Couple Things with Shawn and Andrew - trauma bonding with the special forces cast

Episode Date: October 30, 2025

GUYS!!! The full (nashville) Special Forces cast interview you’ve been waiting for! We’re spilling everything- the wildest behind-the-scenes stories, never-before-told details, emotional moments, and hilarious memories from our time on the show. From what really went down off-camera to the moments that changed us for good. It’s raw, funny, and full of surprises. We hope you're enjoying the season :) Subscribe to our newsletter ▶ https://www.familymade.com/newsletter Follow our podcast Instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/shawnandandrewpods/ Follow My Instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/ShawnJohnson Follow My Tik Tok ▶ https://www.tiktok.com/@shawnjohnson Shop My LTK Page ▶ https://www.shopltk.com/explore/shawnjohnson Like the Facebook page! ▶ https://www.facebook.com/ShawnJohnson Follow Andrew’s Instagram ▶ https://www.instagram.com/AndrewDEast Andrew’s Tik Tok ▶ https://www.tiktok.com/@andrewdeast?lang=en Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

What's up, everybody? Welcome back to a couple things. With Sean and Andrew. Today is probably my favorite interview we have ever done. And I think it was needed amongst all of us. We have six people. We are supposed to have seven. Mark, it's fine. But I'm a little bitter.

We have the entire Nashville crew of people who are on Special Forces season four. That's right. There's 18 total people on the show and seven of them were from Nashville, which is crazy. So we brought everybody in the studio today to kind of just debrief. brief. You can stream it on Hulu, but it's on Fox at 9 p.m. Eastern time. We wanted to give you a little behind the scenes so you knew maybe what the experience was like off camera, and we, I feel like, should do a second one.

We have to. We have to do, I think we're going to do an episode after every real episode that airs. But tons of laughs, and I think a lot of good insight about what the actual experience was like, and I hope you get to know our fellow cast members as well. This was a real fun episode. I loved it. Let's roll into it. you might notice that we don't have mic stands

it's because we have so many people here and also to prevent people from interrupting because classic we're trying to make this organized you ever hosted a podcast with six people no you freaking have you listened to a podcast

no freaking never you never have book book reader oh man all right Okay, so welcome to the much-awaited special forces Nashville cast podcast episode. Minus one. We had an early VW from Mark Estes. Yeah.

From today's on. Santa boy had a dip out. Let's zoom in on. Montana boy couldn't handle the pressure. He's sure. He's Mark. Thirsty. He's thirsty.

Yeah, if we can push in on this at some point, can we frame up on Montana boy, let them know what, Oh, boy. Is there any edit to that photo? I saw you, you started a little thirst trapping too, huh? What? Yeah. Yeah.

And, you know, of course, as I do, I never followed through. I was going to do thirst trap Thursdays, but then Friday rolled out and I was like, oh, fuck. I missed my first Thursday Thursday. You can start. There's always a. Okay, well, there's this Thursday. Yeah.

You look good, though. You do look good. I got a minute. Yep. Method podcast is. Oh, yes. Wow. I love the lighting, too. That's no filter, you guys. That's honestly, that's stunning. That is stunning. There's no way around it. No way around it.

Here's the rules of the show today, okay? If you want to talk, ask for the mic, okay? Make sure that we're generous with passing mics around. This is a lot of people. We're going to try to get as much information conveyed in an organized manner as possible. I've put blood, sweat, and tears into this script. today, okay? Yes,

so, so the goals of today, though, are to show the personalities behind each of us here today, because people are going to see aspects of us on the show that might not meet reality.

Okay, so show a little behind the scenes personality. Ravi, this seems so concerned. I'm so concerned. Yes. Also, I kind of want to capture just the bond that we all experienced.

by doing this. I mean, it was really a short amount of time that we were together. Here's how I want to start, though. I want each of us to go around to introduce ourselves, say your name, a little bit about your background, and then why did you do the show?

Why did you say yes to doing the show? Does that make sense? Eric, you start us. I'm Eric Decker, born and raised in Minnesota, former football player. You know, I've been wanting to do the show since season one, I actually got asked and just was on the road.

Tourans, I had a train. down and then I became a washed up football player and so I needed my wife to get back on the show so thankfully she uh she joined me but I've always wanted to do I think it's just a challenge physically and uh always have appreciated and love the military and so you know after washing the first couple seasons like dang I really missed out this is a really cool opportunity as we find out it's once once and done I think um we enjoyed it for sure Yeah. I'm Jesse James Decker and Eric's wife.

And I was born in Italy and then raised all over because I was a military family. We live in Nashville with our four children. And the reason I did the show was because, well, first, as Eric said, they asked him to do the show. And after that, he wasn't able to do it. We became hooked and we watched all three seasons. So then whenever they came around to ask him again, they said there was a couple's dynamic. And because they really wanted a couple's dynamic,

because there was another couple in the show, we didn't know who it was yet. If we didn't agree to that, we wouldn't be, he couldn't be on the show that season because they really wanted that dynamic. And so I felt like if I was saying no, I was already failing, and I don't love that feeling.

I never wanted to do this show. I admire the show. I come from a military background. both of my dads were in the military. I've been around it, but I didn't want to do it. But I did it anyway, and I'm glad that I did. It was

like the worst experience of my life and the best experience. One of the best experiences of my life. There you go. You crushed it, too. Oh, thanks. Thank you. Yeah, you did. She crushed it. I'm Randall Cobb. I grew up in Tennessee. Why did I want

to do this show? I still don't know. I got a call and was like, hey, what do you think of this? And I was like, oh, interesting. I'll think about it. They were like, well, you got 24 hours to make a decision. And I was like, okay. And I think I watched two episodes and was like, let's do this. And that was all the episodes I watched.

My wife wanted to go through and watched every single one. And I was like, don't, I can't, I can't handle. Like, I was getting stressed immediately just watching the seasons before. So I basically, I think. think now looking back on it, I think that I missed the thrill of playing the game and having that thrill, being able to go through some of the courses that we did, was able to feel that energy that you feel, those butterflies that you feel when you're walking through the tunnel before a game. So it was nice to have that feeling again.

My name is Ravi Patel. I'm an actor and a filmmaker. I'm from Charlotte, North Carolina. I live here in Nashville with my wife and my three children. And I did the show because I, well, I'm on a show on Fox called Animal Control. And I'm kind of always talking to people Fox because I really want to host a show for them. And it was Joel McHale, who's on the show with me, that told me say yes to everything that they offer you and eventually you'll get that chance. So that's the real. And they asked me to do this thing. I watched a little bit of it. I was like, oh my God, that looks so fun and wild. And I, and I, I also just think I have a complex where I'm, like, trying to prove myself at all times physically because I'm a little Indian guy from North Carolina.

I wanted to be a professional football player. Like, that's my dream. But my second dream was to be best friends with football players. And the fact that seven of the 20 people are from Nashville, like, that's crazy. And now we're all super tight. And now, you know, Decker and I are going to go push weight after this podcast. Dream come true. Dream come true.

I'm going to wash you push weight, but yes. You can't sit on him to push weight yesterday, though. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Oh, hold on. So you just want to be best friends with, like, the best-looking type of football players, is that the... Well, hey, man, it's just like the NFL. He's intimidated by the quads. That's what it is.

You love my quads, dude. You got some short shorts on, too. I remember you were. You were talking about short shorts over here. Thank you, Randall. Yeah. Oh, man. Sean Johnson East, married to Andrew, Andrew's wife.

I want to do the show because I'm a washed-up gymnast. Had no idea after three babies if I was even, I don't know, ever since gymnastics, I felt like I just didn't fulfill or finish any commitment that I had. I didn't feel like I needed to. And I was really curious if I was capable of doing that again. So I've wanted to do it since season one. they offered it this year for both of us

and I was like that's really fascinating I said absolutely not at first because I couldn't leave my kids and then came back around and I was like actually it could be really fun I don't know if it was fun but it was cool

what up it's your boy Andrew yeah all right sorry here he goes there he goes All right. Andrew East here, Nashville, Tennessee, former long snapper. That's why you got screened that so much. I did.

I won't even say professional football player because I'm in the, I'm in the presence of greatness here. But I wanted, what did you say? You made it. Thank you. I appreciate that. I was just looking for affirmation. Oh, my God. I wanted to do this show because what a unique opportunity to do something like this with your wife.

So I was pumped about that. And then I also, frankly, thought I would be really. good at this stuff. I was like, you know, growing up, I wanted to be a soldier. I feel like in the college locker room, it's like, I want to be a Navy SEAL. You just like kind of dream about that. And you know it's a bunch of once in a lifetime experiences just by watching the show. You're like, jumping out of helicopters or that one scene where Cam Newton is jumping from the boat to the to the helicopter. You're like, dude, when else do you ever going to do this? So you have like those highlight moments. And then what I didn't factor in, though, was all of the, all of the sucky

moments, dude. Low lights. A lot of low lights. The low lights. The hourly low lights. I'm curious, I guess my next question would be, what were your expectations going into the show? I feel like a lot of us knew some people who had previously been on the show.

So what were the expectations going in? And also, how long did you have to prepare? Because I feel like that was all over the board as well. I had two and a half weeks after I got that call instead of had 24 hours. What? Yeah, it was two and a half. half a week and I hadn't been working out like I was messing around but I hadn't like consistently been working out so after I got the call went straight to the gym and was like let's see if I can

run a mile I got about halfway through it was like okay I'm gonna walk for a little bit and then I'm gonna finish this mile but it was crazy I mean just to have that little amount of time to physically try to prepare yourself and get ready for like what you didn't know and I knew it would be demanding but I didn't know like to what level and like you said I didn't factor in the low lights right right

the psychological part the mental part which was interesting I always like when people ask about it I'm like well you know I think the biggest thing was like not knowing

what was to come right you you you thought you had an idea in your head or what you were getting ready to do and then you get smacked in the face and you're just like trying to figure it out

and then like when it's over you're like what did I I just do. And how did I get through this? I think that's an important thing for the listeners to know, which was a big shock to me, was that you'd think this is going to be like a TV show.

So you're thinking there's going to be like, I don't know, like rest and like snacks. You're thinking there's, like, I'm used to snacks. Like, we got snacks all the time on my show. We got snacks after you left, but we'll get to that. But like, this show is actually just as difficult

off camera, if not more, than it is on camera. You're like always doing the show. And I thought that was bizarre. And it is that like you never know what's going to do. Like you're sleeping. It reminded me of when I first had kids, like my first baby. The first two or three weeks, you're sleeping, but you're also awake because you're like so scared of something happening to the baby.

And you're at that level of alertness because you never know when they're going to wake up and be like, get up, you idiots. Robbie and I got an argument in the car. I still remember this. Because you were, you were vending, you were on one. Because you're like, this show doesn't know how to be a show. Like, when are we going to get a break? Why do they keep yelling at me? Where are my snacks?

Like, this is just stupid. And I finally looked at him and I was like, shut up. That's literally the military. Do you think they get a break? And he was like, well, no. Where are my snacks? Y'all can't find the snacks too. Because I remember we would be in the car from one location back to.

We rode together a lot. We can smash. And I'd be like, what do you mean? And we would see all these people having like these bars and I'd be like, where did you get that from? It's because people were asking the producer up front. They had them for snacks. But they weren't allowed to give them to you unless you asked for them. There was a game within the game where you had to one ask, take the initiative to ask them.

But then you also had to like guess what they had in front. So it's like, hey, do you have any fruit? And they'd be like, no. But they might have sub sandwiches up there. And if you didn't say this specific. Don't call that a sandwich, either. Yeah, that's right. That was bread and lettuce.

It was garbage. You guys were getting... What? So I figured out all of the menu of things they might have, and I would just literally ripped through. I was like, hey, do you have any of this? Do you have any of that? And there was no verbal response.

It would just be like, once you found the right thing to ask, they had to ask back. Yeah, they weren't allowed to speak to you at all. I mean, don't you remember in the car ride? Randall had a pee. Really, really badly. It was Randall and it was Nick, Swaggy pee. and he had to pee so bad and we're like

and Nick is like tapping and being like he's got to go he's got to go no one's listening he's got to go so bad he's literally about to burst he's gonna be

his kidneys are going to be destroyed he's like it's on that level and Nick's yelling at him to like let him out he's this man's got to go he's very upset and finally I'm like just go man just go

and I give him a bottle I filled up a bottle and then I tried to give it then you filled up another bottle Yes, and then I filled up another bottle. So it was two bottles worth. And, like, I was, I can't remember.

Was I trying to pour it out the window or something? No. They thought that I was, like, trying to give him my team. But we were messing with the producer, and I'm going, I'm like, he's going on the floor. He's going on the floor, and you're going, oh. And I'm like, well, I'm like, you're splattering. It's going everywhere. I'm like, just, I'm sorry, you guys.

It's splattering. The guy up front's like, I mean, it was hilarious. One of the best moments. They're always making you fill up your water, and they were scaring us, constantly that we were going to dehydrate. So you're always drinking, that was another thing about the water, is you're always trying to drink so much water, but that means

you're always needing to piss. Yeah. We were like in the foothills of the mountains, so everywhere we went was like an hour drive at least. Maybe. Sometimes it was five minutes. It ended up being across the street, but it was like, yeah, an hour to two hours, do the thing.

I mean, so you're disoriented in the mountains too. So like you're drinking so much water, you're holding it, and then boom. right into a hike or a, you know, jumping from a... I was stuck in the back seat with Rovey. Like, so the cars we had, the very back seat was tiny. And we were stuck in, like, one of those hour-long drives. And he has to pee.

And so he keeps asking for bottles. And he's, like, stripping down in the back seat. And I was like... And he looks at me, he's like, do you mind? And I was like, well, yeah, I do. And I'm like, I'll just turn away. And he's... You're literally taking your pants off trying to pee.

And I was like, what the? Okay, so on that note, I feel like, for one, it's so well said between you guys about the constant alertness and never knowing what to expect. I feel like that was the agony of it all where it's like, all right, it's one o'clock in the morning, surely we're done with the day. But then next thing you know, they burst in the door and it's like, oh, do you just hear that? And you've got two or three minutes. Yes, that's it. And you have to have the whole protocol of this uniform tucked in with a nice belt and everything. Otherwise you're going to be doing extra workouts.

And then there was periods of waiting where it's like you're on a drive You don't know how long They never tell you where you're going They never tell you how long the trip is And so you end up somewhere And maybe you sit there for a half hour Maybe you sit there for longer

But then all of a sudden you got someone banging on your window And like you go from you're physically like cold You're not warmed up or prepared at all To like now you're doing this intense Crazy exercise And it just comes out of nowhere So like there's this constant stress That you're experiencing of not

Like you're always on edge anticipating is something coming when what is it what do I need to be prepared for? It's crazy I never slept like at all I like didn't know how to sleep. I never slept even they told me as soon as you know as As soon as the whole show was over. They're like you didn't sleep. We didn't know how you were functioning because I was afraid they were going to wake us up and I don't do well when that happens like I don't nap. I cannot go to sleep and then be woken up like I have a whole process so I felt I felt like everyone would always be sleeping. You guys were pros. You would look over at Sean and Andrew and they've got their duffel bags

and they're like, and they're just like this like they're prepared. Straight to recovery mode. Prepared for war. And Eric and I, I mean, Eric's rolling out on Nick's phone roller. And I'm just sitting there like, like I'm on drugs, like waiting for the next thing to happen. I took melatonin. I got my sleep mask on.

You were mapping constantly. Yeah, I was always worried. I mean, you guys were absolutely, like, the model, like, competitors. It was like, I told me, I told me Haley when we got home, I was like, Sean is like the Kobe Bryant. I get it. Like, I get why she's achieved what she's achieved. Like, those two are such psychopaths the way that they, and also you, you weren't nice.

You were, when you're like the sweetest person, the sweetest. Like, I, like, I was like, oh my God, she's the sweetest, nicest, kindest person. And then the show starts, and she turns in to exactly what you read about the greats, you know, like, where she doesn't, she is, like, on another level and she is never not dialed in, like, ready to go. And I wasn't surprised at all that you guys just killed it. Yeah. Oh, man. I want to set the scene a little bit of the context, because you mentioned, like, the sub sandwich was not a sub sandwich. Kind of the stuff that might not be picked up as much on camera as you think. So, like, I'm talking the bathroom situation. The body system. The plywood. Yeah. The food situation, the transportation, and kind of the vibe of interacting with anybody else.

So just the little details, let's talk about if we're game for it. Well, the first day starts out with all the rules. So, like, you're given all the rules of how you can operate within our little, like, living situation. Living situation. Like, you can't go anywhere alone.

You have to have a buddy, no matter what. Middle of the night, you have to pee. You have to wake someone up, which Jesse was always awake. Thank you. You had to have a mic on at all times because a lot of it was shot by security cameras rather than like production cameras. The bathroom situation, you couldn't go to the bathroom without someone else there.

It's always great. I would say also just the living facility that we were in as well, right? You mean the tent? The tent? With the dirt. With the dirt floor. And then the dirt. And then we had Stuart Little running around the corners.

And we had a little wooden box. A little wooden box were our belongings. Your belongings are kept. You're alive to bring a few things in. No, first of all, Russ. What do you mean? You had everything. Okay.

You were more than anybody. We were going to live. You and Eva. I tend to be a little bit of a scam artist. I really reverted. I was on a podcast yesterday with Brianna and I was actually had this realization. I'm like, oh, that's what I was like when I was a kid growing up in school. Like, I lied and scanned my way to get more things into my box.

I was like, oh, I have migraids, I need Advil. Because I heard that you're always in pains. I gave everyone here Advil. You were the drug dealer. I brought a 50 pack of earplugs because I'm like, if I snore everyone's going to hate me. Yeah. Oh, he had, he had. I think he had other luck.

Yeah, he had like, far. Yeah, he gave us something that was expired. This guy. I was like, I'm not taking this is three years old. Who has expired drugs? Cody. He had, it might have been like, it might have been a high drug. Packer or something.

It was caffeine. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Cody was like on something the whole time. Dude, but his performance output was insane. This guy is 60-something. Yes. He was running like a deer, bro.

He passed me a couple of times on a couple different exercises and I like I remember we had a conversation. Yeah, that really was a shot. And we would go to eat every meal and he'd be like I can't eat any of this. It has pepper on it. It has pepper on it. And I'm like, you haven't eaten a single thing

in four days. The food. Let's go to the food. Let's talk about the food. Let's talk about the food. The lack of. Breakfast. Yeah.

That was the best meal. Dry bread. Dry bread. Dry bread. What was the? Chia seed pudding. Cheosy pudding. Cheosy pudding.

This is not every day either. This is like powdered. Old bruised fruit. Old bruised. The worst fruit, dude. Mystery meat. Man, that chicken, I still think about it sometimes. Remember those chicken links?

The chicken links? You found a picture that you sat out. Apparently it's German. No, dude. Yeah, it was a little swasages or sure? Swasages? There was a few good meals done. I remember we had like a medley, vegetable medley with potatoes.

Like it was, that was a win. Or the pasta. The pasta was really good. It's probably terrible, but it was just so good that. It felt real good at the moment. And then whoever got in trouble, yeah. Or you lost or whatever. So you had to have MREs.

Yes. But it was actually better than the food we got. So MREs, the little packaged foods. Yeah. I lost 17 pounds in my time there. Game muscle. just like you do pretty fast because we're small

but I came back starving but we got on the scale and I was like I gained three pounds on this there was no freaking way it had to have a muscle like you were we were rucking all day

every day constantly we were lifting all there was no recovery I was so swollen it took me in weeks to get the swelling down I couldn't fit my rings on also I think one of the hardest

aspects of the show that was made it harder for the girls and the guys is everyone had the same weight true so like we had to to carry the same exact weight as our six foot four men literally

the entire time and when we were in freaking planks and you guys would drop I wanted to punch you in the throat because I was like your wife is half your size I did not I didn't drop either but I was cussing you out of my right you guys were like come on come on talking to yourself

well now you're add another hundred pounds on the plank yeah that's true we got the body weight dude yeah it's you know advantage going uphill not when you're Fighting gravity. Oh, man. Yeah, but, you know, the big guys got hit hard when we had to do that tunnel thing.

That was pretty rough. It was easier on the small people than it was. I mean, those tunnels were, all of you got stuck, right? That was the worst. Yeah, that was miserable. You're, I still understand how you enjoyed the tunnel. You're, yeah. I feel like I liked the things that everyone hated, and it makes me wonder, like, about myself or why.

But, like, as soon as we were done doing these mud tunnels, they were, like, these underground tunnels that are so small. Like, two feet wide. You don't know where you're going. I mean, if you're claustrophobic, this is your nightmare. I'm not claustrophobic. So as soon as we came out and we made it to the end, I have this rush of like, yeah, we didn't. I'm wanting to high five everyone, feeling good. And I'm looking around and all the men are kneeled down, throwing up and crying.

They're throwing up and crying. And I'm like, what did I miss here? Yeah, same. I had the same experience. I was like, how fun was that? Everyone's like, everyone's like tears. People are crying. I'm telling you, Mark, I rode with Mark on the way home.

Buddy is throwing up out the window and patting his back one, get it out. I'm like, what happened? You see the preview, though? Sean's like smile. They got to show a clip of you smile. She's like, hey. She's like, hey. This is smoking for.

Oh, my gosh. Those tunnels. Did you guys come back and just full of bruises and like scabs that you didn't know about? Oh, I took pictures and videos of everything. I'm going to show it. We may not be allowed to show how beat up we are, but I was covered. Yeah. Yeah, I didn't realize to, like, two days later, and I'm looking there, I'm like, oh, shit.

I busted my nose within the first six hours. I had cuts on my face the whole season. That's right. Because of him. He ran me over. We saw that from the other, from the other mountain. We're like, who were those people? Oh, my God.

Let's let the people judge who's at all. You think what I did the Brianna was bad, dude? How about you and your wife? Golly. I'm running down a hill. Why are you all running so fast? No. He was going to keep on her.

Dude, yeah, you guys are moving. It looked like a 60s silent comedy, like Curly Moe, like just like, and realizing that we're like five, ten feet from going over. Yes. Hugh literally messaged me yesterday about that because we just posted a video on Instagram of doing the bad boys run where I'm running and he's trying to catch me. And he wrote back and was like, he responded to being like, how about you guys almost falling off the cliff doing that run?

Yeah. I was like, yeah. I mean, that could have been bad. Well, the show is shockingly dangerous. Again, not the television that I was expecting. I could have died. I could have fallen off to clip and die. Oh, I could just slip and die right here.

I could slip and die right here. Like, yeah. One wrong step. Also, the training they give you. So we go on a helicopter. And like I feel like there's usually a lot of protocol of like, hey, make sure you've been down or do this or hang on to this thing here. And they like walk you through the whole thing.

None of that. They're just like game on. You're running in there. And it's like, okay. I guess we're going to figure it out on the fly. What about when we were standing there and the helicopter was landing and we had to just look on as we saw the cloud

of dust coming right at us and you couldn't move your face you had to stay in formation That's so true Was that when you showed flagging your tent? Oh my god I think they're going to blur this out

I literally You think they will They're going to show you They'll wear it, but... I don't wear a bra. I'm not wearing one today. I don't ever wear a bra. What happened? Tell a story. I hate bras. They dig into my body. I literally told you. I was like, I watched the season and they make you strip.

And I was like, make sure you wear something. I don't know. She comes out of braw. I did. I like... I'll tell that story because it's so funny. All right. We're literally had just like bathed in the mud. It's day one. Day one. We just started. Because we're in our civilian clothing.

We're in our civilian clothing. You're wearing what you would wear. And I'm wearing a bodysuit, a ribbed body suit. So you don't really need a bra with that. It's very supportive. It's from my clothing line. It's really the fabric's great. And everything's lifted.

And I'm wearing these little jogger pants. And so obviously you go in full force. We were in the mud. We're doing like a beasting already. And then they make us stand up and they look at everyone. And they're like, all right, strip down and put on. your clothing. Yeah.

Like our uniforms. And in that moment I'm like, oh shit. I don't have a bra on and they're yelling because I'm taking my time. And because everyone's already stripped and I haven't stripped yet, they make us get down and start doing push-ups

because it was my fault. But it's not because I'm not doing it. It's because I don't know what to do. So we get down. I'm like, fuck, okay. We're sitting there. And then we get back up and he's like, strip!

And I'm like, shit. Okay, so I just take everything and I turn it, but I turn around so that, you know, the DS doesn't get a preview. Yeah. I turn around and I do this number and I look in front of me and Nick is like this. He's got, and he still claims he doesn't remember seeing him, but he made eye contact. He made eye and he's like this. And he's waving down and I'm like holding my massive boobs trying to figure out how to

Get on the sports. I mean, it was a disaster. That's wild. But what was I to do? Oh, my gosh. What a product time? Oh, my God. I mean, I don't think people knew.

I don't think people knew because Eva, I mean, she had on all of her jewelry, her Rolex watch. She had an arm. Yes. Yes. She got in a massive argument about her Rolex. And I was like, why did you wear it? Yes. And she's like, I need to know where it went.

Who's got it? And the DS was like not having it. Not at all. And who was it, Billy? Billy was like cussing her out. He's like, why would you wear this? For me, it was like a crazy series of events of, first of all, it was very TV-esque in how they got us to Morocco. You know what I'm saying?

Like first class, the whole like concierge is walking to their plane. You're sitting there eating like fine dining with wine parings on the plane. I'm like, this is the coolest thing ever. They put you up in a nice hotel there. I was getting two massages a day. Yeah, you did, dude. You had a time on production. I was just putting it on production.

You went to a sauna? No. Where? He threw a little hissy fit when you texted us. You threw a hissy fit. He might be in Pima don't know. Because they texted him, all of us, and they're like, the show starts tomorrow morning or whatever, make sure you're ready. And he texts us.

He's like, what is this? I had a massage scheduled. I had a private lesson scheduled. They can't do this to me. I'm like, do you know what you signed up for? What kind of private lesson you do? Let the man speak. Guys, you guys.

You guys are from Hollywood, so you won't understand it. But there's a certain level. You have a boxing level. Well, because I had done my pre-interview with the production about like, what are you expecting, blah, blah, blah. And I had only seen like one or two episodes of the show. And they go, how's your boxing? And I was like, it doesn't, like, I've never hit anyone. And I go, is there boxing in this show?

They go, yeah, every season. I was like, oh, because I was like, I didn't want my first swing to be on, like, I wanted to win if I was going to box someone. So then I found like a Moroccan boxing gym And I went and took like the guy didn't speak English But I just I boxed for like 45 minutes And I was ready to beat the crap out of someone Until you know my boxing opportunity came up And I got completely

You were pretty upset about that I was Why were you upset? All right I'll tell you what You're standing in that circle This is a hand-to-hand combat We got our boxing gloves on We got that little head gear on and it is intense

watching people like it is savage and people are getting hurt and like feelings are hurt and bones it looks like things are being lost right and you're my heart

like you're standing in the circle because you know you're about to go in I'm like oh this like gladiator shit you know like that's what it felt like and I was like I can feel my heart and I'm like okay I'm either gonna buckle or I'm gonna

so I'm like I'm like I'm like No, you got to, like, the actor in me was like, I'm going to turn this into. It is just crazy, man. It was crazy. Jesse. And so, and so. So, so I'm like, I'm like, I got to, I'm like, I'm like, Rovey, you got to get it together.

So I'm like, watching people get the pummeled. So I'm like, I'm going to use this. So I start funneling it into, I start funneling it into. Do you work? It's going on. This is amazing. So I start, I start funnily. What is what is going on?

Tell us the emotion. Tell us the emotion. Yeah. Dude, I was like, I'm going to use this to win. I'm not going to use this to be scared. I'm going to use this to be dialed in. So I'm like intently watching the fights, trying to pick up moves and like putting together. Like I was literally scripting what I was going to do.

And I was like, I'm going to sit there. I'm going to wait for him to wait. I'm just going to sit there silently when he makes the first move. I'm gonna, like, I had the whole thing and I was like, and then I'm just gonna kill him. And I had the whole plan. And I'm like, and I guess I looked like a psychopath because I was like

breathing really hard and like my eyes. I was like, I was ready to just, I was like, I'm gonna kill this motherfucker. And then the way I described it is like, it's like, imagine if you were a virgin, which I was for a very long time, an exceptionally long time. And you're told,

hey, you're getting ready to have sex. It's going to be crazy. It's got, get, get ready, because this is going to be unbelievable. And I hope you're ready. Save up all your energy. And so, it's like, yeah, I'm about, I'm about, I'm about, and then he's like, you know, we're like standing in front of each other, right?

And I'm like, I'm going to, I'm going to, right? And then he's like, all right. And then he goes, and then he goes, and one last thing. No hitting in the face. And I'm like, wait, what? Everything is out of the window. And I'm like, uh, uh, uh, so then I just start hitting him in the stomach and we're hitting each other in the stomach the whole time

I was so upset and confused you came back and you were like a little puppy dog looking up and you were like what was that that was total crap freaking trashed oh my god I was so upset and Jesse was like good job man come on

and they called a draw which I still weren't you the one though where was it Billy who was like oh they said it was a tie yeah it was a draw you were the one so worked up that he was like, bro, you got to calm him down. Yeah, he was.

Like, your eyes were bugging out of your head. I was ready to kill him. I was ready to kill him. Oh, man. Just knowing you now, like, it's everything's so true. It is. The preparation. Yes.

You're like, you're the most competitive people, I think, I've met. But just like, you also love the preparation, but you are at prima don't. It's hilarious. These are all accurate things. My wife's are on this side, just laughing. He's like, oh, these guys really know him. In the circle. And like, the intensity, like, was dialed in after that first spot.

Like, okay. Oh, this is really. You were like, like, like a dog just like moving from the bottom. Who is this guy? Because you're like the comedian, but then in the ring you're. With that switch. Dude, you were someone else. No, I mean, I think so much of those is just how scary.

I mean, being that close to people beating the crap out of each other is crazy. Yeah. Yeah. I mean, whenever we went through that little building to get to the location, too, and then when you saw the sand and you saw the opening and the balconies, it really did feel like, go ahead of here. I knew it was coming. I had seen the show so many times.

I felt like Jamanji, where it's like, you know the game. And I was like, this is what's coming next. Like, I just could feel everything coming, and I knew we were going to fight. And that was one I was anticipating so hard. I thought you and I were going to fight each other. We were going to fight. And they didn't tell me that I wasn't going to fight. I was more scared to fight you than anything on the entire show.

Yeah, right. I got my face beat in, though. It was you and Christy? Brianna. It was Brianna. But we were going to fight. And they didn't tell me that I wasn't going to be allowed to fight. They never said this to me.

So I'm standing there, kind of how he is, like, getting hotter and hotter and more red, and I'm, like, ready to go. I've been in fights. Like, I know what's coming, and I was ready. And I was prepared and I was gearing up and I'm gritting my teeth and my jaws clenching. Like, I was ready to go. And then it was like, want, want. whenever they had Sean fight Brie. And I was like, wait.

Which didn't make any sense. This isn't making sense. Also, why didn't they make me fight Gia? I don't know. And so, because I don't know. So then by the time it was just me and Eva, and I was like, I guess me and Eva are about to go. All right, let's do this.

No. Then Billy comes over and says, you two are medically not able to fight. And I look and I start to just get heated. I'm so angry about this. He says, I'm down tiny timper. I'm livid.

It's because I had carpal tunnel surgery. Maybe eight weeks before, but here's my problem with that. You did everything. Why was I allowed to do everything else? You allowed me to do everything else carrying shit that's like 100 pounds upclips,

but I can't impact my wrist this way. It made no sense to me. But I was so angry, I was shaking. So this is a good example. of how you get to know people so intensely is you and I it was that was a short drive to that boxing match is like right across the street and we had 20 minutes in the car leading up to it as they were setting everything up to like you and I were in the backseat and like just the intensity of emotions that you were sharing because you were really not wanting to do the fight because I knew

I was about to fight one of my girlfriends yeah and that is not fun and I'm upset I'm worried I'm concerned. I don't know how this is going to go down. Having to fight someone that is a friend of mine was like, that's something that they're pushing you to do. That's part of the challenge. I did not want to do it. But you were ready to quit. And it's like, so then there's this dynamic of like.

We like got matched up and you would have to quit. I would be like, no. No, I would have never quit. But there's just dynamic of like you're in an extremely vulnerable situation because it's uncomfortable for you. And then, like, here we are, like, comforting each other of, like, oh, freak, what's happening? And it's, it's constant moments like that where it's like, oh, my gosh, I'm terrified of heights. And you knew you were going to fight Eric. You knew.

We knew that they were going to do that because the heights match up perfectly. And it's like, we're about to have to fight our friends. Not me and Bree. We're about to fight our friends. Like, it was just that, to me, was the bummer of it, of knowing, like, that's a different part of the psychological game of, let's take good. away the fact that you're about to have to physically punch someone in the face on top of that now you're going to throw in we're going to throw in that you guys are buddies let's do that well i told andrew this like my life flash before my eyes if you were watching that whole setup so

i was last to go and foxy was up top and he was like calling the numbers to like match up and i was doing like you know math of it's you and i or whatever and i look up and foxie says 10 to billy me and then he called Christy's number and I was like I'm going to die I'm going to die and that's when Billy was like nah and so they called Bree and I was like this isn't fair

this isn't fair and when they didn't call my name I was like I was so confused yeah that's still one of the things I bring up over and over again to Eric I'm like one of my biggest regrets to show is they didn't let me fight

I'm still mad about it so so we have the contract of like this whole experience of they drive you to the plane which i didn't know that service existed do this whole fancy fancy setup with the first class flight uh sorry no you're good and then you get off the plane in morocco and it's 115 degrees dust everywhere right now that the ladies do you want to it's like hot the tent that we're staying in dirt floor which is not good under any circumstances you're doing all these exercises outside in the dust helicopters blowing dust in

your throat constant discomfort there i mean there's multiple people who had to leave because of the dust situation but i'm curious what was a moment that made it real for you all during the show or maybe a different way to say it is what was like the low point of you of your experience there where it's like oh my gosh i don't know if i'm going to make it or this is awful huge regrets of doing this, whatever that moment was for you. I felt that every day. Every day I'm like, why am I still here? This is a choice. I'm making a decision to stay here.

I would say probably after the tunnels. For me, it was after the tunnels that night. I had panic attacks. I woke up in the middle of the night. I'm looking around going crazy. That was the first time I'd seen you really down. I remember you telling me, you're like, I don't know if I can do. This is not worth it, is what you were saying. I kept coming back to that, like, why, why, why am I still here?

Why am I still doing that? That was probably the low. It's worth noting, too. So you get paid to be on the show. Yes. But there's no incentive for making it past the very first minute of the show. Yeah, because you get paid if you quit after one minute. Same amount.

There's no prize at the end. There's no trophy. My low point was the night before we started, and I'm doing my last text with my wife. And we had to move homes while I was. in Morocco and moving day was the night before we started and she texted me she's like the movers didn't show up so me I called the handyman

and showed up with his wife and we just started moving stuff and on top of that we have two little babies under 14 months and she's like one of them has a fever and I was like oh baby that sucks I gotta go I'll talk to you in a week or two okay I love you like so that was like already kind of a low point because I felt really

guilty about being away and playing G.I. Joe while this was happening The other low point, honestly, I enjoyed, I was weirdly high spirits the entire time. I just kept thinking this is amazing because I didn't get to play professional football. What was amazing? Say more about that. Like, what did you enjoy about it? It was such a rush, the whole thing.

I thought it was so cool. And I don't know. I sound like, look, the reason why those guys hated me is because I was like kind of happy and confident or overconfident the entire time. but that's because I actually was extremely confident. And a smart ass. I didn't, yeah, and a smart ass about it.

I was not shaken at once. The only moment I'd say that was like a little concerning was after we did those tunnels. And, you know, afterwards, all of us had so much dirt in us and everyone's coughing, right? And I coughed like 10 times.

And on the 10th cough, a dry dirt came out of my, like a like a, like a puff, like a purple dust. And I was like, that doesn't, how did that?

How was that? in me like that seems like something's like am i going to die it was funny because i would say 16 of the 18 of us was there 18 or 18 18 like snapped into into roll it was hey this thing is starting we're we're gonna be hands by our side looking straightforward quiet listening but you and nick had this uh i guess moxie about you that i think did help in removing yourself from the discomfort and pain of it like the agony of it but ultimately maybe wasn't the most helpful for you both in the end. You know what I'm saying?

Like, because I feel like you really have to buy in. Otherwise, it comes off as disrespectfully. It was free entertainment for us, though. Yes, yes, it was. I was going to say. Like, we felt it when you guys left because it was y'all were the entertainment. But I think that what's interesting is everyone

on this show has their personality outside of it. They have their thing, their platform, who they are. But I feel like we became different characters. If you were to paint it as a movie, everyone became a unique character I feel like on the show like a different character of themselves

that like maybe you wouldn't have seen or felt if you hadn't done something like this yeah like obviously Sean is an incredible competitor and like has won at the highest level you could ever win anything but

she is a total sweetheart girl's girl but as soon as she was there she was fierce eye on the prize like nothing was going to and that that was your character like that was who you are I just feel like everyone had their part you know that was one of my favorite things that was like a lot of us didn't know each other

and didn't even know who each other were and it stripped you down so much that there was no contextual clues of like you are in reality TV or you're a singer or whatever and you got to like know people for who they were foundationally instead of for like what the world's

said and then you found out a lot of things when we got home like oh maybe I should go look this person up yeah it's like oh gosh I had no clue but it actually is really cool because you got to know each other on like a different level for those listening there was no phones no contact with the outside world you're just in a tent together or in a car together and you're just with each other present fully for a long period of time which is a really cool way to get to know somebody and you don't know who's on the show until the show starts so like we weren't doing press together we didn't find out days before I mean a couple of us did because

we were on the plane but otherwise everyone else we found out when we got into the barracks yeah was back to ramos point about like why he did this and the the rush that you you know kind of miss from football but it's also the camaraderie like the locker room i think is the biggest thing as an athlete you miss and like like you said to be in those tight quarters and to spend 18 hours a day really with each other it's like you really to know someone and you're going through something And just like sports, you know, like hardships and tough times and, you know, adversity. It's like you pull together. It doesn't matter where you come from, who you are.

And you get to really see people, you know, in a different light, which is so cool. That was my favorite part of it was the camaraderie. I mean, after 24 hours, it felt like we had been together for months. All of us were very close. Very fast. Crazy fast. Like, and it felt like. Elbows and butts.

Yeah. Yeah, I was giving him massages, like real intimate massages. which I hope were helpful. I helped out. I tried to do my best work. But I knew, like, when I, I knew a day in, I was like, oh, I want to be, like, best friends with these people forever. Yeah.

It's trauma bonding. It is. You know? Well, I was going to say, even, there were some dynamics where, like, people weren't always, like, fully getting along, but there was, like, trust, and you would get to a challenge, and you'd literally afraid you were going to die, and you'd have to, like, lean on each other, and you, like, had this bond where I might not, we might not be best friends outside the show, but, like, I trust you with my

life. I had that moment with this guy. I don't know if you felt the moment, but I did. When we had to do a bee sting, it's like, listen, I've known Randall and Ida now. The beasting is what they call it. Yeah, yeah. Explain. Oh, sorry. I'm like, you don't know. You're in there. It's ultimately, like,

you're roughened it punishment where they just put you through these intense, terrible workouts. It'd be at, like, 1.30 in the night. Where you're dunking yourself in water and having to, like, climb monkey bars, and you're, you know, army climbing through gravel through the gravel and you're slicing up but it was this moment where ran all and repaired together quite a bit and like listen i've known them for a while now but never in

my life of meeting them for the first time at the pediatrician's office eric had already known randall from football but i didn't get to meet them until later on in like life never did i think meeting this beautiful couple at the pediatrician's office would i be army crawling next to this guy using our elbows getting sliced up through the gravel and I looked over at him at one point in the middle of us her screaming and I'm like

our eyes connected and I was like okay okay we got this we're doing this we are doing this and it was like that look of reassurance of like let's just keep going

because like we're there and we got this but it was just moments that you would never like think whatever happened to you until they're there like you are connecting you're bonding in ways

like you've got to be there for each other that's the team aspect right that's that's Exactly what you talk about that's missed is those moments because you don't get to experience that in everyday life, right? You all did that in football. And when I told me, and I never got to do that. I was never on teams growing up.

I was singing on shows and stuff. I was never part of group sports in that way. So in that moment, I got to feel what you guys got to feel of like you're in this together. It was the coolest feeling. And I'm like, no wonder you loved this so much. You got to make those that eye contact with guys on the field of like, we're, about to go do this and we're in this together like that has to be the greatest feeling it was it was so fun in that regard I mean that was probably I think what got me through the whole thing was always

trying to find someone else to help or to focus support system during each thing and it like it didn't give me time to think about anyone else like I like the tunnel one brianna we were all we were like Randall and brianna but I was right behind brianna crawling and she was freaking out from like the first three seconds. So I didn't really, like, I spent the whole tunnel just trying to get heard through it. So it's like, that's a gift to me because I didn't get the opportunity. And that was definitely a hack for me and getting through everything, was finding someone to help. Yeah. Yeah. That's just great, though, about, like, getting sports and military and just like, if everyone could experience something like this, the selfishness, that you really, because

you're thinking about someone else. And, like, I feel like in our society, I'm just saying it's a good lesson to learn is that like you know we have to have together but yeah pull those before yourself and that's you know what when I talked up my my daughter has one of the things that I try to teach her is like hey when you have these negative feelings like obviously it's good to have and to live in them whenever you want to but if you want to get rid of them the best thing to do is to find someone else to focus on the to focus on giving or helping them with their feelings and it it it kind displaces, you know, thinking about yourself. What was your low point, Eric?

Probably the production day prior to starting. Because you get first-class tickets, like you said, the meals, nice hotels, and boom, 45-minute drive to this, like, shed in the middle of nowhere, it's hot, and the power keeps going in and out, and doing the couple interview, we were there for, like, 10 hours. Yeah. Like, and I wasn't given them what they wanted, so I sat in that chair by myself. for like five hours and it was just like I was like what do we do like I don't want to do this for I'm about to go and you know beat myself up and I'm already like kind of trying to lock

into the experience yeah but no I think that was kind of a kicker at the start was like this is like man this is a TV show this is part of it I guess yeah yeah I would say that that's the low light in a sense other than that like yeah there was some grind days but when you kind of sit in your barrack on your little cot and you look across and everyone's kind of like exhausted and you can just see that they're wearing it. It's like we're doing this together. This is pretty cool. Connected. Yeah. And just to paint the scene a little more like you're laying in this tent that's maybe 40 feet by 20 feet. All the cots are laid out and they're maybe spaced three feet between each other. You have a foot locker that you have to have organized and they walk you to this whole

rigamarole of how it needs to be set up. And you're like you're living with each other and close quarters and so no crutch yeah there's no crutch you just you end up having conversation and you getting to know each other on such a intimate deep level yeah and I think that just grows that bond being able to you know there there's so many conversations that I've had with all of you all that like I'm bonded by right that we just have a different connection now than before what was your love point Jesse I would say the very first night that we were laying there and it's like three in the morning and everyone's asleep and I I'm just laying there in my thoughts.

That probably was the lowest I felt of like, what did I just get myself into? I have four kids at home. I have never left the baby this long. Why am I doing this? Like, why? What am I? I don't, I have nothing.

I need to prove to anybody. I, like, my respect and love for a military is already the highest. It can be that this isn't me learning any, any gratitude further regarding it. Like, my gratitude is high. Like, I don't know why I'm doing this. and I was just feeling this anxiety at three in the morning, you know, over and over again. That's the lowest I think I felt truly. And then I felt like I just kept saying, just get through another day.

Just get through another day because I want to be here. I want to be here with Eric. And as long as Eric stays, as long as I'm going to stay. And the minute he goes, I'm going. Yeah. That was my thought process. So as long as he can handle it is how long I'm going to handle it. Yeah.

You know? There was a video that I saw right before we started. It was a Navy Seals guy that he was talking about just getting to the next meal. And that was one thing I think I kept. I don't know if y'all ever listened or heard me say that, but I was like, let's just get to breakfast. Let's just get to lunch. Let's just get to dinner. And it just like, instead of looking at the big picture of it, it was like, let's day by day,

let's focus in on whatever this little task that we're getting ready to do, they have to feed us at some point. So just like, let's just get to that next meal. And as long as we keep that mindset and keep everything one step at a time we'll be able to get through it. Dude, the days felt so long, though. Yes. Because the challenges for the most part

did not last that long, but the time warp that happened that made like the carrying through the village, that body, that felt like it was months. It took forever to get through that thing. And then we're like... That was probably the hardest one, I think. I don't, dude, I think my...

You should tell people we have to carry... I will never... That's one of the funniest moments. we should tell the listeners what we're talking there was a this the exercise was we're in this you know there were real villages where we were in Morocco um kind of you know poor rural villages and there was one that they had emptied out and we're at like one side of it and they said somewhere in there is uh you know casualty a casualty that you need to find and you need to rescue him bring him to the to this other pickup point And you have a walkie-talkie, all this stuff. And they kind of tell you, like, they kind of distract you with all the details of, hey, you know, make sure, like, that there's any kit, then you put it on and whatever. They give you, like, some certain things that.

None of that stuff matters. Yeah. Once they start doing the bomb, like the explosions. There's explosions all around. It's like, it really felt like you're in some sort of CIA or, like, like, movie. Yeah. And we're running through. And what the craziest, though, is when you get the person, two things.

one it's a person it's a real guy like it was a dude and and and the cot itself the cot was heavy I thought the cot was heavy when we started but then you get to the dude and you're like oh this is like a heavy dude

over 200 pounds easily and there's like you know it's not like paved you're like rocks rubble getting over stuff meanwhile they paired me with him and Jussie and you know we're different heights different strength levels

I had Eva and Sean, so I don't want to talk about it. I don't want to talk. Dude, my hands were destroyed. Did you carry the entire time? Yes. He did too. And then they rotated? You had an option to rotate?

I rotated with Justin. No, it was none of that. Oh, my gosh, dude. Wait, who was your third person? Eva. And she didn't. Oh, sorry, sorry, Chanel. She didn't do anything?

This was the episode where I cussed out, sis. It felt so bad about it. Wait, why did, what did Chanel do? I'm used to being cussed out. I don't know. I don't know. You guys had a. enough muscles to rotate carriers

we were all on hands all three of you were holding it at the same time yes yes did you find the second guy yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah so what'd you do with him threw him over the shoulder so yeah Andrew tried throwing him over shoulder and as he's like getting ready to carry him you hear DS yell he can

walk yeah and it's like wow that was hugely helpful we were trying to get him to help us carry the body I was not grab this corner You carried it too Nick is yelling He can carry his own damn self Make him get his ass up and walk

I don't carry his ass He can walk himself I wouldn't be an army man no more He's trying to pull his armband off They're screaming at him He's like how to sign up for this shit The amount of times Nick ripped his arm man off

And the DS put it back on him And they're like you can't quit It was too good TV. They didn't, they did not want him to go. They needed it. Wait. And the breakdown, the breakdown he had when he was going over the, um, the ladder. Yes.

Yeah. Was her, I felt so bad for it. Foxy was laughing so hard. He had to kept hiding behind the wall crying. He was crying laughing because it was so ridiculous. Foxy's on the other side. He's on the ladder. Okay.

So the, the course for this one was we are caught and we have to get out of. site we have to get out of out of town right so we get out of the car we're running through a neighborhood at dusk right we get to the stairs we go up to the stairs to the rooftop we're jumping over the buildings over the wall you felt like you were in yeah you're action moves yeah i was like hurling over these walls and then you get to this wall where there's a ladder that crosses over from one one building it's like an actual ladder it's an actual letter Two of them connected to each other You have to walk across it

And they made Nick go first And he's scared of heights So like it took him Five minutes to crawl over the wall It took him 20 minutes to get across the ladder And he's standing in the middle going I don't want to do it Man y'all are terrible

I hate y'all I hate y'all Why did I sign up for this show You guys are terrible I never want to see you guys again Like just ripping up Like shaking his laugh I'm gonna die

I'm gonna fall y'all know him y'all know him so well now like the things that he says constantly in the middle and you know that he's scared for his life but in that moment it is hilarious

like everybody's laughing no we had to pull him by his ankles out of the tunnels because he got stuck and he was having a panic attack I cannot believe he did that no what was your low

yeah oh well first of all It was such an interesting experience because, like, to your point, you know it's a reality show, but like when there's explosives going on and they're yelling at you as you're doing this exercise you've never done before, you're trying to remember all the details. It's like, you know, in sports, they say visualization is almost like a real-life rep. It's like, I feel like there's a little aspect of that where you're like, it doesn't matter

that I know this is not real war. It feels like it to my body because, like, I'm in fight or flight mode the whole time. But my two lows, I think, one, the night before, where, you know, they give you the strict list. I guess ours was stricter than yours of, like, everything you could bring in. And I was nervous. And I got the list. I guess you could do, like, medical, but, yeah, whatever. But I was just, like, I was nervous from the onset that I was going to have something wrong or, like, I got the wrong boots or whatever.

And just, like, the anticipation rolling into it was tough. And then that workout the first day after the helicopter repel, destroyed. I thought I was going to have to tap out because of heat stroke, dude. And they didn't give you any water. Your freaking throat is covered in dust. We didn't have our water bottles. Yeah, they had no water bottles.

No one knew that we didn't have our water bottles. We're all standing there as the other team is drinking their water. And I look at the blonde lady, the producer that you're not allowed to talk to. We make eye contact and I go, eat don't have water. And she looks and she goes, Oh my gosh. And she goes over to the DS and she goes, she rips the DS and they don't have their water. They're supposed to need.

Well, they should have given them the canteens. I saw the whole fight go down. They didn't know. If we didn't, if I didn't do that, they weren't going to bring us water. We were for hours. We were for hours without water. Yes. I thought he was going to die.

I was like, I've never seen you look so gray. And then you guys had more people than us so then we got punished. Oh, dude. And then we got all the way down. All right back. And it was us three. And somebody left right after that. He looks behind us.

And it's someone had to go. First VW. Very sad moment. That was. Did you see it happen? See what? Brittany go.

No. No. Who witnessed going? I wasn't on the car. She was too far back. She looked like right away. It was our team that had to run. They made a stop at the very front because

we were trailing too far. I really don't know how that happened. But we're just kind of standing there waiting. And we, look, and there's a long time that's going by. And then all of a sudden you see people trickling through. Yeah. And then they came through to say, someone's already

gone home. Wait, but, she quit? Did she do anything? I don't think she quit. They pulled her armband. And the exercise up the hill. Right? Did they pull? We didn't know. Yeah. It was very, it was all like fun and games, and then every time someone would leave and they would come in and grab the cot and everything,

you're like, oh, shoot. Yeah, it's it's a little deflating. Yeah. Yeah. the first day hill thing was so like the amount of exertion physical exertion to just go get these 40 pound 50 pound back whatever they were and run them up this mountain and like up a loose rock yeah yeah it's so hard and you're and it's a competition so you're just trying to go as fast as you can I'm like doing all this breath work while I'm doing it like trying out all these things Johnny Mansell is like having convalius oh I was pretty sure had a little stroke I think that was a heat stroke That had to have been a heat stroke And I was like buddy That's a heat stroke And he's like dying

And everyone at the end of it Do you remember how beat we were At the end when we're all standing there And people are like I'm like man I think someone's gonna die And then they go You guys won and we won And they go

You guys are gonna run home And everyone just goes Oh that was it for me I was fired out That was depressing Because we had like Eight people And you guys had 10

And so I'm like It wasn't even fair Because we were Oh my It was a close match, but we had two less people carry stuff up the hill. I'm sorry. No, no, no, fair or not. Our team set on the top of the mountain.

Y'all did. In the heat for five hours. You had water, though. You did have water. It doesn't matter. Why? Oh, my gosh. Eric, are you good, dude?

What the heck was that? What's that? Jeez. So I think it was pretty evenly matched, but I did think Johnny was going to die. I actually thought it was going to die. It took me two days to recover from that because I was so depleted. But what was your low point? I had a really hard time after we got out of the tunnels.

So I didn't know it was claustrophobic. Never in a million years even thought there was going to be a crawling thing. We always watch these videos of what is it, spulunking. When people go and I'm like, never in a million years of what I ever do that. That's terrible. and I remember when I went in I was sandwiched in between Cody Brown and Nick

and we got stuck Nick is having a panic attack Cody leaves me Tori of the season classic he completely leaves I am like locked in at the moment

I have to get all the way through the tunnels Cody's still gone Nick is having a panic attack so I had to turn around and go head first back into the tunnel to go get Nick had to pull him out basically we got through the whole thing and it was the first time after I got

out of that I saw you because that was the first time I had seen you in a while and because we were on separate teams and I just had a pan-I got a full-on panic attack and I was like I don't think I can do this I don't know if I can be here my whole body was shaking it was fine going through it but it was like the first time real fear set in so that was really hard

I didn't know I was like I don't know if this is for me I watched that moment for you all dude I like I vividly remember seeing that because after we went Johnny NEM had went first and they said Johnny didn't make it

Johnny's gone and then we went through it and I remember walking off away from the group and was looking off into the pastures like what am I doing why my tears running down my face and then I walk back and then I see that moment between y'all to, and I'm like, I'm going home.

I can't do this. I'm going home. And then. But then to see y'all have that moment, like, it was nice, I would imagine for you all to have that built-in support system, right? Like, you have your significant other with you there. And it was like, I fed off of that moment, like, that you all had. Like, I took a little piece of all with me. Like, okay, I'm good.

I'm good. Like, we'll find a way through it. I think it helped some, but I also think it made it harder. Because I can, like, compartmentalize and, like, lock in. But having my comfort there with me made it almost, like, I could turn that off and feel like I wasn't, like, locked in anymore. So it was hard to play back and forth. Okay. Back to go to the tunnels.

I remember the prep, because we were the last group to go. We were so ready. We had this plan dialed in. We're like, let's go. And then, dude, we're going to push in the face. You get up the hill. And boom, you're in these tunnels. I was like, I did not expect this one.

All bets are off, man. It was kind of funny. Yeah, because we thought we knew we were getting into. We exactly knew what we were there. Totally different. Foxy smacked me upside the head. Do you remember on that where you like, you dive down into the canal? I just remember this.

Cody jumped and landed full body, pushed me down that hill into the canal, lands on top of me. Oh, my gosh. He just like, boom, push me down the hill. I land on my face. he lands on top of me and just kept going all right would you do it again eric would you do the show again oh man my initial reactions now i think uh it's a one and done decision for me experience it was a great experience i was a great experience but i would never do it again knowing what we've been through did you get out of it what you went for or did you take

have any takeaways yeah i mean i think the biggest takeaway you know you made the point of just feeling alive again in a sense like that competitive fire like i've i haven't found something that can replicate kind of the camaraderie and the competitiveness that football has given me for so long so to to be kind of in a in a world in a realm that like is uncomfortable and unknown like it was a challenge i think i realized like challenging myself or getting myself out of my comfort zone is good for growth and just for the bonding that took place. Yeah. Would you do it again, Jesse?

No, I would not. No. It's kind of what he said, though. Like, I went into it, even though I'd seen the show, I went into it not knowing what to expect. Now knowing, I think I would anticipate too much. Like, it was almost the beauty of not knowing what was next so that you couldn't psych yourself out.

You're just thrown in. You just got to go for it. But I got what I wanted out of it. Do I have some regrets? Maybe a couple things I would have done differently. But I think that ultimately I got what I didn't know I needed out of it. Did you learn something about yourself? I think so.

I was a very scrappy little girl growing up. And I don't think, I didn't know if I still like had that in me. like that fight in me but I think it also showed me an even softer side of myself I probably didn't know I had for anyone outside of my own children like it brought out a softer side of like I always feel like I'm kind of harsh and I come in like guns blaze in I'm like kind of and not intense but just you know what you mean but I think it it showed me a softer side I didn't know I had about you were very motherly yeah I would say you're the mama for everyone mama bear of the show for it doesn't matter who

was going through something you were you were there for the entire show thank you and I think yeah that's something I learned about myself as I can be that outside of my children it was like I naturally wanted to just make sure everyone was okay the way you took care of him during the show like every day we'd get back and you would be like caring for him yeah and I was just like that is so sweet and I have to tell my wife about this he's like I'm like this guy's a monstrous NFL player like he's should be comforting her and she's like got him in her arms and like stroking

his head and massaging and I'm like what did I do wrong like what is this dude and I'm massaging him too I'm like this guy's got a gift that's good Rick yes I definitely did

I think I said this after the gas mask episode. I don't know what it was about that episode. It may have been, I remember Rudy telling me a story or telling us a story. Maybe it was right before that course. But when we came out of it, it was just, I don't know what about it brought out so much emotion, but I realized during that episode that I thought I was going for myself, like to find out something about myself.

and all I found out is that I'm selfish. I found out that I was going to see what all the people in the armed forces go through and what they feel and what they live on a day-to-day basis. And we're like, this is a course, like this is just a, you know, just a show. It's just something that's fun. But they're living that. And these thoughts and feelings that we're feeling of our low moments for 10 days, they're living that out for years.

and they're carrying that back home and what they do, it is real. Those are real bombs. Those are real gunshots that's coming at them. So I think like coming out of the show is just the gratitude that I have for our military and anyone that works in our service because we have the piece of being here right now

having this conversation. We have the piece of going to the grocery store and not ever thinking about our safety for the most part, right? And they are placing them themselves on their own terms for us. And I think that gratitude for our military is just a higher appreciation.

Good stuff. So Randall, if you were asked to be on special forces world's toughest test again. No. You would not do it again. I had a blast. I enjoyed every moment that we were there. A lot of thrills, a lot of things

that I've always thought about doing, jumping out of a plane, walking across a rope in between two cliffs where if we fall, like, yeah, we have a harness that they say will catch us, but will it? I don't know. I think just going through and having those moments, I enjoyed walking across the dam, rappelling down the dam, like all those things were fun. Being called duty face, you know, when I wasn't duty face. But it was fun. I enjoyed it, but no, I wouldn't. I wouldn't go back. No, I'm good.

Ravi. Yeah, I think I probably would. I think, you know, my highlight in the show is probably when, what's the guy's name, the buffest guy? What's his name? Mark? No, the, of the DS. Oh, Rudy. Rudy, Foxy?

Rudy. My highlight of the show is probably when Rudy came into the tent that night. and he shared his personal life story. I hope they keep that in the show because I think that was such a, not only was it a beautiful kind of bonding moment for all of us, but I think it really gave us

a real glimpse into the sacrifices and the lifestyle of these people who go and do these things for our country, especially at his level. And it also then was followed by all of us going around and sharing really intense, Hence, like, intimate, revealing stories about ourselves.

And when I think about what I got out of that experience, I love adrenaline and I love bonding. And I don't think I've ever gotten both things at such levels in my entire life. So actually, yeah, I think I would definitely do it because, I mean, look what I, I feel so lucky to have met you guys. I feel so lucky. And that experience, I'm going to remember it for the rest of my life. There's, you know, I've gotten to do a lot of cool things,

but this has got to be one of the coolest things I've ever gotten to do. So, yeah, if I could do it again, I think I would. Would my wife let me do it? Absolutely not. Yeah. No. And it's one of those cools. It's cool in a painful way where you're like, man,

I don't know if it's worth it kind of cool, but it was so epic. The second, what everyone says. Probably not. One and done. Don't need to do it again. It was a really cool experience. I think one of my favorite moments was, And hardest moments, when I competed, I was really good at shutting down emotionally.

They're like numb all emotion, all distraction. But the day they made us write the letters, I was a blubbering, disastrous mess. Yeah. And it was the first time I kind of saw both coexisting. And so being able to like hear everybody else's vulnerability, which was something I had never been a part of in competition, was really cool and see the camaraderie. that would do it for the camarader again but yeah yeah not the other stuff i don't know if i would do it again it was uh what i realized is the amount that you have to compartmentalize of i can either be like a soft loving husband you know or accomplish this task that that was just like

there's too much friction between that for me and it also made me so uncomfortable the realization of the actual soldiers who have to do that to such an extreme amount always and Billy came in one night and told us that we had to write our letters he was like I had to miss the birth of one of my children because I thought I was going to be deployed for like two weeks it ended up being like a year and a half or something and you just realized that that that sacrifice psychologically that they make of oh my gosh like this it's not a choice for them it's not a fun activity it's not an adrenaline rush it's their job and it's serious the results are serious and i just i just personally did not like that choice that you have to make and ours was so low

stakes of like hey could i be a good husband or should i be a good you know competitor and it's like yeah i just didn't like that something you feel like battled with during the time between like with you two i think no you're both very competitive people on the show yes Oh, it was hilarious. I learned so much about Sean doing the show where it was like, I wonder why she was a successful athlete and I wasn't. Well, her intensity was way more than mine ever was. I was like, I get it now.

So you seemed just as intense. Are you guys on my one seats from day one? I was like, oh, those are the one seats in the group. They were going to be fine. Easy. I was intense because I was hurt the whole time. I was in pain the whole time after that first workout. You were born to do this.

The minute I found out you two were doing it, I looked at Eric. I was like, oh, well, they'll win. Yeah. Like I just knew y'all are just that that's who you are. You're such competitive fierce people. When you have to sit with a psychiatrist and he's telling you just so you know, this is going to care. This is going to be with you for weeks, maybe months.

Your cortisol levels have been at a level consistently that they've never been. You're going to need a safe word at home. I felt that too. You're going to be angry. And I was like a safe word. And I was like, I don't think my wife's going to be okay with that. She's like, she's like not well. She's got babies and she had to move with the handyman.

having this like 48 hours in between going home was like we were going to be able to get home a day earlier and although I really wanted to I knew we needed like on process it so we ended up having our layover in London for 24 hours just alone at this hotel so we could just like and we would fall asleep and jerk ourselves waking up like and I kept feeling like I was hearing recruits all the time like it was and and we just we needed that that time. to decompressed. We went home for a week, and that week was really weird. Really weird. Emotionally, like, dealing with our kids and the best. And then after a week, we went on a, we had a trip planned that we almost canceled. I can't we all did that. But we went on a trip with friends and came back like a new person.

Like, we needed to be able to go away and have fun. Yeah. And, like, yeah. Did anybody have any closing thoughts? Because we're 1054 right now. No, I do want to make a comment because I feel like we talked about, like, Jess had a connection with Randall I felt that with you on the

diving board I was like I wish I'd amp myself up or have a plan and talk about it but like when we walked up to the yeah

to like the y'all were locked in like I looked at her I was like okay we got this because I could just feel obviously the focus I almost drowned

thank you for saving my life integrity though but it's just like it is cool to see like athletes yeah because we never have shared the locker

or field together but to see like the same intensity it was like okay when y'all walked up there together I always It was like, this is perfect. Like, you're locked and I could feel it and I just, it was like a relief for him because

I just knew that it was going to be good. Well, and you learn that so quickly on the show, like everybody, especially the people who made it past, you know, day three or four who are like locked in. There is this common sense of like respect and trust where it's like, we're both terrified. We've never done this before, but I know you're going to show up when. I thought that way with Christy at Murder Ball. Yeah. Like, I, she and I had a moment together.

Like, we were locked in during a motorball together. We had this, like, very silent, we had this very silent understanding of each other of, like, who's going to do what? I'm going to hold the ball and never let go of it. Or she's going to be the word that toss it to me and I'm going to, you know, zigzag and go to the, like, we just had this understanding. And again, I was like, this is how you guys must have felt on the, I never got to experience. I didn't do team sports. This is so fun. Yeah.

You know? I love her. I love her, by the way. She's one of my favorite. She's awesome. Everyone, I feel like what an exceptional group of people. I was certain going into it that I would like two to three people. And for the most part, I want nothing to do with anyone else.

I just figured it was a bunch of like influencers and reality stars. And, you know, I don't know you people that well. I just assume that they were casting. I just assumed that people that were casting people who were insufferable and good for television. and I just everyone I actually liked everyone and I came to admire everyone even if they annoyed me at times

and care about everyone and I also thought everyone was exceptionally gritty like everyone in the show fought like day one I'm like that person's going down that person's going down this person's gone you know

and all of a sudden here we in sometime in and I'm like I don't know if any of these people are going to be gone these people are tough as hell. You know, it was just, man, great experience. Yeah.

Closing thoughts, any? No, I think everybody hit all the things. This was fun. I told you that Kiwi would work, dude. I told you, day one. I told you that Kiwi. You did. He had a Kiwi in his pocket.

Day one, we're in the car together. Great cause. Yeah. In the car together. In the car on the way of day one from the hotel. Head it to the bus. I revealed to him that I brought a key. Yes.

Wow, that's huge That's actually big time That was the last meal Well, what a fun First group reflection On that experience together It has been fun I mean we have stayed in touch

Since the show You ditched me on a workout But that's totally fine It's good But maybe we'll have to run this back And so no one's commented That he's worn a weight vest Yeah, we didn't talk about it

He has on the shorts From the show Actual shorts from the show Those are the sleep shorts The muddy shoes You know, you're a sentimental guy. You are. You're a sentimental guy.

He thought about it. Anyway, thank you all for listening. Thank you all for being here. Thanks for making this happen. Yes, this was fun. I really want to have another conversation, whether it's on camera or not, after the show's done, to see what we all think of, like, what they picked up on. The way they picked up on. Yeah.

You know, what we should do is like a, almost like a, we should consider doing, like, this. Is there possible to do this live or people can call in and ask questions or submit questions ahead of time? At the very end, we should do something like that, where we could speak. Yeah, at the end of the show, we answer questions, people. Yeah, yeah, yeah, this is fun. Like a live. All right. Thank you so much for putting this together, guys.

This is good times. Okay, I love you guys. Bye.