweighed their strengths in this competition and led them to an eighth-place finish.
Jessica Graf and Cody Nickson are undoubtedly the strongest Big Brother pairing to compete on The Amazing Race. Their showmance made them stronger competitors during BB19, but their strong relationship also made them big targets in the Big Brother house and ultimately caused their downfall. Shortly after their summer in the Big Brother house, Jessica and Cody went on to dominate TAR season 30 and won the $1 million prize at the end. As such, Jessica and Cody are so far the only Big Brother houseguests to win The Amazing Race.
Big Brother houseguests are competitors who know how to fight during challenges. The Amazing Race pushes these skills by adding the obstacles of directions, language barriers, and outside factors to the game. That is perhaps the reason why Big Brother pairings have shown to be impressive and entertaining competitors on The Amazing Race.